Talk:Confederate Soldiers & Sailors Monument

Inscription

• CUNY professor Erin L. Thompson has been researching the origin of the Davis quote on the monument. Here are some findings:
  • In his 1870 eulogy of Robert E. Lee, at a meeting of the Confederate Soldiers & Sailors at Richmond, Virginia, Davis exclaims, "This citizen! this soldier! this great general! this true patriot! left behind him the crowning glory of a true Christian. His Christianity ennobled him in life, and affords us grounds for the belief that he is happy beyond the grave." - "Remarks of President Davis" (November 3, 1870), published Rowland Dunbar, ed. (1923) Jefferson Davis, constitutionalist, his letters, papers, and speeches. Vol. 7. Jackson, Mississippi: Mississippi Dept. of Archives and History. pp. 281–285
  • In an 1888 letter to Davis, attorney Louis Schade promises to exonerate his client, Henry Wirz, commander at Andersonville Prison, of the atrocities claimed by the United States. He tells Davis that, "It will be the crowning glory of your life if you can demonstrate to the world that your people were innocent of the crimes committed by their enemies;..." - Louis Schade (November 18, 1888), letter to Jefferson Davis, published in Rowland Dunbar, ed. (1923) Jefferson Davis, constitutionalist, his letters, papers, and speeches. Vol. 10. Jackson, Mississippi: Mississippi Dept. of Archives and History. pp. 87–89
  • In an 1890 address to the Virginia Assembly, Sen. John Warwick Daniel quotes Robert E. Lee as telling his men following the 1862 victories at Richmond, "Your humanity to the wounded and the prisoners was the fit and crowning glory of your valor." - John Warwick Davis (January 25, 1890), address to the Virginia Assembly, published in Edward M. Daniel, ed. (1911) Speeches and orations of John Warwick Daniel. Lynchburg, Virginia: J. P. Bell Co., p. 300