Colonel C.B. Creasman Monument, Asheville
The monument consists of three pieces of white marble on a concrete foundation. The base is fifty inches by thirty inches by fourteen inches high. The middle tier with the name CREASMAN inscribed in large letters is thirty-seven inches by twenty inches by ten inches high. The distinctive element of the top block is bell shaped with a large letter C and the inscription beneath. The monument was relocated to the current location in the 1970’s. The concrete foundation appears to have been dug from the ground and the entire assembly simply placed next to Creasman’s gravestone giving the monument a greater height than when originally constructed. The total height as stands is approximate seven feet.
Images:
Front Inscription | Creasman's gravesite
Front: W.B. CREASMAN, / COL. 29TH N.C. / REGIMENT. / C.S.A.
Front base: CREASMAN
Bethel Baptist Church
November 8, 1905
35.611930 , -82.621430
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Butler, Douglas J. North Carolina Civil War Monuments, An Illustrated History, (Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc., 2013), 68-69, 76
Hardy, Michael C. “Three of Asheville’s Confederate Monuments,” Looking for North Carolina’s Civil War, (accessed June 4, 2015) Link
“Monuments to Mountain Heroes,” Daily Industrial News (Greensboro, NC), November 9, 1905
“Three Shafts Are Unveiled,” The Morning Post (Raleigh, NC), November 9, 1905
Yes
Marble, concrete
November 8, 1905 saw the unveiling of three monuments, all located on the grounds of the Buncombe County Courthouse. Last unveiled, the monument to the 60th NC Volunteers was draped in white and with eight ribbons hanging from the corners and held by eight little girls; grandchildren of regiment veterans. As the crowd sang, “In the Sweet Bye and Bye” the covering was removed. The monument to Colonel William B. Creasman had been unveiled first by either his descendants or grandchildren of soldiers from his unit the 29th NC Regiment. Next unveiled by members of the Robert E. Lee Chapter, Children of the Confederacy was the obelisk to General Thomas L. Clingman.
Due to poor weather the crowd was then moved inside the courthouse. The keynote address by Governor Robert B. Glenn was to “honor the memory of the brave men who carried the cross barred flag furthest in battle line.” (See subject notes).County Commissioner (later governor) Locke Craig accepted the monuments on behalf of the county with an “eloquent tribute to the soldiers.” Other notables present included Captain J.P. Harvey of Asheville and Colonel James M. Ray, acting commander of the 60th Regiment at Chickamauga. The event concluded with a benediction by Bishop A. Coke Smith. During the ceremony a collection was taken up to help complete payment of the Clingman and Creasman memorials. About 1,500 people were in attendance.
This was the first and only time in state history that multiple Civil War monuments were dedicated in a single event. Efforts to erect a monument to Colonel Creasman seem to have been initiated by his family and most news reports prior to dedication day only mention the 60th NC Regiment monument and General Clingman Monument.
The phrase “First at Bethel; farthest to the front at Gettysburg and Chickamauga; Last at Appomattox,” is known as North Carolina’s “Rebel Boast.” In a famous Confederate charge at the battle of Chickamauga on September 20, 1863 it was the 60th NC that reached the furthest point which brought fame to the unit and inclusion in the boast.
The monument is located in the Bethel Baptist Church Cemetery, 125 Dryman Mountain Rd., Asheville, NC. It stands behind and to the left of Creasman’s gravestone facing southeast.
The memorial is surrounded by graveyards.
Yes
The monument originally sited in front of the Buncombe County courthouse at Pack Square in downtown Asheville. It stood near the Thomas L. Clingman Monument (relocated in 1970s) and the Monument to 60th Regt. NC Volunteers. All three memorial s were dedicated on the same day, November 8, 1905.
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