Robert E. Lee Dixie Highway Marker, Tuxedo
The memorial was originally comprised of a rectangular bronze plaque attached to a large granite bolder.
In October 2017, the bronze tablet was stolen.
In relief inside an oval that encompassed one third of the plaque was a representation of General
Robert E. Lee astride his horse Traveler. The inscription, also in relief, appeared below the oval.
Images:
Far-off view
| What remains of the marker
ERECTED AND DEDICATED BY THE / UNITED DAUGHTERS OF THE CONFEDERACY / AND FRIENDS / IN LOVING MEMORY OF / ROBERT E. LEE / AND TO MARK THE ROUTE OF / THE DIXIE HIGHWAY / “THE SHAFT MEMORIAL AND HIGHWAY STRAIGHT / ATTEST HIS WORTH - HE COMETH TO HIS OWN” / - LITTLEFIELD - / ERECTED 1926
1927
35.183670 , -82.427860
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Butler, Douglas J. Civil War Monuments, An Illustrated History (Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc., 2013), 193
“Daughters Will Donate Markers for State Roads,” The Robesonian (Lumberton, NC), October 26, 1925
“General Robert E. Lee Marker Stolen Over Weekend,” BlueRidgeNow.com (Hendersonville, NC), www.blueridgenow.com, October 30, 2017 (accessed October 10, 2019) Link
Yes
Bronze, granite
United Daughters of the Confederacy, North Carolina Division
The Dixie Highway was first planned in 1914 and became part of the National Auto Trail system
and initially was intended to connect the Midwest with the South. Rather than a single highway
the result was more a small network of interconnected paved roads. It was constructed and
expanded from 1915 to 1927. The eastern route of the Dixie Highway mostly became U.S.
Highway 25. Starting in the late 1920s, the United Daughters of the Confederacy placed bronze
plaques on granite pillars to mark the route of the Dixie Highway and honor General Robert E.
Lee. Surviving examples in North Carolina can be found in Marshall and Hot Springs in Madison
County, in Asheville in Buncombe County and in Fletcher, Hendersonville and near Tuxedo all in
Henderson County.
The efforts to mark the Dixie Highway in North Carolina were led by Mrs. James Madison
Gudger, Jr. of Asheville who also designed the plaque. The North Carolina Division of the United
Daughters of the Confederacy raised $800 to have the die cast for the plaque and then loan it
to other states for marking their highways. Other states do not appear to have taken advantage
of the die aside from an example in Greenville, South Carolina. It is thought that 10 total were
made from this die leaving several unaccounted for.
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.
The original large granite bolder (without the bronze plaque) can be found at the NC/SC State line on Old Highway 25 at the intersection with Gap Creek Road several miles south of Tuxedo, North Carolina.
The memorial stands in a wooded area.
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