Wilkes County Confederate Monument, (sculpture).

Wilkes County Confederate Monument, (sculpture).

McNeel Marble Works, fabricator.

Wilkes County Confederate Monument, (sculpture).

Confederate Soldiers Monument, (sculpture).

Installed 1908. Dedicated April 27, 1908 or April 26, 1909.

Digital Reference:

Sculpture: granite; Base: granite.

Sculpture: approx. 25 ft. x 4 ft. 4 in. x 4 ft. 4 in.; Base: approx. 1 ft. 6 in. x 7 ft. 10 in. x 8 in.

(On front of base:) ERECTED/ANNO DOMINI 1908/BY THE/"LAST CABINET"/CHAPTER/UNITED/DAUGHTERS OF THE CONFEDERACY,/LADIES/MEMORIAL ASSOCIATION,/AND/SONS OF VETERANS./A TRIBUTE/OF ABIDING LOVE/FOR OUR/CONFEDERATE HEROES./CSA/1861-1865 (On left side of base:) "ON FAME'S ETERNAL CAMPING GROUND/THEIR SILENT TENTS ARE SPREAD,/AND GLORY GUARDS WITH SOLEMN ROUND/THE BIVOUAC OF THE DEAD." (On rear of base:) "LORD GOD OF HOSTS BE WITH US YET,/LEST WE FORGET-LEST WE FORGET." (On right side of base:) MEN OF WILKES!/KNOW THROUGH ALL TIME THAT THEY/FOUGHT TO MAINTAIN A JUST UNION;/TO DEFEND CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT;/TO PERPETUATE AMERICAN LIBERTIES,/AND LEFT YOU THEIR PATIENT SPIRIT. unsigned

High atop a granite obelisk a Civil War soldier stands in uniform holding his gun in a vertical position in front of him. With proper left hand on top of his proper right hand, he holds the tip of the gun barrel as the butt rests on the ground. He carries a blanket roll strapped across his torso over a hip-length jacket with a belt. Attached to the belt at his proper left side is a scabbard. A pouch is at his proper left rear. His hat is pushed up from his forehead to reveal wavy hair. The obelisk is decorated with stars and geometric designs, and a Confederate flag is engraved on the front and rear. The obelisk rests on three rough-hewn steps.

History -- United States -- Civil War

Figure male -- Full length

Occupation -- Military -- Soldier

Dress -- Uniform -- Military Uniform

Outdoor Sculpture -- Georgia -- Washington

Administered by Wilkes County, Street Department, P. O. Box 9, Washington, Georgia 30673

Located Wilkes County Courthouse, Washington, Georgia

The sculpture cost $2,500 and is a tribute to the Confederate soldiers of Wilkes County. The sculpture project was sponsored jointly by the "Last Cabinet" Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, the Wilkes County Ladies Memorial Association, and the Sons of Confederate Veterans.

IAS files contain excerpts from Frank M. McKenney's "The Standing Army," Alpharetta, GA: W. H. Wolfe Associates, 1993, pg. 128-129 (which lists the dedication date as April 27, 1908); Ralph W. Widener's "Confederate Monuments: Enduring Symbols of the South and the War Between the States," Washington, D. C.: Andromeda Associates, 1982, pg. 81 (which lists the dedication date as April 26, 1909); Isabell Smith Buzzett's "Confederate Monuments of Georgia," Atlanta: Atlanta Chapter No. 18, United Daughters of the Confederacy, 1984, pg. 48; and an excerpt from a compilation by the writers' program of the Works Progress Administration of the State of Georgia, entitled "The Story of Washington-Wilkes," Athens: UGA Press, 1941, pg. 80-81.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Georgia survey, 1994.

Widener, Ralph W., "Confederate Monuments: Enduring Symbols of the South and the War Between the States," Washington, D. C.: Andromeda Associates, 1982, pg. 81.

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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