Confederate Monument, Pittsboro
C. J Harlin, Durham (N.C.) Marble Works, Supplier
A bronze statue of a Confederate soldier stands erect atop a marble pedestal. He is clad in a Confederate uniform, complete with hat, and holds his rifle in front of him, its butt rusting on the ground. The monument stands 27 feet tall.
Front: TO THE CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS OF CHATHAM COUNTY / OUR CONFEDERATE HEROES
Side: THIS MONUMENT IS THE GIFT OF THOSE WHO / RESERVE THE MEMORY OF THE CONFEDERATE / SOLDIER. ERECTED UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE WINNIE / DAVIS CHAPTER OF THE DAUGHTERS OF THE / CONFEDERACY. MRS. H.A. LONDON / PRESIDENT / AUG. 23 1907.
Rear: CHATHAM FURNISHED 1900 / SOLDIERS TO THE CONFEDERACY / ABOUT 14-50 ENLISTED IN THE FOLL- / OWING COMPANIES ORGANIZED IN THIS / COUNTY / CO. I-32 REGIMENT / E 26 / G 26 / D 35 / E 44 / G 48 / D 61 / E 63 / G 63 / H 70 D 49 / ABOUT 450 SONS OF THE CHATHAM ENLISTED IN COMPANIES / ORGANIZED IN OTHER COUNTIES.
Chatham County
August 23, 1907
35.720510 , -79.177160
"Chatham County Confederate Monument," Waymarking.com, (accessed February 4, 2011) Link
"[Old Court House, Chatham County]," in the Durwood Barbour Collection of North Carolina Postcards (#P077), North Carolina Photographic Archives, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Link
Confederate Veteran 15 (1907), 504 Link
United Daughters of the Confederacy, North Carolina Division. Minutes of the Tenth Annual Convention of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, North Carolina Division, Held at Durham, N.C., October 10th, 11th and 12th 1906, (Newton, NC: Enterprise Job Print., 1907), 70-71, (accessed August 29, 2012) Link
United Daughters of the Confederacy, North Carolina Division. Minutes of the Twenty-Fifth Annual Convention of the United Daughters of the Confederacy North Carolina Division, Held at Winston-Salem, North Carolina, October 25, 26, 27, 1921 (Gastonia, N.C.: Brumley-Walters Printing Co.), 147, (accessed September 15, 2012) Link
United Daughters of the Confederacy, North Carolina Division. Minutes of the Twenty-Fifth Annual Convention of the United Daughters of the Confederacy North Carolina Division, Held at Winston-Salem, North Carolina, October 25, 26, 27, 1921 (Gastonia, N.C.: Brumley-Walters Printing Co., 1922), 145, (accessed September 15, 2012) Link
United Daughters of the Confederacy, North Carolina Division. Minutes of the Twenty-Sixth Annual Convention of the United Daughters of the Confederacy North Carolina Division, Held at Wilmington, North Carolina, October 10, 11, 12, 13, 1922 Silver Anniversary (Raleigh, N.C.: Edwards & Broughton Printing Company, 1923), 141, (accessed September 15, 2012) Link
Yes
Mount Airy Granite
Winnie Davis Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy
North Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice Walter Clark was the orator and was introduced by Mr. Henry London. The statue was presented by Mrs. H. A. London and received by Lieutenant O. A. Hanner. Colonel John R. Lane served as Chief Marshall for the occasion.
Some people in Chatham want the monument removed from the courthouse, or destroyed. They contend it promotes racism and commemorates the slave-holding South. Others defend it as a reminder of historical events and of local heritage.
The monument stands directly in front of the Chatham Country Courthouse steps.
Children make a game of tossing bottle caps from the balcony of the courthouse and seeing if they can get them to stay on the soldier’s hat.
Mrs. Henry A. London wrote 1600 letters during a 3 ½ year period campaigning to get the statue.
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