To the Soldiers of the Confederacy, (sculpture).

To the Soldiers of the Confederacy, (sculpture).

Packer, Francis Herman, 1873-1957, sculptor.

Bacon, Henry, 1866-1924, designer.

Roman Bronze Works, founder.

To the Soldiers of the Confederacy, (sculpture).

Confederate Monument, (sculpture).

1924. Removed June 25, 2020.

Digital Reference:

Sculpture: bronze; Base: granite.

Sculpture: approx. 13 ft. 3 in. x 5 ft. 3 in. x 2 ft. 8 in.; Base: approx. 55 1/2 in. x 10 ft. 2 in. x 5 ft. 6 in.

(On front of base:) 1861-1865/TO THE SOLDIERS OF/THE CONFEDERACY/CONFEDERATES BLEND YOUR RECOLLECTIONS/LET MEMORY WEAVE ITS BRIGHT REFLECTIONS/LET LOVE REVIVE LIFE'S ASHEN EMBERS/FOR LOVE IS LIFE SINCE LOVE REMEMBERS/PRO ARIS ET FOCIS/THIS MONUMENT IS A LEGACY OF GABRIEL JAMES BONEY/BORN WALLACE, N. C. 1846--DIED WILMINGTON, N. C. 191(transcription illegible)/A CONFEDERATE SOLDIER (On back of base:) Erected by a committee under the testator's will representing the Daughters of the Confederacy, the Confederate Veterans Association and his Executor MCMXXIV unsigned Founder's mark appears.

An upright granite stele bearing inscriptions and a bronze figural sculpture in high relief. Sculpture depicts a standing Confederate soldier and a fallen soldier, the latter lying on the ground behind the feet of the former. The standing soldier is hatless, wears a military overcoat with cape which is flying open, shirt, trousers, and boots; he holds his rifle in his proper right hand and props its butt-end on the ground; his proper left arm is bent with the hand held in front of the body and he gazes forward in stern resolve. Fallen soldier below has bandaged forehead and head slumps onto proper right shoulder; a canteen lies beneath his proper right arm. Figures represent courage (standing) and self-sacrifice (recumbent).

History -- United States -- Civil War

Occupation -- Military -- Soldier

Dress -- Uniform -- Military Uniform

State of Being -- Illness -- Wound

Allegory -- Quality -- Fortitude

Object -- Weapon -- Gun

Administered by City of Wilmington, Parks and Recreation, 302 Willard Street, Wilmington, North Carolina 28401

Formerly located Third & Dock Streets, Wilmington, North Carolina 1924-June 25, 2020.

Bequest of Boney, Gabriel James, Wilmington, North Carolina, 1924.

Boney's will provided for the erection of the monument with a bequest of $20,000 dollars and stipulated that a committee should be formed to approve the designs and specifications. Committee members were to include representatives of the United Confederate Veterans and the Daughters of the Confederacy of Wilmington, N. C. The sculpture was vandalized ca. 1950, when the granite stele was knocked down and broken; incoming SOS! report indicates that stele was replaced by Ramsey of Salisbury, who provided the original. Bayonet on rifle was broken and replaced ca. 1987-1989. IAS files contain detailed dimensions of components of monument.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, North Carolina survey, 1994.

The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.

Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

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