Confederate Memorial, (sculpture).

Confederate Memorial, (sculpture).

McNeil Marble Works, fabricator.

Confederate Memorial, (sculpture).

Laurel Confederate War Memorial, (sculpture).

March 1912. Dedicated April 12, 1912.

Digital Reference:

Figures: marble; Canopy: granite; Base: granite.

(Front of base, lower left:) Erected by the Stephen Dill Lee Chapter, U.D.C. Laurel, Miss. March 1912 (Front of base, right:) In memory of our fallen heroes. (Front center of canopy, in wreath:) CSA (Below that:) Confederate Soldiers (Front and back of pedestal supporting soldier:) 1861/1865 (Back left base:) Honor decks the turf/that wraps their clay (Back of center canopy:) Confederate Soldiers (Back right base:) Enough of merit has each/honored name/to shrine untarnished on/the rolls of fame.

The monument is a large canopy supported by 8 columns. On top of the canopy is a pedestal supporting a standing Confederate soldier. The soldier originally held a rifle muzzle in his proper left hand. A replacement wooden rifle is now wired in placed. Beneath the canopy is a kneeling woman, mourning with downcast head and eyes. In her lap is a Confederate flag. Canopy contains two stone benches and four urns on each side of the steps. Canopy is decorated with two pairs of crossed swords, and wreath and ribbon with CSA intertwined.

History -- United States -- Civil War

Figure male -- Full length

Dress -- Uniform -- Military Uniform

Occupation -- Military -- Soldier

Figure female -- Full length

State of Being -- Emotion -- Sorrow

Object -- Other -- Flag

Outdoor Sculpture -- Mississippi -- Laurel

Administered by Jones County, 415 North Fifth Avenue, P. O. Box 1468, Laurel, Mississippi 39441

Located Courthouse, 415 North Fifth Avenue, Lawn, Laurel, Mississippi 39441

On March 7, 1911, the County Board approved an allocation of $2,250 to erect the memorial at Laurel. Funding was also provided by George S. Gardiner's northern-financed lumber company and the Stephen D. Lee Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, bringing total funds $3,300. The U.D.C. contracted with McNeil Marble Works to provide the monument.

The monument was damaged in the late 1950s or early 1960s by a storm. The figure's rifle was broken and head damaged. A replacement wooden rifle was made in the 1980s by Homer Walters. IAS files contain transcript from Jones County (Mississippi) Board of Supervisors, Minute Book E, pg. 509; and excerpt from Walter Watkins, the Centennial Laurel Celebration Official Commemorative Book, 1982, pg. 9-10.

IAS files contain related clippings from Laurel Chronicle, March 14, 1912, pg. 2; March 28, 1912, pg. 1; and April 11, 1912, pg. 1-2. IAS files also contain brief explanation of Jones County's union and confederate stance in the Civil War. IAS files contain detailed dimensions for the memorial.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Mississippi survey, 1993.

Index of American Sculpture, University of Delaware, 1985.

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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