Mecklenburg County Confederate Monument, Charlotte
Berryhill and Johnson marble cutters, Charlotte, NC, Builder
This granite obelisk honors the Confederate Soldiers of Mecklenburg County. The tall obelisk rests atop a tapered granite plinth which sits on a two-tier granite base. A larger base of five granite steps forms the foundation for the structure. The plinth is inscribed on all four faces, and the smaller base below the plinth is inscribed on the front. A metal "cross pattee" (often called an "iron cross") is mounted on the wider 1st base, and its four arms are inscribed to honor the Confederate States of America, the Confederate Veteran, the United Daughters of the Confederacy, and the duration of the Confederacy from 1861 to 1865.
A smaller bronze marker mounted on a short granite base is located several feet from the monument and commemorates the custodian of the monument, the Major Egbert A. Ross Camp 1423 of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, Charlotte, North Carolina. Five additional markers flank, or guard, the obelisk and commemorate local regiments: the Charlotte Grays, the Ranaleburg Riflemen, the Mecklenburg Guards, the Mecklenburg Beauregards, and the Union Farms. These markers have an inscribed image of the Confederate Flag in red and blue and are inscribed with additional commemorative text. They were placed at the site subsequent to the original dedication. The site is surrounded by the gravestones of veterans.
Additional images:
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Front inscription | Left inscription |
Right inscription |
Rear inscription |
Plaque honoring monument custodian
Front, plinth: TO THE / CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS / OF / MECKLENBURG COUNTY
Front, 2nd base: ERECTED BY THE WOMEN OF CHARLOTTE / 1887.
Front, 1st base, cross pattee: [clockwise] CSA / UDC / 1861 1865 / CONFEDERATE VETERAN
Left, plinth: WE HONOR THEM / AND / REMEMBER THEM.
Right, plinth: AND / THE UNKNOWN / WHO / REST HERE.
Rear, plinth: 1861 - 1865
Marker, plaque: THIS CONFEDERATE PLOT / IS MAINTAINED BY / MAJOR EGBERT A. ROSS / CAMP 1423 / SONS OF CONFEDERATE / VETERANS / CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA
Major Egbert A. Ross Camp 1423 of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, Charlotte, North Carolina. Elmwood Cemetery is owned and maintained by the City of Charlotte.
June 30, 1887
35.235390 , -80.846660
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"Charlotte Honors Her Dead," Raleigh News and Observer (Raleigh, NC), July 2, 1887
"Elmwood and Pinewood Cemetery, Charlotte, NC," Waymarking.com, (accessed May 6, 2017) Link
"Local Messages." Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, NC), Daily edition December 7, 1897.
"Memorial Day Exercises. Rev. Mr. Chalmers is the Orator." Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, NC), Daily Edition May 6, 1897.
"The Ceremony of To-Day," Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, NC), June 30, 1887
Andrew, Rod Jr. 2006. "North Carolina Military Institute," NCpedia.org, (accessed March 22, 2013) Link
Czaikowski, Michelle, and Gregory, Lisa. 2010. "Charlotte," NCpedia.org, (accessed March 22, 2013) Link
Hunter, R. "The Confederate Monument Commander Leou Again Urges the Necessity of Having More Funds." Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, NC), Daily edition March 06, 1898.
Killeri, Kimberly. "Pinewood/Elmwood Cemetery, Charlotte, NC," published on Feb 4, 2013, (accessed May 6, 2017) Link
Long, Lily. "Historical Department. The War Hospitals and the Memorial Association." Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, NC), Daily edition May 20, 1896.
White, Howard Ray. "Confederate Memorial Day Observance, Elmwood, Charlotte NC, Part 3, Episode #121," Howard Ray White's videos, vimeo.com, (accessed April 18, 2013) Link
White, Howard Ray. "Confederate Memorial Day Service, Elmwood Cemetery, Charlotte, NC, Part 2, Episode #120," Howard Ray White's videos, vimeo.com, (accessed April 18, 2013) Link
White, Howard. "Confederate Memorial Day Observance, Charlotte, NC, 2007, Part 1, Episode #119," Howard Ray White's Videos, vimeo.com, (accessed April 18, 2013) Link
Yes
Granite
Women of Charlotte
$2,000
Charlotte contributed soldiers to the war effort, including the entire class of cadets from the North Carolina Military Institute, founded in Charlotte in 1859, and Confederate generals James. H. Lane and Charles C. Lee. Charlotte also supplied the Confederate war effort with armaments and other naval equipment manufactured at the Confederate Naval Yard and the Mecklenburg Gun Factory. The Naval Yard had been relocated from its original location in Norfolk, Virginia in 1862 to protect its operations and to strategically position it along rail lines. Confederate President Jefferson Davis was sheltered briefly in Charlotte in April of 1865, along with his family and some members of the Confederate Cabinet and the remains of the Confederate Treasury, in his attempt to preserve the crumbling Confederacy following the Fall of Richmond and Lee's surrender at Appomattox on April 9, 1865.
An additional Confederate Soldiers Monument was installed in front of Charlotte's Old City Hall in May 1977. In 2015, the Confederate Soldiers memorial was moved to the Confederate section of the Elmwood Cemetery.
The monument is located in Elmwood Cemetery off West 6th Street. It is located just to the north of the west side of the first circular road after the entrance to the cemetery where the loop meets the second circular road. Five markers honoring local Confederate regiments, the Mecklenburg County Confederate Soldiers, the Confederate Navy Yard marker and a memorial for the D.H. Hill School stand in the same Confederate section of the cemetery. The Confederate Navy Yard marker and D.H. Hill School memorial like the Mecklenburg County Confederate Soldiers marker were originally placed at different locations.
The monument sits in a manicured lawn surrounded by the small stone grave markers of veterans. A brick walkway surrounds the steps of the monument, and the entire site is surrounded by a low gridiron fence. The five markers honoring the local regiments stand just inside the fence.
Yes
Confederate Memorial Day has been celebrated at the site since the monument's dedication. Memorial Day was celebrated at the site in 1897. In 2007, the Sons of Confederate Veterans gathered with others to observe the day. The Reverand Herman White, a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, was the guest speaker. White is a controversial figure who has allegedly espoused controversial interpretations of slavery and the Civil War.
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