1902 Confederate Monument, Fayetteville
This monument consists of a bronze statue of a Confederate soldier holding a gun; the soldier stands atop a pedestal which is flanked by two small cannons. Several small stones in front of the statue contain inscriptions of the rededication date and recognition of groups that worked to bring the monument into existence. The monument is 23 feet tall, with the infantry man on top measuring seven feet and three inches. It was first proposed July 1, 1895. The funds were raised and an order was placed for the monument in autumn of 1901.
Additional images:
Postcard image of view of Confederate Monument and Ramsey Street |
Postcard image of monument in St. James' Square |
Vintage photograph of monument |
Removal of the monument on June 27, 2020
South face: THE WOMEN OF CUMBERLAND / TO THEIR / CONFEDERATE DEAD / MAY 20, 1861 - MAY 10, 1902
North face: THEY DIED IN DEFENSE OF THEIR / RIGHTS
East face: FOR THEY SHOULD FALL THE TEARS / OF A NATION'S GRIEF.
West face: LORD GOD OF HOSTS BE WITH US YET, / LEST WE FORGET; LEST WE FORGET.
The stones in front of the monument are inscribed: THIS MONUMENT WAS RESTORED / THROUGH THE GENEROUS EFFORTS / OF CONCERNED CITIZENS AND THE / GROUPS REPRESENTED HERE, AND / WAS REDEDICATED ON MAY 10, 1992 / RESTORATION BY FAYETTEVILLE MONUMENT WORKS.
IN REMEMBRANCE / CO. H., 1ST N.C. VOL. REGT. / FAYETTEVILLE INDEPENDENT / LIGHT INFANTRY / ‘THE BETHEL REGIMENT’
DEO VENDICI / FAYETTEVILLE ARSENAL CAMP / SONS OF CONFEDERATE VETERANS
IN MEMORIAM / J.E.B. STUART CHAPTER / LULIE BIGGS MACKETHAN CHAPTER / UNITED DAUGHTERS OF THE CONFEDERACY
IN TRIBUTE / THE MICHAEL TERRENCE FOUNDATION / HISTORIC FAYETTEVILLE FOUNDATION / THE JUNIOR LEAGUE OF FAYETTEVILLE
J.E.B. Stuart Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy
May 10, 1902. It was restored and rededicated on May 10, 1992. It was again rededicated on May 10, 2002.
35.058610 , -78.904080
View in Geobrowse
"Confederate Monument and Ramsey St., Fayetteville, N.C.," in Durwood Barbour Collection of North Carolina Postcards (P077), North Carolina Collection Photographic Archives, Wilson Library, UNC-Chapel Hill, (accessed December 10, 2012) Link
"Confederate Monument, Fayetteville, N.C.," in Durwood Barbour Collection of North Carolina Postcards (P077), North Carolina Collection Photographic Archives, Wilson Library, UNC-Chapel Hill, (accessed December 10, 2012) Link
"Confederate Monument, Fayetteville, N.C.," in Durwood Barbour Collection of North Carolina Postcards (P077), North Carolina Collection Photographic Archives, Wilson Library, UNC-Chapel Hill, (accessed December 12, 2012) Link
"Let Us Build the Monument," Fayetteville News and Observer (Fayetteville, NC), May 30, 1895 Link
"Why We Should Build the Monument," Fayetteville News and Observer (Fayetteville, NC), September 12, 1895, 2 Link
War Days in Fayetteville, North Carolina: Reminiscences of 1861 to 1865, (Fayetteville NC: Judge Printing Company, 1910), (accessed May 16, 2012) Link
Batten, Sammy. "Confederate Monument in Haymount Removed," The Fayetteville Observer, (Fayetteville, NC), fayobserver.com, June 27, 2020, (accessed July 16, 2020) Link
Hale, E. J. “Oration at the Unveiling of Cumberland’s Monument,” The Observer-Times (Fayetteville, NC), May 15, 1902, 2 Link
Moss, Gary, and Bill Wright. "Confederacy Remembered: it Was a Day of Celebration," Observer-Times (Fayetteville, NC), May 11, 1992, 1B
“Cumberland County Confederate Memorial,” The Historical Marker Database, HMdb.org, (accessed January 22, 2011) Link
“The Unveiling of the Confederate Monument,” The Observer (Fayetteville, NC), May 15, 1902, 3 Link
Yes
Granite base, bronze figure.
The Ladies Monument Association (president Carrie Mallett), which became the local United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) chapter in 1901, as well as the Women of Cumberland County.
$2,200. Its construction was funded by the United Daughters of the Confederacy and the Women of Cumberland County.
The monument unveiling and dedication was an elaborate celebration. It began at 4 p.m. with a procession lead by the chief marshal J. H. Carrie and proceeded through Hay and Green Streets to the monument in St. James' Square. A newspaper account indicated a crowd of some four thousand, including three hundred veterans and five hundred school children. "The Old North State" was sung followed by a prayer lead by the Rev. I. W. Hughes and the singing of "Tenting Tonight" by a choir. Major E. J. Hale gave the address, and the extensive contents of the corner stone were read by a Mr. Rose along with the recitation of a poem written by Miss S. A. Tillinghast for the occasion. The ceremony also included the recitation of a poem written on a Confederate Bill. The day ended with each veteran receiving a small bronze cross pinned on his breast.
The monument was dedicated to the 2,416 soldiers of Cumberland County that fought in the Civil War.
Following the massacre of nine African Americans in a church in Charleston, South Carolina on June 17, 2015 by white supremacist Dylann Roof, Americans, especially southerners, have reflected on and argued over the historical legacy of slavery, the Civil War, the Confederacy, and white supremacy. Monuments have been a particular focus of these debates and controversies, especially after the death of a counter-protester, Heather Heyer, at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia in August 2017 and after President Donald Trump expressed his opposition to the removal of Confederate memorials. Despite laws in many southern states intended to prevent or impede the removal or relocation of historical monuments, protesters and local community leaders have removed or relocated controversial monuments associated with slavery, the Confederacy, and white supremacy. The pace of the removal of controversial monuments accelerated sharply in 2020, following the death of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Against the backdrop of protests against police brutality and white supremacy across the nation, local authorities in many communities in North Carolina removed and/or relocated monuments that were the focus of civil unrest.
There has been some controversy over the orientation of the monument. In its original position in St. James Square, the monument faced south. UDC members suggested that this represents a soldier returning home from the war to rebuild the South. However, some think that the southward orientation gives the impression that the soldier is fleeing from the Yankees. Others think that the direction south was chosen because General Sherman entered Fayetteville from that direction, so the statue is facing him head on. When the statue was relocated in 2002, it was turned to face north, since a park was directly north of the statue.
On June 27, 2020, the memorial was removed by private owners. A statement released by the city said: “The privately owned 1902 Confederate monument of Fayetteville was relocated today by its owners and placed into storage. This action was not directed or paid for by the city.″
On June 27, 2020, the monument was removed by private owners -- the Sons of Confederate Veterans and Daughters of the Confederacy -- from its location in the triangle formed between the intersection of East and West Dobbin Avenue, Morganton Street, and Fort Bragg Road, facing northeast. It was taken to an undisclosed location.
The monument stood in a grassy area, surrounded by trees.
The monument was originally located in the center of St. James Square, at the present day intersection of Grove, Green, Rowan, and Ramsey Streets. This was the site of an old courthouse before the monument was built.
The statue was moved to the northeast side of the square in 1951 when the surrounding roads were realigned.
In May 2002, it was moved to a new location because the United Daughters of the Confederacy chapter felt that the intersection in St. James' Square had become too commercialized and had lost much of its beauty.
It stood in the triangle formed between the intersection of East and West Dobbin Avenue, Morganton Street, and Fort Bragg Road, facing northeast.
The monument was the location for at least two Confederate Memorial Day celebrations. The statue was moved in 1951, and was restored and rededicated on May 10, 1992, ninety years after the original dedication, at which time the small inscribed stones surrounding the monument were added. In May 2002, it was moved to its current location and again rededicated on May 10, 2002.
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.
