A movement began in the 1890's in North Carolina to build a state monument to the Confederacy. As the story goes, a number of women packed the legislative chambers to rally support for a North Carolina Monument. The legislators relented and appropriated $22,000 to construct the monument.
This monument is in remembrance of North Carolina's Confederate dead. Nearly one quarter of all Confederate deaths were from North Carolina. The three statues on the monument represent Confederate infantry, cavalry, and artillery soldiers. It is perhaps fitting that the soldier at the top of the monument is facing the setting sun, representing the grim outcome of the Confederacy.
An inscription on the bottom of the Confederate Memorial reads "first at Bethel, last at Appomattox," further signifying the toll North Carolina took by having the first and last soldier to die in the Civil War.
A time capsule placed in the cornerstone of the monument in 1894 includes a variety of articles such as Confederate currency, maps and legislative bills, newspapers and journal copies, flags, items belonging to General Robert E. Lee, and a Confederate song book.
The unveiling of this statue took place on May 20, 1895, and featured many distinguished guests including Captain Samuel Ashe, Governor Elias Carr, and Julia Jackson Christian, the granddaughter of Stonewall Jackson.
The monument is located on the west side of the North Carolina Capitol grounds at the end of Hillsborough Street.
To record your own visit to the North Carolina Confederate Monument, take your own photo of the monument and post it along with some comments. Logs must contain an original photo or will be archived. Thanks.