What We Talk About When We Talk About Confederate Monuments

By

Sarah E. Gardner

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Counter-protesters at a rally at the Robert E. Lee statue in Richmond, VA in 2017.

Robert E. Lee Rally

Counter-protesters at a rally at the Robert E. Lee statue in Richmond, VA in 2017.

An 1872 depiction of a black family being targeted by the Ku Klux Klan.

Visit of the Ku Klux Klan

An 1872 depiction of a black family being targeted by the Ku Klux Klan.

Protest art atop the pedestal of the deposed statues of Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee.

Protest Art

Protest art atop the pedestal of the deposed statues of Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee in Baltimore, MD in 2017.

A memorial to Heather Heyer.

Heather Heyer Memorial

A memorial to Heather Heyer, the counter-protester killed at the Unite the Right rally, in Charlottesville, VA.

A sign at a rally at the Robert E. Lee statue in Richmond, VA in 2017.

Enemies, Not Heroes

A sign at a rally at the Robert E. Lee statue in Richmond, VA in 2017 countering pro-Confederate demonstrators.

Charlottesville’s statue of Robert E. Lee became the rallying point for the Unite the Right rally in August 2017.

Charlottesville Robert E. Lee Statue

Erected in 1924, Charlottesville’s statue of Robert E. Lee became the rallying point for the Unite the Right rally in August 2017.

'Blood and soil' (Blut und Boden), a 19th-century German phrase the Nazis adopted.

Blut and Boden

“Blood and soil” (Blut und Boden), a 19^th-century German phrase the Nazis adopted, expressed a desire for a racially defined nation.

Participants in an August 28, 2017 March to Confront White Supremacy.

March to Confront White Supremacy

Participants in an August 28, 2017 March to Confront White Supremacy stand in front of a covered Robert E. Lee statue in Charlottesville, VA.

Violence at the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, VA.

Unite the Right Rally Violence

Violence at the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, VA on August 12, 2017.

Protesters at the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, VA.

National Vanguard

Protesters at the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, VA in August 2017.

Protesters and counter-protesters clashing at the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, VA.

Unite the Right Rally Clashes

Protesters and counter-protesters clashing at the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, VA in August 2017.

Protesters at the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville claiming that 'diversity' leads to white genocide.

“Diversity”=White Genocide

Protesters at the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville claiming that “diversity” leads to white genocide.

Protesters from various alt-right groups marching in Charlottesville.

Alt-Right Groups

Protesters from various alt-right groups marching in Charlottesville.

Clashes between protesters and counter-protesters in Charlottesville.

Charlottesville Clashes

Clashes between protesters and counter-protesters in Charlottesville.

Violence at the Unite the Right rally.

Charlottesville Violence

Violence at the Unite the Right rally.

Assorted alt-right groups in front of Charlottesville’s statue.

Protesters with Robert E. Lee

Assorted alt-right groups in front of Charlottesville’s statue to Robert E. Lee during the Unite the Right rally.

Virginia National Guard soldiers and Virginia State Police in the aftermath of the Unite the Right rally.

Virginia National Guard and State Police

Virginia National Guard soldiers and Virginia State Police in the aftermath of the Unite the Right rally.

Protesters and counter-protesters clashing during the Unite the Right rally.

Rally Clashes

Protesters and counter-protesters clashing during the Unite the Right rally.

Counter-protesters at the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville.

Counter-protesters

Counter-protesters at the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville.

Clergy and other counter-protesters linking arms against protesters during the Unite the Right rally.

Clergy at Unite the Right Rally

Clergy and other counter-protesters linking arms against protesters during the Unite the Right rally.

Protesters and counter-protesters squaring off at the Unite the Right rally.

Protesters and Counter-protesters Square Off

Protesters and counter-protesters squaring off at the Unite the Right rally.

Confederate Monument at Arlington National Cemetery.

Confederate Monument at Arlington National Cemetery

In 1900, Congress set aside a section of Arlington National Cemetery for Confederate war dead and on the 106^th anniversary of the birth of Confederate President Jefferson Davis in 1914, President Woodrow Wilson dedicated a monument there. The female figure at the top represents “the South” and wears a crown of victory while another figure in the center also representing “the South” clutches a shield with the words “The Constitution” upon it.

A frieze on the side of the Confederate Monument at Arlington National Cemetery.

Confederate Monument

A frieze on the side of the Confederate Monument at Arlington National Cemetery depicting a crying “mammy” figure holding a white baby up to kiss the child’s father—a Confederate officer—goodbye.

The Duke Tobacco Company of Durham, NC published heroic profiles of Confederate and Union figures in 1889 to advertise their cigarettes.

Heroes of the Civil War

The Duke Tobacco Company of Durham, NC published heroic profiles of Confederate and Union figures in 1889 to advertise their cigarettes (W. Duke, Sons & Co. Advertising Materials, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University).

A monument to the sacrifices of Confederate soldiers in Baxley, GA.

Baxley Monument

A monument to the sacrifices of Confederate soldiers in Baxley, GA originally on courthouse grounds but now on private property.

Monument to General John H. Morgan.

Monument to General John H. Morgan

Despite Kentucky remaining with the Union, in 1911 members of the United Daughters of the Confederacy dedicated this monument to Kentucky native and Confederate General John H. Morgan and his 2^nd Kentucky Cavalry Regiment.

Members of the United Daughters of the Confederacy around the monument they sponsored.

Munn Park Monument

Members of the United Daughters of the Confederacy around the monument they sponsored in Lakeland, FL in 1915.

This cartoon during the U.S. war with Spain in 1898 celebrated national reconciliation and 'loyalty.'

Memorial Day, 1898

This cartoon during the U.S. war with Spain in 1898 celebrated national reconciliation and “loyalty” with a caption reading “One decoration will do for both this year” in reference to the single flag draping both a Confederate and Union soldier.

Frederick Douglass c.1895.

Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass c.1895.

The Monument to the Unknown Dead at National Cemetery, Arlington around 1900.

Monument to the Unknown Dead

The Monument to the Unknown Dead at National Cemetery, Arlington around 1900.

1905 Emancipation Day celebration in Richmond, VA.

Emancipation Day Celebration

Despite the rewriting of the meaning of the Civil War in public memory, African Americans continued to uphold an emancipatory vision of the Civil War, such as in this 1905 Emancipation Day celebration in Richmond, VA.

A banner for the U.S. Colored Troops.

U.S. Colored Troops

A banner for the U.S. Colored Troops proclaiming “We will prove ourselves men.” Few monuments, however, were dedicated to the sacrifices and accomplishments of black men who served in the Union Army and suffered higher casualty rates than white troops because of unequal conditions.

An 1864 illustration from Harper’s Weekly warning against compromising with the South.

Compromise with the South

An 1864 illustration from Harper’s Weekly warning against compromising with the South and thereby traipsing over the graves of the Union dead.

A graph showing when schools, monuments, and other sites honoring the Confederacy or Confederates were built.

Confederate Monuments Graph

A graph created by the Southern Poverty Law center showing when schools, monuments, and other sites honoring the Confederacy or Confederates were built.

The bodies of six lynched African Americans in Lee County, GA in 1916.

Lynching in Georgia

The bodies of six lynched African Americans in Lee County, GA in 1916.

White men posing around the mutilated and charred corpse of William Brown in Omaha, NE in 1919.

Lynching in Nebraska

White men posing around the mutilated and charred corpse of William Brown in Omaha, NE in 1919.

The Soldiers’ Monument known as 'Silent Sam.'

“Silent Sam”

The Soldiers’ Monument known as “Silent Sam” on the campus of the University of North Carolina in the year of its dedication, 1913.

Julian Carr.

Julian Carr

Julian Carr, a North Carolina industrialist, philanthropist, and white supremacist.

An 1868 political cartoon.

Change of Banners

An 1868 political cartoon accusing the Democratic Party’s presidential candidates of relying on support from Ku Klux Klan members and Confederate traitors.

Two former Confederate officers in early Ku Klux Klan garb in Huntsville, AL.

Ku Klux Klan

Two former Confederate officers in early Ku Klux Klan garb in Huntsville, AL in 1868.

An 1874 drawing by Thomas Nast of a man from the 'White League.'

The Union As It Was

An 1874 drawing by Thomas Nast of a man from the “White League”—a paramilitary organization to intimidate Republicans and black voters—shaking hands with a Ku Klux Klan member over a black couple and a lynched man in a fate described as “worse than slavery.”

Confederate and Union veterans shaking hands.

“A Half-a-Century After”

Confederate and Union veterans shaking hands at the 50^th anniversary of the battle of Gettysburg.

The 'rowdy' neighborhood of McKee Row.

McKee Row

The “rowdy” neighborhood of McKee Row was demolished to build the park for Stonewall Jackson’s monument in 1919 (Courtesy of the Holsinger Studio Collection, Special Collections Department, University of Virginia Library).

The unveiling of the Stonewall Jackson Monument in Charlottesville, VA.

Stonewall Jackson Unveiling

The unveiling of the Stonewall Jackson Monument in Charlottesville, VA in 1921 (Courtesy of the Holsinger Studio Collection [#9862], Special Collections Department, University of Virginia Library).

A small plaque remembering the once-vibrant black neighborhood of Vinegar Hill.

Vinegar Hill

A small plaque remembering the once-vibrant black neighborhood of Vinegar Hill in Charlottesville, VA.

Charlottesville’s monument to Robert E. Lee in the 1920s.

Robert E. Lee Monument

Charlottesville’s monument to Robert E. Lee in the 1920s.

Joint statue of Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee.

Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee Monument

Erected in 1948, the city counsel of Baltimore, MD voted to take down the joint statue of Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee after the 2015 Charleston Church Shooting and removed it days after the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville.

President Truman’s Executive Order 9981 made national headlines in 1948.

Truman Wipes Out Segregation

President Truman’s Executive Order 9981 would take years to fully implement, but made national headlines in 1948.

A 1948 poster for the 'States’ Rights Democrats.'

Dixiecrat Party Poster

A 1948 poster for the “States’ Rights Democrats,” better known as the Dixiecrats, featuring Strom Thurmond (SC) for president and Fielding Wright (MS) for vice president.

A view of the carvings on Stone Mountain, the visitor center, and the surrounding park.

Stone Mountain

A view of the carvings on Stone Mountain, the visitor center, and the surrounding park.

A close-up of the carving on Stone Mountain.

Stone Mountain Close-up

A close-up of the carving on Stone Mountain featuring Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, and their favorite horses.

A Ku Klux Klan initiation ceremony at Stone Mountain in 1948.

Klan Initiation Ceremony

A Ku Klux Klan initiation ceremony at Stone Mountain in 1948 with Dr. Samuel Green, a Grand Dragon of the Klan, and children in Klan robes around him.

A postcard advertising Stone Mountain as the Imperial Palace of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan.

Imperial Palace

A postcard advertising Stone Mountain as the Imperial Palace of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan and the place of its (re)organization in 1915.

The base of an obelisk built in 1921 in Colfax, LA.

Colfax Obelisk

The base of an obelisk built in 1921 in Colfax, LA. The inscription reads: “Erected to the memory of the heroes Stephen Decatur Parish, James West Hadnot, Sidney Harris who fell in the Colfax Riot fighting for White Supremacy April 13, 1873” (Image courtesy of Robin Cole-Jett).

A depiction of African Americans gathering the estimated 150 killed after the Colfax Massacre in 1873.

Colfax Massacre

A depiction of African Americans gathering the estimated 150 killed after the Colfax Massacre in 1873.

A historical marker put up in 1950 describing the Colfax Massacre as a riot.

Colfax Riot Placard

A historical marker put up in 1950 describing the Colfax Massacre as a riot and terming the conservative white takeover “the end of carpetbag misrule.”

The National Statuary Hall Collection in the U.S. Capitol building.

Confederates in the Capitol

The National Statuary Hall Collection in the U.S. Capitol building contains eight Confederate figures, including one of Confederate President Jefferson Davis.

General William Mahone.

General William Mahone

General William Mahone, a Confederate general and later U.S. Senator from Virginia.

The 'whites only' dedication ceremony for the monument to Jefferson Davis in New Orleans.

Jefferson Davis Monument Dedication

The “whites only” dedication ceremony for the monument to Jefferson Davis in New Orleans on the 50^th anniversary of Davis’s inauguration as president of the Confederacy. Schoolchildren dressed in red, white, and blue formed a “living” Confederate flag in the background.

Sheet music for the song 'We Are All Loyal Klansmen' from 1923.

We Are All Loyal Klansmen

Sheet music for the song “We Are All Loyal Klansmen” from 1923.

Protesters at the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville.

Unite the Right Marchers

Protesters at the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville with marchers carrying Confederate, Nazi, and “Don’t Tread on Me” flags.

Members of Aryan Nations.

Aryan Nations

Members of Aryan Nations, a white supremacist group founded in the 1970s, posted praise for Dylann Roof after he killed nine African Americans in 2015.

Dylann Roof.

Dylann Roof

In 2015, Dylann Roof—a self-proclaimed white supremacist and neo-Nazi—shot and killed nine African Americans during a prayer meeting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charlotte, SC.

Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, SC.

Mother Emanuel

Founded in 1816, Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, SC is the oldest African Methodist Episcopal church in the South and the cite of Dylann Roof’s mass-shooting in 2015.

A postcard from the 1920s or 1930s of Lee Circle in New Orleans, LA.

Lee Circle

A postcard from the 1920s or 1930s of Lee Circle in New Orleans, LA.

A crowd watching the removal of the statue of Robert E. Lee.

Robert E. Lee Removal

A crowd watching the removal of the statue of Robert E. Lee from atop his sixty foot pedestal in New Orleans in 2017.

A memorial to General Nathan Bedford Forrest.

General Nathan Bedford Forrest Memorial

A memorial to General Nathan Bedford Forrest in Memphis, TN before its removal in 2017.

An 1864 depiction of the Fort Pillow Massacre.

Fort Pillow Massacre

An 1864 depiction of the Fort Pillow Massacre in which Confederate troops under the command of General Nathan Bedford Forrest slaughtered over 300 black Union soldiers after they had surrendered.

The monument to Jefferson Davis in New Orleans, LA.

Jefferson Davis Monument

The monument to Jefferson Davis in New Orleans, LA.

Protesters occupied the former cite of the Jefferson Davis monument in New Orleans, LA.

Love, Unofficial Monument

Protesters occupied the former cite of the Jefferson Davis monument in New Orleans, LA for several days after its removal in 2017, but once they left someone placed an unofficial replacement monument on the platform that once held a statue of the President of the Confederacy.

The Confederate Memorial of the Wind in Orange, TX under construction.

Confederate Memorial of the Wind

Built on private property, the Confederate Memorial of the Wind in Orange, TX is still under construction but will eventually feature thirty-two flags representing Texas military units and the Confederate battle flag. The memorial’s sponsoring organization, Sons of Confederate Veterans, insist that the location on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive was selected for financial reasons, not to be provocative.

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Cite this Site

Sarah E. Gardner , "What We Talk About When We Talk About Confederate Monuments" , Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective

November, 2017

https://origins.osu.edu/index.php/article/what-we-talk-about-when-we-talk-about-confederate-monuments.