House of Memory, Oakwood Cemetery, Raleigh
The House of Memory is a stone pavilion, 22 feet by 38 feet, that sits in the Oakwood Cemetery. It is in the Gothic style and houses 12 tablets on the interior walls with dedications to North Carolina's participation in every war from the Revolutionary War to World War I. Three new plaques were added in 1960 (WWII and Korean War) and 1970 (Vietnam War).
Images: Front Entrance | Left Entrance | Right Entrance | Back Entrance |
Bench 1 |
Bench 2 |
Bench 3
THE HOUSE OF MEMORY / A MEMORIAL / TO THE SOLDIERS AND SAILORS / OF NORTH CAROLINA WHO SERVED HER IN TIME OF WAR ON LAND AND SEA
Image
This Memorial Pavilion / built in memory of the / North Carolina soldiers and sailors / living and dead / will commemorate the valor of men / who true to the instincts of their birth, / faithful to the teachings of their fathers, / fought, believing their cause just, / in the following wars: / Revolutionary War; War of 1812; / Mexican War; War Between the States; / Spanish-American War; World War. / "the soldier of the South takes his place / in the World's Legion of Honor" / Erected by the / North Carolina Division / United Daughters of the Confederacy; Sponsored by / the General James Johnston Pettigrew / Chapter U. D. C. / Raleigh, North Carolina / Mrs. Alfred Williams, Chairman.
Image
NORTH CAROLINA / in the / REVOLUTIONARY WAR/ 1775-1783 / In memory of the more than / 25,000 North Carolina soldiers and sailors / who helped with American Independence / Memorializing especially the six regiments / which supported General/ Washington at the Battles of Brandy / Wine and Germantown, enduring with him / the hardships and privations of the memorable / winter of 1777-1778 at Valley Forge / Commemorating also the decisive Battles/ of Moore’s Creek Bridge, King’s Mountain, / Guilford Court House, and other Battles / in which North Carolina fought / This tablet is erected / by the / North Carolina Society / of the/ Daughters of the Revolution
Image
NORTH CAROLINA / in the / AMERICAN REVOLUTION / 1775-1783 / In memory of the North Carolina Patriots / whose heroism and sacrifice contributed / signally to the achievement / of American Independence. / North Carolina offered armed resistance / to the Stamp Act in 1776. / On May 20, 1775, / the Mecklenburg Declaration / of Independence was signed. / This act combined with / the Halifax Resolution of April 12, 1776, / made North Carolina the first Colony / to declare Independence / from the Crown / On battlefields from New York to Georgia,/ the sons of North Carolina / served and suffered and died / for Victory and Freedom. / THE NATIONAL SOCIETY / DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION/ of North Carolina / 1937
Image
In Memory / of that Silent Legion / of Soldiers and Sailors / who laid down their lives / in the War of 1812, / Mexican War/ and Spanish American War. / In the war of 1812 / North Carolina met its quota / of Seven Thousand Volunteers. / In the War with Mexico (1846-1848) / more than three times the quota volunteered. / In 1898 / in the Spanish American War, / North Carolina was among the first / to volunteer with three Regiments/and its First Regiment were among / the first American soldiers / to land in Cuba.
Image
In this / Confederate Cemetery / Lie more than 2800 soldiers/ who gave their lives / for the Confederate cause. / From North Carolina, 2,000; South Carolina, 46 / Georgia, 44; Alabama, 8 / Mississippi, 8; Virginia, 4;/ Florida, 2; Arkansas, 1; Louisiana, 1; / Tennessee, 2; Texas, 1;/ Three form the Confederate Navy; / 124 Removed from Gettysburg in 1871; 108 from / Arlington in 1883; / 388 from Pettigrew Hospital Cemetery; / 106 Unknown dead. / “We care not whence they came / Dear in their lifeless clay / whether unknown or known to fame / Their cause and country sill the same / They died—and wore the Gray.”
Image
NORTH CAROLINA / IN THE WAR/ BETWEEN THE STATES / 1861-1865 / Seceded May 20, 1861 / North Carolina sent 127,000 / to this war from a military population of 115,369 / furnishing 84 regiments and / 20 Battalions thus supplying / more than one fifth of the / 600,000 men in the / Confederate Army / Of General Lee’s 124 Regiments / 24 were from North Carolina. / Total number of lives lost / in the Confederate Army / was 74, 524 / of these 19,643 from / North Carolina.
Image
FIRST AT BETHEL / FARTHEST TO THE FRONT / AT GETTYSBURG AND CHICKAMAUGA / AND LAST AT APPOMATTOX / The twenty-sixth North Carolina Regiment / suffered at Gettysburg the / heaviest loss in killed and wounded of any regiment on / either side in any battle/ of the war. / At Chickamauga, the Sixtieth Regiment / of North Carolina troops / advanced farthest into the / enemy’s lines. / At Appomattox, Major Gen’l / Bryan Grimes of North Carolina / planned and led the last battle / fought by the Army of Northern Virginia. / The North Carolina Brigade of / Brigadier Gen’l William R. Cox / Fired the last volley,/ April 9, 1865.
Image
NORTH CAROLINA / IN THE LAST YEAR / OF THE WAR / Largely due to the efforts of / Zebulon Baird Vance, / Governor of North Carolina / from 1862-1865, / this state contributed large / sums of money and supplies / to the Confederate Cause,/ besides supporting her own troops / throughout the entire war. / records show that for many months/ previous to the Surrender, / General’s Lee’s army had been almost / entirely fed from North Carolina. / Through Wilmington, the/ last Confederate port/ to be closed,/ were imported materials which/ were the chief source of supply / to the Southern Armies.
Image
IN MEMORY OF / THE PRIVATE SOLDIERS / OF THE CONFEDERACY / And the army of Unknown Dead / who died in Northern prisons / and are buried far from home / and kindred. / “Not for fame, not for wealth, / not for renown, nor goaded by/ necessity, nor lured by ambition, / but in simple obedience to duty, / these men suffered all, sacrificed / all, dared all, and died.” / Furl that Banner, softly, slowly! / Treat it gently—it is holy— / For it droops above the dead. / Touch it not—unfold it never, / Let it droop there, furled forever, / For its people’s hopes are dead!
Image
NORTH CAROLINA / IN THE WORLD WAR / April 6, 1917—November 11, 1938 / North Carolina sent more than / 85,000 Soldiers, sailors and Nurses / to the poser of the United States / which turned the tide of victory / in the World War. / Of these nearly / 2,500 North Carolinians made the supreme sacrifice / for their country. / the 30th (Old Hickory) Division, / Composed of troops from North Carolina, / South Carolina, and Tennessee,. Helped break the Hindenburg Line. / In proud and loving remembrance / of their Sons and Daughters / who answered their country’s call/ service on Land and Sea/ and in the Air / during the World War. / This tablet is erected by / The American War Mothers of North Carolina / 1937
Image
To the Mothers / of North Carolina/ Soldiers and Sailors / Whose loving ministrations / in all the Wars of our Country / sustained them/ under every privation and suffering, / at home/ in Hospitals / and on the field of Battle. / Whose fortitude/ and unselfish labor/ contributed much/ to supply the wants / of their defenders in the field. / Who gave up the dearest treasures / of their lives / and bore the Martyr’s cross / In Freedom’s Name
Image
To the / Confederate Women of / North Carolina / who nursed the wounded to health / and soothed the last hours / of the dying. / Whose unwavering faith / in their Cause / showed ever a guiding star / through the perils and disasters of war. / And whose patriotism/ has taught their descendants / to emulate the noble spirit / of their fathers. / Erected by / The Children of the Confederacy / of the / North Carolina Division U. D. C.
Image
IN MEMORY / OF THE / NORTH CAROLINIANS / WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES / IN / WORLD WAR II / ERECTED / BY THE / NORTH CAROLINA DIVISION / OF THE / UNITED DAUGHTERS OF / THE CONFEDERACY / 1960
Image
IN MEMORY / OF THE / NORTH CAROLINIANS / WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES / IN /THE KOREAN WAR / ERECTED / BY THE / NORTH CAROLINA DIVISION / OF THE / UNITED DAUGHTERS OF / THE CONFEDERACY / 1960
Image
IN MEMORY / OF THE / NORTH CAROLINIANS / WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES / IN /THE VIETNAM WAR / ERECTED / BY THE / NORTH CAROLINA DIVISION / OF THE / UNITED DAUGHTERS OF / THE CONFEDERACY / 1970
Image
Historic Oakwood Cemetery & Mausoleum
October 15, 1936
35.785030 , -78.628010
View in Geobrowse
"U.D.C. Dedicate Memorial In Confederate Cemetery," The News and Observer (Raleigh, NC), October16, 1936
Borden, Sidney, Steven Chickos, and Daniel Jourdan. "The Korean War: North Carolina's Commemoration of the 'Forgotten War'," uploaded February 4, 2014, YouTube, (accessed February 4, 2014) Link
Smith, Blanche Lucas. North Carolina's Confederate Monuments and Memorials, (Raleigh, NC: North Carolina Division of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, 1941)
Williams, Charlotte Bryan Grimes. History of the Wake County Ladies Memorial Association: Confederate Memorials in Capitol Square, Memorial Pavilion, the House of Memory and Confederate Cemetery, (Raleigh, NC: United Daughters of the Confederacy, Johnston Pettigrew Chapter No. 95, 1938), (accessed May 16, 2012) Link
“Historic Oakwood Cemetery,” historicoakwoodcemetery.org, (accessed Feb. 4, 2019) Link
Yes
Wake County stone, limestone, multicolored Beaver Creek stone, oak beams
United Daughters of the Confederacy, General James Johnston Pettigrew Chapter
Address given by Dr. Frank P. Graham, then president of the University of North Carolina
The House of Memory was an idea conceived by Charlotte Williams, and efforts were made to build the monument since 1917. The purpose of the House of Memory is to honor the lives of North Carolina veterans spanning the period from the Revolutionary War to World War I.
Historic Oakwood Cemetery was founded in 1869 in North Carolina's capital, Raleigh, near the North Carolina State Capitol in the city's Historic Oakwood neighborhood. Annual Confederate Memorial Day services are held at the Oakwood Cemetery each May.
The memorial is located in Historic Oakwood Cemetery, at 701 Oakwood Ave, Raleigh, NC 27601, in the Confederate section of Oakwood Cemetery. Behind the House of Memory are located graves of deceased veterans, and the House has a path as well as steps leading to the entrance. It is located west of the Confederate cemetery. Memorial Arch, Gettysburg Memorial, Confederate Monument, Colonel McLeod Turner Monument, Col. Burgwyn Monument, General George Anderson Monument, CSS H.L. Hunley Submarine Memorial, Randolph Shotwell Memorial, Arlington Dead Marker, the Memorial Wall, and the Civil War Sesquicentennial Marker stand in the same section of the Oakwood Cemetery. Outside the Confederate section are memorials to Worth Bagley and William Ruffin Cox.
The pavilion stands west of the Confederate section of the Oakwood Cemetery on a sloping terrace, surrounded by graves of North Carolina's Confederate dead.
Yes
The United Daughters of the Confederacy would hold a Confederate Memorial Day celebration at the pavilion in honor of deceased veterans after May 10, 1935.
Charlotte Williams led the effort to commemorate the deceased veterans. Although the date of inception was 1917, nothing happened until 1929 when Williams spoke to the North Carolina division of the United Daughters of the Confederacy annual convention with a proposal for the memorial. The members took a vote and approved the plan to begin collecting funds for the memorial. Williams had originally attempted to seek funds from the legislature in 1917, but the attempt was unsuccessful. The cornerstone was not laid until May 10, 1935 as the Great Depression delayed acquiring funds for the project. The final three tablets were dedicated on September 17, 1938.
Know anything else about this monument that isn't mentioned here? If you have additional information on
this or any other monument in our collection fill out the form at the Contact Us link in the footer. Thank you.
