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Commemorative Landscapes of North Carolina
Commemorative Landscapes of North Carolina
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  • Monument Name

    Gettysburg Memorial, Oakwood Cemetery, Raleigh

  • Type

    Marker

  • Subjects

    Civil War, 1861-1865

  • City

    Raleigh

  • County

    Wake

  • Description

    The monument is composed of two rectangular granite stones which stand upright on a horizontal granite base. The stone on the left has a dark polished surface with an engraving of a picture of five Confederate soldiers in battle, with a wounded soldier kneeling in front of the others and pointing toward something. The soldier in the rear carries the Confederate Flag, waving above the soldiers' heads. The Latin motto from the Great Seal of the Confederacy appears in the inscription - "Deo Vindice" - and is translated as "God Will Vindicate." The shorter, light granite stone on the right bears an inscription commemorating those who died at Gettysburg. It also commemorates Dr. Rufus Weaver who was in charge of removing and organizing the remains the dead at Gettysburg. A version of the Great Seal of the Confederacy is inscribed on the rear of the shorter stone, with a wreath, the initials "CSA" ("Confederate States of America") and the Latin motto.

  • Inscription

    Front, stone on right: HERE REST THE REMAINS OF / 137 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS / KILLED IN ACTION OR MORTALLY WOUNDED / DURING THE GETTYSBURG CAMPAIGN. / THESE MEN REPRESENT THE / APPROXIMATELY 1,600 NORTH CAROLINIANS / WHO FELL DURING THE CAMPAIGN. / NORTH CAROLINIANS ACCOUNTED FOR ONE-THIRD OF THE / TOTAL CONFEDERATE DEAD AT GETTYSBURG. / THESE SOLDIERS WERE REINTERRED / TO THIS LOCATION IN 1871 / UNDER THE CARE OF THE / WAKE COUNTY LADIES MEMORIAL ASSOCIATION / IN COOPERATION WITH / DR. RUFUS WEAVER OF PENNSYLVANIA. / GETTYSBURG

    Front, stone on left: THOUGH MEN DESERVE, THEY MAY NOT ACHIEVE SUCCESS: / THE BRAVE WILL HONOR THE BRAVE, VANQUISHED NONE THE LESS. / DEO VINDICE

    Rear: CSA / DEO VINDICE

  • Custodian

    Oakwood Cemetery

  • Dedication Date

    May 4, 1997

  • Decade

    1990s

  • Geographic Coordinates

    35.784930 , -78.627120 View in Geobrowsemap pin

  • Supporting Sources

      "Confederate Memorial Day Service," PRNewswire.com, last modified April 25, 1997 Link

      Historic Oakwood Cemetery, http://historicoakwoodcemetery.org (accessed May 19, 2021) Link

  • Public Site

    Yes

  • Materials & Techniques

    Granite

  • Sponsors

    Sons of Confederate Veterans, North Carolina Chapter

  • Monument Dedication and Unveiling

    A dedication was planned for May 4, 1997 at Oakwood Cemetery in the Confederate section. Michael Taylor of Albemarle, N.C. was scheduled as the guest speaker. Planting of a tree seeded from an oak tree on Seminary Ridge in Gettysburg was planned.

  • Subject Notes

    The Battle of Gettysburg was fought on July 1-3, 1853. Seminary Ridge was the site of fighting on July 1, 1863.

    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.

  • Location

    The memorial is located at the Historic Oakwood Cemetery, at 701 Oakwood Ave, Raleigh, NC 27601. It is on the slope above the House of Memory in the Confederate section of Oakwood Cemetery. The back side of the monument faces the House of Memory. The Memorial Arch, Memorial Wall, 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 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.

  • Landscape

    The monument is located amidst individual grave markers in the Confederate section of Oakwood Cemtery, on the slope above the House of Memory. The landscape is grassy with trees in the background near the House of Memory.

  • Death Space

    Yes

  • Post Dedication Use

    Confederate Memorial Day Services are held annual at the cemetery.

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