Arsenal Memorial, Fayetteville
A bronze tablet is attached to a rough stone pyramid made of stones taken from the foundation of the destroyed arsenal’s ordinance building. The tablet was cast as the front elevation of a Greek revival architectural style building. In relief on the building’s pediment are several components from the Great Seal of the State of North Carolina, to include the state motto” Esse quam videri” meaning "To be, rather than to seem". Also prominent are the figures Liberty and Plenty facing towards each other. A bas-relief eagle in flight is directly below the pediment with the inscription appearing below the eagle’s spread wings.
A bronze plaque dedicated to the FILI (Fayetteville Independent Light Infantry) Bicentennial celebration has been placed at base of the monument.
Images:
Bronze plaque |
Plaque at base of the monument
Bronze plaque: ARSENAL / THIS TABLET MARKS THE SITE OF AN IMPORTANT / ARSENAL OF THE CONFEDERATE GOVERNMENT. / AUTHORIZED BY THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS, / 1836, CAPTURED BY NORTH CAROLINA, APRIL / 22, 1861. / TRANSFERRED TO THE CONFEDERATE / GOVERNMENT, JUNE 5, 1861, AND DESTROYED / BY MAJOR-GENERAL W. T. SHERMAN, / MARCH 11-14, 1865. / ERECTED 1928 BY / THE NORTH CAROLINA HISTORICAL COMMISSION / AND THE J.E.B. STUART CHAPTER / UNITED DAUGHTERS OF THE CONFEDERACY
FILI Bicentennial plaque: Fayetteville Independent Light Infantry /
and the North Carolina Arsenal /
The Laying of the Cornerstone
19 April 1838 / Antebellum Guard Duty / Seized and Occupied for the Confederate Government /
22 April - 6 May 1861 / Unveiling of Arsenal Marker
/ 22 May 1928 /
FILI Bicentennial 1793-1993
May 22, 1928
35.054450 , -78.892400
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"Arsenal - North Carolina Historical Markers," Waymarking.com, (accessed June 30, 2015) Link
"Arsenal Marker," The Historical Marker Database, HMdb.org, (accessed August 14, 2012) Link
"Confederate Arsenal, Fayetteville, N.C.--1861-1865," in North Carolina Postcard Collection (P052), North Carolina Collection Photographic Archives, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, (accessed January 10, 2014) Link
"Fayetteville Arsenal," Wikipedia, (accessed August 14, 2012) Link
Thompson, Jessica Lee. “The Great Seal of the State of North Carolina,” North Carolina History Project, http://northcarolinahistory.org, (accessed February 29, 2016) Link
United Daughters of the Confederacy North Carolina Division, J.E.B. Stuart Chapter, and the North Carolina Historical Commission. "The Honor of Your Presence is Requested at the Unveiling of a Marker on the Site of the Confederate Arsenal at Fayetteville, North Carolina," (1928), (accessed May 31, 2012) Link
“M’Lean Praises State Markers,” Asheville Citizen-Times (Asheville, NC), May 23, 1928
“U.D.C. Will Unveil Marker at Fayetteville,” Statesville Record And Landmark (Statesville, NC), May 21, 1928
Yes
Bronze, granite
The North Carolina Historical Commission and the United Daughters of the Confederacy, J.E.B. Stuart Chapter.
Governor A.W. McLean was the featured orator. Speaking on the spirit of North Carolinians and the state of the economy in 1928 he said, “the same courage and valor with which they followed Lee and Jackson in time of war, they attacked the peace problems, chief of which was providing the necessities of life, and here they won a great victory.” Mrs. John Huske Anderson with the local Daughters of the Confederacy chapter served as chairperson of the ceremony. Captain Samuel J. Ashe, an officer who had served at the arsenal 69 years prior was in the audience.
Also known as the Arsenal Marker.
This monument commemorates the arsenal built at this location in 1838 and destroyed in 1865 during the Civil War. Confederate troops took control of the arsenal after it was vacated by Union forces in 1861. The Union later planned to regain control of the arsenal; Sherman took possession of it in 1865 and ordered it to be destroyed.
The Great Seal of the State of North Carolina is full of symbolism. Read more about the history of the Great Seal, symbols, figures of Liberty and Plenty in "The Great Seal of the State of North Carolina" by creators of "North Carolina History Project."
This plaque design, approved by the state legislature was used over a period of years in memorials associated with the North Carolina Historical Commission. Other examples of the same plaque design are Daniel Boone and Nathanael Greene in Lexington, Bentonville Battlefield marker in Bentonville, and Richard Caswell Memorial in Kinston.
The memorial seats on a grassy area by a side walk.
The marker is located in the four acre Arsenal Park. It is next to the Museum of the Cape Fear. Though little remains of the Arsenal, one partial frame outbuilding still stands on the site.
The memorial seats on a grassy area by a side walk.
The park in which the memorial stands is used for educational events led by the Museum of the Cape Fear.
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