Nathan Bedford Forrest Monument

For the statue in Nashville, Tennessee, see Nathan Bedford Forrest Statue.

Nathan Bedford Forrest Monument
The statue in 2010
Nathan Bedford Forrest Monument
Nathan Bedford Forrest Monument
Artist Charles Henry Niehaus
Year 1905
Location Memphis, Tennessee, United States
Coordinates 35°8′21.09″N 90°2′5.37″W / 35.1391917°N 90.0348250°W / 35.1391917; -90.0348250Coordinates: 35°8′21.09″N 90°2′5.37″W / 35.1391917°N 90.0348250°W / 35.1391917; -90.0348250

The Nathan Bedford Forrest Monument is a bronze sculpture by Charles Henry Niehaus, depicting a mounted General Nathan Bedford Forrest wearing a uniform of the Confederate States Army. It was formerly installed in Forrest Park (changed to "Health Sciences Park" in 2013)[1] in Memphis, Tennessee. The statue was cast in Paris. Forrest and his wife are buried in front of the monument, after being moved there from Elmwood Cemetery in a ceremony on November 11, 1904.[2] The cornerstone for the monument was laid on May 30, 1901 and the monument was dedicated on May 16, 1905.[3] It was removed on December 20, 2017 and is currently for sale to a buyer who will display it in public.

The monument

Sculptor Lorado Taft said of the statue, "the rider and steed alike have been highly praised for their truth and vigor. A photograph of the model gives promise of one of the best equestrian statues in the country." For himself, Taft labels it "adequate".[4]

The monument was installed thanks in part to Judge Thomas J. Latham's wife Mary, who was a member of the United Daughters of the Confederacy.[5]

Relocation

A 2015 attempt by the Memphis City Council to remove the statue was blocked by the Tennessee Historical Commission in 2016.[6] In September 2017, the Memphis City Council passed an ordinance to remove Confederate statues from public parks, including the Nathan Bedford Forrest Monument and the Jefferson Davis Monument, after October 13, 2017, due in part to increased police expenditure, to control protesters and anti-protesters, since the Unite the Right rally of August.[7]

On December 20, 2017, the Memphis City Council unanimously approved the sale of Health Sciences Park to Memphis Greenspace for $1,000.00, allowing Memphis Greenspace to remove the monument.[8][9] The monument, along with a statue of Jefferson Davis, were removed that evening. In May 2018, the Memphis Flyer reported that Memphis Greenspace plans to sell the Nathan Bedford Forrest Monument and the statue of Davis. Potential buyers must be nonprofit organizations who will agree to maintain the statues and display them in public somewhere outside of Shelby County, Tennessee.[10]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Memphis haunted by long, conflicting history with confederate monuments". Commercialappeal.com. Retrieved 2 September 2017.
  2. ↑ The WPA Guide to Tennessee, Federal Writers' Project of the Works Projects Administration for the State of Tennessee, University of Tennessee Press, 1986 p. 224.
  3. ↑ Niehaus, Charles Henry. "Equestrian Statue of General Forrest". Siris-artinventories.si.edu. Retrieved 2 September 2017 – via siris-artinventories.si.edu Library Catalog.
  4. ↑ Taft, Lorado, History of American Sculpture, The MacMillan Company, New York, 1903, revised with new matter, 1925, p. 403.
  5. ↑ Allison, John (1905). Notable Men of Tennessee. Personal and Genealogical With Portraits. 2. Atlanta, Georgia: Southern Historical Association. pp. 45–51. Retrieved January 13, 2016. Her efficiency activity in (sic) behalf of the Forrest monument, now erecting at Memphis, gave her a wide and highly favorable reputation with the Southern soldiers of the war between the states.
  6. ↑ "Nathan Bedford Forrest statue won't be relocated". Knoxnews.com. Retrieved 2 September 2017.
  7. ↑ "Memphis City Council votes on ordinance to remove Confederate statues". News 3 Channel. September 5, 2017. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
  8. ↑ Poe, Ryan (December 20, 2017). "Memphis removing Confederate statues from Downtown parks, statue of Nathan Bedford Forrest is down". The Commercial Appeal. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
  9. ↑ Mattise, Jonathan (December 21, 2017). "Confederate statues removed after Memphis sells public parks". APNews.com. (Associated Press.). Retrieved December 21, 2017.
  10. ↑ Sells, Toby (May 25, 2018). "Confederate Statues Ready to Go (Just Not to Shelby County)".
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