Crisp County Confederate Monument, (sculpture).

Crisp County Confederate Monument, (sculpture).

Consolidated Marble Company, fabricator.

Crisp County Confederate Monument, (sculpture).

Installed 1911. Dedicated April 26, 1911. Relocated late 1940s.

Sculpture: granite; Base: granite.

Sculpture: approx. 25 x 6 1/2 x 6 1/2 ft.; Base: approx. 32 in. x 9 ft. x 9 ft.

(On front of base:) (Incised lettering:) 1861-1865 (Raised lettering:) THE/CONFEDERATE/PRIVATE SOLDIER. (Incised lettering:) "HE SPRANG INTO BATTLE-LINE TO DEFEND HIS INVADED COUNTRY./HE WON MARVELOUS VICTORIES; HE SUFFERED NO DISCREDITABLE DEFEAT;/HE NEVER ABUSED A TRIUMPH, AND NEVER LOST FORTITUDE IN THE HOUR OF DISASTER; (On rear of base:) (Raised lettering:) ERECTED BY/CORDELE CHAPTER/NO. 793 U. D. C. (Incised lettering:) 1911/"AMID THE CONFEDERATE LIGHTS AND SHADOWS CAST UPON THE HISTORIC CANVAS,/WE TRACE NO SEMBLANCE OF DISHONOR, TO SUGGESTION OF THOUGHT OR ACT/UNWORTHY OF THE LOFTIEST ASPIRATION AND THE BRAVEST ENDEAVOR." unsigned

A Civil War soldier stands dressed in a wide-brimmed hat and casual clothing. He holds his rifle with his proper right hand alongside his body, rifle butt to the ground. His proper right leg leans against a tree stump behind him. The sculpture is mounted atop a shaft with a tapered bottom set upon two steps. Around the base of the shaft, low relief designs depict: on the front, a Confederate flag; on the rear, three crossed rifles; on the left side, crossed sabres; and on the right side, crossed cannon barrels. A ribbon and swag drape around all sides. There were originally concrete balls signifying cannon balls resting on the base.

History -- United States -- Civil War

Figure male -- Full length

Occupation -- Military -- Soldier

Dress -- Uniform -- Military Uniform

Outdoor Sculpture -- Georgia -- Cordele

Administered by United Daughters of the Confederacy, Cordele Chapter, 416 5th Avenue East, Cordele, Georgia 31015

Located Community Clubhouse, Corner of 16th Avenue & 7th Street, Cordele, Georgia 31015

Formerly located Corner of 7th Street & 12th Avenue, Cordele, Georgia

The idea for the memorial originated in 1906; and the city approved the site for memorial in 1908. The memorial was erected at a cost of $2,500-$3,000, by the Cordele Chapter No. 793, United Daughters of the Confederacy, in honor of the private Confederate soldiers from Crisp County. It was originally placed at the highest point in Cordele, the corner of 7th Street and 12th Avenue, and dedicated on Confederate Memorial Day, April 26, 1911. During the late 1940s, when the sculpture became a traffic hazard, it was moved to its present site, the lawn of the Community Clubhouse at 7th Street and 16th Avenue. The cornerstone of the memorial reportedly contains a copper time capsule.

IAS files contain related excerpts from Isabell Smith Buzzett's "Confederate Monuments in Georgia," Atlanta: Atlanta Chapter No. 18, United Daughters of the Confederacy, 1984, pg. 12; Frank M. McKenney's "The Standing Army," Alpharetta, G.A.: W.H. Wolfe Associates, 1993, pg. 46; and Ralph W. Widener's "Confederate Monuments: Enduring Symbols of the South and the War Between the States," Washington, D.C.: Andromeda Associates, 1982. IAS files contain clippings from a Cordele, Georgia newspaper, April 21, 1911; and from The Area Locator/Greater Cordele Area (May/June 1989): pg. 14.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Georgia 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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