Confederate War Memorial (Dallas)

Confederate War Memorial
Year 1896
Location Dallas, Texas, United States

The Confederate War Memorial in Dallas, Texas, is 60 feet (18 m)-high monument that pays tribute to the soldiers and generals from Texas during the American Civil War. It was dedicated in 1896.

The monument is located in Pioneer Park Cemetery in the Convention Center District of downtown Dallas, Texas (USA), next to the Dallas Convention Center and Pioneer Plaza.

After the wave of removal of Confederate monuments that followed the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings called for a task force to decide what to do it, as well as the statue of Lee in Lee Park.[1]

It is No. 1 on the Make It Right Project's list of Confederate monuments it wants removed.[2]

History

The monument was designed by Frank Teich, who in 1896 was made a honorary member of thralls chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC).[3]. The cornerstone was dedicated by the UDC, Dallas Chapter. No.6, on June 25, 1896.[4] The dedication of the monument on April 29, 1897[5] was attended by thousands, with hundreds of Confederate veterans, including Colonel William Lyne Crawford[4] and Texas governor Charles Allen Culberson.[6] There were also Masons, Knights Templar, Free Thinkers and German Turners.[4] The Galveston Daily noted that a black woman threw granite at a carriage on the way, but she was dismissed as "insane."[4]

The monument was originally located at Old City Park, but was relocated to Pioneer Park in 1961 due to construction on R.L. Thornton Freeway.[7] It is believed to be the city's oldest public sculpture.[6]

Structure

The monument is made of granite and marble, the figures being of Italian marble,[8] with a 60-foot pillar rising into the sky topped with a Confederate soldier. The letters “CSA” (for Confederate States of America) and a medallion of “Old Tice” are engraved on the front of the monument base, above the motto “Confederate” and a dedication stone.

The other three sides pay homage to the cavalry, infantry, and naval forces. Surrounding the base are statues of CSA Generals Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, Albert Johnston, and CSA president Jefferson Davis. Each of these men were leaders of the Confederate States of America, which seceded from the United States of America, leading to the American Civil War in 1861.

Inscriptions

The inscription on the south-facing side below the medallion reads, “The brazen lips of Southern cannon thundered an unanswered anthem to the God of Battle.” The northern face is decorated with an anchor, and reads, “It was given the genius and valor of Confederate seamen to revolutionize naval warfare over the earth.” Below the writing, another inscription says, “This stone shall crumble into dust ere the deathless devotion of Southern women be forgotten.” The west side inscription is below an engraving of crossed swords and reads, “The Confederate sabreur kissed his blade homeward riding on into the mouth of hell.” The east side is decorated with crossed rifles, and reads, “Confederate infantry drove bayonets through columns that never before reeled to the shock of battle.”[9]

See also

References

  1. ↑ CNN (August 18, 2017). "Here are the Confederate memorials that will be removed after Charlottesville". WPTV. Retrieved February 12, 2018.
  2. ↑ Holloway, Kali (June 3, 2018). "Announcing the Launch of the Make It Right Project". Independent Media Institute. Retrieved September 10, 2018.
  3. ↑ Hendricks, Patricia D. and Becky Duval Reese, A Century of Sculpture in Texas: 1889-1989, University of Texas, Austin, 1989 p. 21
  4. 1 2 3 4 "FOR THE HEROIC DEAD. CORNERSTONE OF A MONUMENT TO PERPETUATE THEIR VALOR LAID YESTERDAY. IMPOSING STREET PARADE. Eloquent Orations by Ex-Confederate Soldiers--Decorates Carriages and Other Features". The Galveston Daily News. June 28, 1896. p. 18. Retrieved December 10, 2017 – via Newspapers.com. (Registration required (help)).
  5. ↑ Widener, Ralph W. Jr. Confederate Monuments: Enduring Symbols of the South and the War Between the States, Andromeda Associates, and Ralph W. Widener, Jr., Ph.D., Washington D.C., 1982 p.215
  6. 1 2 Little 1996, p. 165.
  7. ↑ Teich, Frank (11 December 1896). "Confederate Monument". Retrieved 11 December 2017 – via siris-artinventories.si.edu Library Catalog.
  8. ↑ Little, Carol Morris, A Comprehensive Guide to Outdoor Sculpture in Texas, University of Texas Press, Austin, 1996 p.165
  9. ↑ Teich, Frank (11 December 1896). "Confederate Monument". Retrieved 11 December 2017 – via siris-artinventories.si.edu Library Catalog.

Coordinates: 32°46′32″N 96°47′59″W / 32.775559°N 96.799631°W / 32.775559; -96.799631

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.