Beaufort County Defenders Monument, Washington
The memorial consists of a metal plaque with a Confederate battle flag in the lower right corner. It is dedicated to 17 local Confederate soldiers who died in the defense of Washington, NC in an 1862 battle. The plaque is attached to a red painted brick structure approximately 5 ft. square by 4 ft. tall capped with poured concrete. A stack of 14 cannon balls rests on top.
The monument has been much modified since it was built. In a drawing from 1905 the structure was several courses of brick taller. There were 54 ten-inch cannon balls on top with a large decorative iron urn lettered with CSA. A patio area of granite, since replaced with grass, surrounded the monument. The metal plaque was attached to a metal easel which was bolted to a granite foundation. 24 eight-inch cannon balls lined the monument foundation and a separate stack of 14 ten-inch cannon balls were stacked on the patio to the monuments left.
The brick structure was built of rows of red brick, then rows of white and then more rows of red brick to represent the Confederate colors.
ERECTED MAY 10, 1905 / BY WASHINGTON GRAY CHAPTER / CHILDREN OF THE CONFEDERACY / ORGANIZED IN 1887 BY MARGARETARTHUR CALL. / TO THE MEMORY / OF 17 SOLDIERS KILLED IN / DEFENSE OF WASHINGTON / SEPT. 6, 1862 /
City of Washington
May 10, 1905
35.556530 , -77.042930
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Butler, Douglas J. North Carolina Civil War Monuments, An Illustrated History, (Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc., 2013) 93-94
“Beaufort Co., NC Cemeteries. Oakdale Cemetery,” Ncgenweb.us, (assessed July 30, 2015) Link
“Confederate Monument,” News and Observer (Raleigh, NC), July 30, 1905
“Oakdale Cemetery. To Our Confederate Dead,” HMdb.org, (accessed August 14, 2015) Link
Yes
Metal, brick, concrete, granite
Washington Gray Chapter Children of the Confederacy
Little information on the dedication ceremony is known other than B.B. Nicholson gave the dedication speech before a “large audience.”
This was the first monument erected anywhere in the south by the Children of the Confederacy. The Washington Gray Chapter of the Children of the Confederacy was the third ever formed and first in North Carolina. It was founded in 1897 by Margaret Arthur Call.
The cemetery entrance is off of N. Bonner St. The cemetery office and listed address is 180 E. 15th Street in Washington, NC. Oakdale Cemetery is also the site of the Confederate Soldier Monument dedicated in 1888.
The monument sits on the grass, a few feet from the cemetery grave markers.
Yes
The Pamlico Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy has conducted annual Memorial Day celebrations at Oakdale Cemetery since 1883.
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