List of Confederate monuments and memorials in Alabama
Confederate monuments and memorials in Alabama
This is a list of Confederate monuments and memorials in Alabama that were established as public displays and symbols of the Confederate States of America (CSA), Confederate leaders, or Confederate soldiers of the American Civil War. Part of the commemoration of the American Civil War, these symbols include monuments and statues, flags, holidays and other observances, and the names of schools, roads, parks, bridges, counties, cities, lakes, dams, military bases, and other public works.[note 1]
This list does not include items which are largely historic in nature such as historic markers or battlefield parks if they were not established to honor the Confederacy. Nor does it include figures connected with the origins of the Civil War or white supremacy, but not with the Confederacy.
Monuments and memorials
As of 24 June 2020[update], there are at least 122 public spaces with Confederate monuments in Alabama.[2]
The 2017 Alabama Memorial Preservation Act was passed to require local governments to obtain state permission before removing Confederate monuments and memorials.[3][4][5]
State capitol
Confederate Memorial Monument, also known as the "Monument to Confederate Soldiers and Sailors" (1898).[6] On June 24, 2015, in the wake of the Charleston church shooting on June 17, 2015, on the order of Governor Robert J. Bentley, the four Confederate flags, and their poles, were removed.[7]
Jefferson Davis Presidential Star, marble portico (1897).[8] "Placed by the Sophie Bibb Chapter Daughters of the Confederacy on the Spot where Jefferson Davis Stood when Inaugurated President of the C.S.A. Feb. 18, 1861"[9]
John Allan Wyeth – M.D., L.L.D., marker. Fought in Confederate Army.[citation needed]
State symbols
Alabama Coat of Arms (1923) and the State Seal include the Confederate Battle Flag.
Alabama State Flag (1895) The Alabama Department of Archives and History found in 1915 that the flag was meant to "preserve in permanent form some of the more distinctive features of the Confederate battle flag, particularly the St. Andrew's cross."[11] According to historian John M. Coski, the adoption of Alabama's flag coincided with the rise of Jim Crow laws and segregation,[12] as other former Confederate slave states, such as Mississippi and Florida, also adopted new state flags based on Confederate designs around the same time when those states instituted Jim Crow segregation laws themselves:[12]
The Governor's version of the State Flag includes St Andrew's Cross plus the State Coat of Arms with the Confederate Battle Flag inclusion and the military crest on the bottom.
Anniston: Major John Pelham Monument, Quintard Avenue (1905) through the efforts of Clarence J. Owens, president of Anniston College for Young Ladies.[31] Removed in 2020.[32]
Confederate Monument (1910). The statue was toppled on July 16, 2016 when a policeman accidentally crashed his patrol car into the monument; the statue fell from its pedestal and was heavily damaged. In 2017, the Demopolis city council voted 3–2 to move the damaged Confederate statue to a local museum and to install a new obelisk memorial that honors both the Union and the Confederate soldiers.[34][35]
Breastworks Confederate Memorial (1941)
Confederate Square, as it was named in 1923 at the request of the UDC, remains the official name of the Demopolis Town Square.[36]
Eufaula: Confederate Monument (1905) by UDC, Barbour County Chapter[37]
Greenville: Butler County Confederate Memorial, "Our Confederate Dead", at Confederate Park (1903) by UDC of Butler County, Alabama, Father Ryan Chapter[42]
Hamilton: Confederate Veterans Bicentennial Memorial (1977)
Hayneville: Soldiers of Lowndes County Who Died in Service, Hayneville Town Square
Headland: Henry County Confederate Memorial (1936) by UDC, Headland Chapter No. 1673[43]
Huntsville: Confederate Soldier Memorial, erected near the Madison County Courthouse (1905) by UDC.[44] Moved to Maple Hill Cemetery in 2020.[45][46]
Jacksonville: Confederate Monument, Jacksonville Town Square (1909). Bears a quote from Jefferson Davis: "Let none of the survivors of these men offer in their behalf the penitential plea, 'They believed they were right.' Be it ours to transmit to posterity our unequivocal confidence in the righteousness of the cause for which these men died."[47]
UDC monument (1942) on Dexter Avenue: "Along this street moved the inaugural parade of Jefferson Davis when he took the oath of office as President of the Confederate States of America February 18, 1861. Dixie was played as a band arrangement for the first time on this occasion."[52]
Robert E. Lee statue, Robert E. Lee High School (1908)[53]
Munford: A. J. Buttram Monument (1914) by UDC, John Tyler Morgan Chapter[54]
Opelika: Confederate Monument (1911) by UDC, Robert E. Lee Chapter[55]
Memorial boulder marking The Selma Ordnance and Naval Foundry "destroyed by the Federals 1865," placed "in honor of the memory of hundreds of faithful men who made these great works a base for war material for the entire Confederate Army and Navy." (1917) Alabama Division United Daughters of Confederacy.[64]
"Arsenal Place" memorial (1931), marking the site of the Confederate ordnance works "destroyed by the Union Army April 6, 1865"
A memorial arch on the grounds of the Federal Building honors Confederate Generals and Senators John Tyler Morgan and Edmund Pettus
Old Live Oak Cemetery, a Selma city-owned property, incorporates various features including:
Jefferson Davis Memorial Chair – an inscribed stone chair
Confederate Memorial Circle (1878) Confederate Memorial Association[59]
The Nathan Bedford Forrest Bust Monument (2000). Built partly with city funds, sponsored by Friends of Forrest and UDC. It was first located at the Vaughan-Smitherman Museum, but during protest over Forrest's KKK links trash was dumped on it[65] and it was damaged during an apparent attempt to remove the bust from its foundation. It was then moved to the Cemetery's Confederate Circle. The bust was then stolen in 2012[66] and has not been recovered, despite a $20,000 reward; the present bust is a replacement.[67] The base is inscribed, under a Confederate flag: "Defender of Selma, Wizard of the Saddle, untutored genius, the first with the most. This monument stands as testament of our perpetual devotion and respect to Lt. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest, C.S.A., 1821-1877, one of the South's finest heroes. In honor of Gen. Forrest's unwavering defense of Selma, the great state of Alabama, and the Confederacy, this memorial is dedicated. Deo vindice."[68][69]
A Confederate Soldier Monument (pre-1881) with cannons protecting it
Confederate Armory. When Richmond was threatened by Union troops, the Confederacy moved its armory to Tallassee. It is the only Confederate armory to survive the war. Only the brick shell of the large building survives. There is a historical marker.[71]
Confederate Officers' Quarters, 301, 303 (demolished), 305, and 307 King Street. Made necessary by the relocation of the armory. After the Civil War, Confederate Brigadier-General Birkett Davenport Fry lived at 301 King Street until 1880. The building is currently used as a law firm office, but there is a historical marker.[72]
Troy: "Comrades" Confederate Monument (1908) Pike Monumental Association, UCV, and UDC of Pike County, Alabama[73]
Jacksonville: The Gallant Pelham Statue, Jacksonville City Cemetery (1905) by UDC, John H. Forney Chapter[47]
Mobile: Confederate Rest and Monument, Magnolia Cemetery (1874)[81]
Plattville: marker in front of Mulbry Grove Cottage, the "meeting place where the Prattville Dragoons, a Civil War unit, was organized in 1861.[82]
Talladega: Confederate Memorial. Oak Hill Cemetery[citation needed]
Tuscaloosa: Confederate Monument, Greenwood Cemetery (1880) by the Ladies Memorial Association[83]
Tuskegee: Tuskegee Confederate Monument, erected October 6, 1906 by UDC of Macon County, Alabama.[84] The UDC owns both the monument and the town park it is located in. There have been several unsuccessful attempts to tear it down or have it removed legally. As of 2018, the UDC has stopped removing spray-painted defacement, "because it would only be repeated".[85]
Union Springs: Confederate Monument, Old City Cemetery (The Confederate Cemetery) (1893) Ladies Memorial Association[86]
Marbury: Confederate Memorial Park. The site operated as the Old Soldiers Home for Confederate Veterans from 1902 to 1939. In 1964, the Alabama State Legislature established the memorial park, which now hosts a museum and archives[89]
The red and gray city flag includes a strip of stars from the Confederate Battle Flag.
Notes
^"In an effort to assist the efforts of local communities to re-examine these symbols, the SPLC launched a study to catalog them. For the final tally, the researchers excluded nearly 2,600 markers, battlefields, museums, cemeteries and other places or symbols that are largely historical in nature."[1]
References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Monuments and memorials of the Confederate States of America in Alabama.
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^Edgemon, Erin (2017-08-17). "AG files lawsuit against Birmingham over Confederate monument". AL.com. Retrieved 2017-09-01.
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^Jefferson Davis Star-Montgomery, Alabama. Waymarking.com. Accessed August 16, 2017
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^ abc"State of Alabama 2018 Official State Holidays" (PDF). Retrieved September 2, 2018.
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^iconions (Dec 12, 2012). Confederate Soldiers Memorial – Union Springs, AL Waymarking.com Accessed September 26, 2017
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^ ab"Confederate schools, mascots, and monuments around Alabama". AL.com. 2017-06-02. Retrieved 2017-08-30.
^"About The School / School Profile". www.lee.k12.al.us. Retrieved 4 September 2017.