Confederate Soldier Monument, Reidsville
A marble statue of a uniformed Confederate soldier stands erect while resting the butt of his rifle on the base of the sculpture. The base of the sculpture contains inscriptions on all four sides as well as an inscription of two crossed flags below the letters C.S.A.
Front: TO THE / CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS / OF / ROCKINGHAM COUNTY
Right: GOD BLESS NORTH CAROLINA / R. E. LEE / LET POSTERITY LEARN THEIR/ TRUE STORY AND FOREVER / PONDER THEIR PATRIOTIC DEVOTION
Left: AT THEIR COUNTRY’S CALL THEY / SPRANG TO HER DEFENSE; / AND ON THE ALTAR OF CIVIL LIBERTY / OFFERED AS A SACRIFICE / THEIR PROPERTY AND THEIR LIVES
Rear: TRUE AS THE STEEL OF THEIR / TIRED BLADES. / HEROS IN HEART AND HAND, / THEY FOUGHT LIKE BRAVE MEN, / LONG AND WELL.
June 29, 1910
36.361580 , -79.664270
"Memorial to Confederate Soldiers, Reidsville, NC," Waymarking.com, (accessed May 12, 2012) Link
"Monument and Post Office, Reidsville, N.C." in Durwood Barbour Collection of North Carolina Postcards (P077), North Carolina Collection Photographic Archives, Wilson Library, UNC-Chapel Hill Link
"Monument and Post Office, Reidsville, N.C." in Durwood Barbour Collection of North Carolina Postcards (P077), North Carolina Collection Photographic Archives, Wilson Library, UNC-Chapel Hill Link
"North Carolina Civil War Monuments," North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources, (accessed January 23, 2012) Link
"Rebel Monument Loses its Place in Reidsville" The Reidsville Review (Riedsville, NC), August 11, 2011 (accessed December 5, 2011) Link
Confederate Veteran 18 (1910), 424 Link
Battaglia, Danielle. "HPAC, SCV File Lawsuit Against Reidsville," Godanriver.com, April 3, 2012 (accessed May 11, 2012) Link
Battaglia, Danielle. "Reidsville Rings in the Holiday Season with Christmas Parade," Godanriver.com, November 23, 2011 (accessed December 5, 2011) Link
Dolan, Mary. "Reidsville Confederate Celebration Small, Peaceful," Godanriver.com, July 1, 2010, (accessed February 3, 2011) Link
Ewing, J. Brian. "Century-old Debate is Brought to a Head," The News and Record (Greensboro, NC), May 24, 2011, (accessed December 5, 2011) Link
United Daughters of the Confederacy, North Carolina Division. Minutes of the Fourteenth Annual Convention of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, North Carolina Division, Held at Rocky Mount N.C., October 12th, 13th, 14th 1910, [Raleigh, NC: Capital Printing Co., 1910], 27, 96, 110, (accessed September 3, 2012) Link
Williams, Mrs. Rodney P. "Rockingham County Chapter #0586," in United Daughters of the Confederacy, (Paducah: Turner Publishing Company, 1999), 31, (accessed February 8, 2012) Link
Yes
Marble
United Daughters of the Confederacy, Rockingham County Chapter #586
$2,116
The crowd sang "America" at the 1910 unveiling of the monument. Speeches were given by H. R. Scott, Mayor Fancis Womack, Mr. E.R. Harris of the Scales Boyd Camp of the United Confederate Veterans, and Cyrus B. Watson.
As with many Confederate monuments, the continued presence of the statue is a point of contention within the community. After a car accident destroyed the monument, some residents celebrated its removal, while others demanded its replacement. There was some confusion over who actually owned the monument; Reidsville and the North Carolina Division of the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) decided not to return a repaired sculpture to the original location in front of the library. Local groups formed, some opposing a new monument and others calling for a replacement. Organizations for and against replacing the monument participated in the 2011 Reidsville Christmas parade.
In December of 2011, the UDC announced its intent to repair the monument and relocate it to the nearby Greenview Cemetery. The newly formed Historic Preservation Action Committee and the North Carolina Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) filed a lawsuit against the city of Reidsville, the North Carolina Department of Transportation, the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources, and the United Daughters of the Confederacy; the lawsuit claims the monument to be public property and demands the return of the statue to its original location. Adding to the confusion, some members of the local branch of the UDC have also sided with the SCV instead of the state leadership.
The monument faces South.
The monument is located in the center of the traffic circle at the intersection of W. Morehead St. and N. Scales St. in Reidsville. It is surrounded by a circular bed of flowers and a circular brick sidewalk.
On May 23, 2011, a car struck the monument after the driver fell asleep. The statue was shattered. As of April 2012, a new statue is planned by the United Daughters of the Confederacy in nearby Greenview Cemetery.
The 100th anniversary celebration of the monument's creation was held on July 1, 2010.
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