Jefferson Davis --- Mississippi Confederate Monument, Jackson MS - Smithsonian Art Inventory Sculptures on Waymarking.com

This tall Confederate monument stands in front of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History on S State Street in Jackson. It is one of the most overwrought of all the United Daughters of the Confederacy monuments we have seen, closely rivaled by the Monument to Southern Women on the Mississippi State Capitol a few blocks away, and the Captain Henry Wirz Monument in Andersonville GA.

Inside a double padlocked and gated chamber, behind a plexiglass shield, a hard-to-see statue of Jefferson Davis stands in the dark, confounding photographers.

From what we could see of Davis, his statue is made of white marble, and he is sculpted some slightly larger than life-size. He is wearing the period 1860s formal clothing of a wealthy man of influence. He looks to Blasterz as if he has been captured in stone while giving his famous "Gathering Storm" Speech to the MS Legislature, which was meeting a few dozen yards away from this spot in 1858, when then US-Senator Davis addressed them.

Davis wears a long coat, buttoned over a shirt and tie. He holds loose papers in his left hand, which hangs at his side. He gestures with his open right hand, palm up, elbow bent, as if he is making a point or an argument.

He stands on a short plinth of white marble which is engraved as follows:

Laid by the Grand Lodge of Masons,
M. M. Evans, Grand Master.
May 25, A. D. 1888

A neglected sign explaining the features of this monument (much of which is closed up and locked) reads as follows:

"[L side panel]

HISTORY OF THE MISSISSIPPI CONFEDERATE MONUMENT

This monument was erected 1888-1891 through the combined efforts of the United daughters of the Confederacy and the Mississippi legislature. The cornerstone was laid on May 25, 1888, with Varina “Winnie” Davis, a daughter of Ex-Confederate President Jefferson Davis, in attendance.

Legislative approval for the final $10,000 dollars required for construction was passed following the impassioned appeal of representative John F. Harris of Washington County, and African-American and former slave. Upon completion, the monument is dedicated before crowd of approximately 18,000 visitors on June 3, 1891.

The full-length statue of Jefferson Davis inside the chamber, made of fine Italian marble, was sculpted after his death on December 6, 1889, and placed in the vault in his memory.

The plot of ground was designated Confederate Monument Park by a 1902 law.

[Center panel]

CONFEDERATE MONUMENT

Erected in 1891 to honor the Confederate dead of Mississippi. Symbolic devices include the traditional Sentinel standing watch on high, 3 marble plaques with crossed muskets, Canon, and shield, the letter CSA, and interior dedicatory plaques with the following inscriptions:

NORTHWEST
God and our consciences alone
Give us measures of right and wrong.
The race may fall to the swift
And the battle to the strong;
But the truth will shine in history
And blossom into song.

SOUTHWEST
The men to whose memory this Monument is dedicated were martyrs
Of their creed, their justification is in the Holy Keeping of the God of History.

NORTH
Officers of the Confederate Monument Association of Mississippi
AD 1890
Miss Sally B Morgan, President
Mrs. Belmont Phelps Manship, Vice President
Mrs. Elenor H Stone, Treasurer
Miss Sophie de Langley, Secretary
Mrs. Virginia P. McKay, Cor. Secretary

SOUTH
The noble women of Mississippi, moved by grateful hearts and loving zeal, organized June 15, A.D. 1886, the Confederate Monument Association. Their efforts, aided by an appropriation of the state of Mississippi, were crowned with success in the erection of this Monument to the Confederate dead of Mississippi, in the year 1891.

NORTHEAST
“All lost! But by the graves
Where martyred heroes rest.
He wins the most who honor saves –
Success is not the test.”

SOUTHEAST
“It recks not where the bodies lie.”
By bloody hillside, plain, or river.
Their names are bright on Fame’s proud sky.
Their deeds of valor live forever.
Decoration Day
Originated in Jackson Mississippi
April 26, 1865.
By Sue Landon Vaughn

Cornerstone inscription:
Laid by the Grand Lodge of Masons,
M. M. Evans, Grand Master.
May 25, A. D. 1888

STATUE OF JEFFERSON DAVIS
The statue of Jefferson Davis was commissioned by the Mississippi legislature in 1890. It was sculpted in Italy and brought to the United States, where it was installed in the Mississippi Confederate monument.

The iron gates were added sometime later in an attempt to protect the statue from vandalism this effort apparently was not successful, as the statue was moved from the crypt to a position above the West portal. An additional slab was installed as a base for the statue, and part of the monument was roughly chiseled out to allow the statue to fit.

When the statue began deteriorating from exposure to the elements, it was moved inside the Old Capitol, where it remained until its removal following Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The statue was then placed in its original location in the center of the monument during the 2009 restoration of the Old Capitol."

TITLE: Jefferson Davis ARTIST(S): Unknown DATE: 1891 MEDIUM: White marble CONTROL NUMBER: IAS 60380008 Direct Link to the Individual Listing in the Smithsonian Art Inventory: [Web Link] PHYSICAL LOCATION: 100 S State St Jackson MS DIFFERENCES NOTED BETWEEN THE INVENTORY LISTING AND YOUR OBSERVATIONS AND RESEARCH: none

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Date Logged Log   07/25/2017 Benchmark Blasterz visited it