Muscogee County Confederate Monument, (sculpture).

Muscogee County Confederate Monument, (sculpture).

Grier, Thomas J., sculptor.

Muldoon and Karnes, fabricator.

Muscogee County Confederate Monument, (sculpture).

Dedicated April 26, 1879 or May 6, 1879. Obelisk installed June 1879.

Digital Reference:

Sculpture: marble and concrete; Base: granite.

Sculpture: approx. W. 5 ft. 4 1/4 in. x D. 5 ft. 4 1/4 in.; Base: approx. 4 ft. 3 in. x 20 ft. 6 in. x 20 ft. 6 in.

(On north side of base, raised lettering:) (Around insignia:) THE CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA/22 FEBRUARY, 1862/DEO VERDICE (Below:) OUR CONFEDERATE DEAD (On east side of base:) (Raised lettering:) IN MEMORIAM. (Incised lettering:) "NO TRUTH IS LOST FOR WHICH THE/TRUE ARE WEEPING NOR DEAD FOR/WHICH THEY DIED." (On west side of base:) (Raised lettering:) HONOR/TO THE BRAVE (Incised lettering:) "GATHER THE SACRED DUST,/OF WARRIORS TRIED AND TRUE,/WHO BORE THE FLAG OF OUR NATIONS TRUST,/AND FELL IN THE CAUSE THO' LOST, STILL JUST/AND DIED FOR ME AND YOU." (On south side of base:) (Raised lettering:) THEIR GLORY/SHALL/NOT BE FORGOTTEN (Incised lettering:) ERECTED/BY THE LADIES OF THE MEMORIAL/ASSOCIATION MAY 1879./TO HONOR THE CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS/WHO DIED/TO REPEL UNCONSTITUTIONAL INVASION TO/PROTECT THE RIGHT RESERVED TO THE PEO/PLE AND TO PERPETUATE FOREVER THE/SOVEREIGNTY OF THE/STATES. unsigned

A marble obelisk topped by a funeral urn, and draped with a tasseled Confederate flag. The obelisk is set upon a graduated marble base. The front of the lower base is decorated with cannon and cannon balls in low relief, seals of the University of Georgia and State of Georgia; and a relief medallion, featuring a soldier on horseback pointing his proper right arm forward; a sword hanging at his proper left side. Seven granite steps lead up to the memorial on all sides.

History -- United States -- Civil War

Object -- Other -- Vase

Emblem -- Military Insignia

Outdoor Sculpture -- Georgia -- Columbus

Decorative arts

Administered by City of Columbus, Park Services, 1400 Cusseta Road, Columbus, Georgia 31993

Located Salisbury Park, 700 block of Broadway, Columbus, Georgia

The memorial cost $5,000 and its cornerstone was laid April 14, 1879. The memorial was erected by the Ladies Memorial Association of Muscogee County in honor of the Confederate dead. Although the shaft had arrived by April of 1879, it was not yet in place in time for the dedication ceremonies reported held in April or May of 1879. The shaft was not installed until June 1879. In 1881, the granite steps were added to the memorial, to give it more height. For many years, the shaft was decorated annually with red and white bunting.

IAS files contain excerpt from Ralph W. Widener's "Confederate Monuments: Enduring Symbols of the South and the War Between the States," Washington, D.C.: Andromeda Associates, 1982, pg. 50, which list May 8, 1879 as dedication date; and excerpt from Frank M. McKenney's "The Standing Army," Alpharetta, G.A.: W.H. Wolfe Associates, 1993, pg. 88-91, which reports dedication date as April 26, 1879. IAS files also contain excerpt from Isabell Smith Buzzett's "Confederate Monuments in Georgia," Atlanta: Atlanta Chapter No. 18, United Daughters of the Confederacy, 1984.

For further reading see Columbus Daily Enquirer-Sun, April 15, 22, 26, 30, 1879; and Macon Telegraph & Messenger, April 17, 1878 and April 14, 1879.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Georgia survey, 1994.

McKenney, Frank M., "The Standing Army," Alpharetta, G.A.: W.H. Wolfe Associates, 1993, pg. 89.

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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