This is a list of Confederate monuments and memorials in North Carolina that were established as public displays and symbols of the Confederate States of America (CSA), Confederate leaders, or Confederate soldiers of the American Civil War. Part of the commemoration of the American Civil War, these symbols include monuments and statues, flags, holidays and other observances, and the names of schools, roads, parks, bridges, counties, cities, lakes, dams, military bases, and other public works.[note 1]
This list does not include items which are largely historic in nature such as historic markers or battlefield parks if they were not established to honor the Confederacy. Nor does it include figures connected with the origins of the Civil War or white supremacy, but not with the Confederacy.
According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, there are at least 140 public spaces with Confederate monuments in North Carolina.[1]
Governor Roy Cooper "has called for the removal of monuments honoring Confederate soldiers and generals", including the Chapel Hill Silent Sam statue. He has called for the repeal of a 2015 law requiring legislative approval to remove Confederate monuments.[2]
State capitol
North Carolina State Capitol. The Capitol currently houses the offices of the Governor of North Carolina. The legislature relocated to its current location in the North Carolina State Legislative Building in 1963. In 2017, Governor Roy Cooper unsuccessfully petitioned the North Carolina Historical Commission to move the following three Confederate monuments from the grounds of the state Capitol to the Bentonville Battlefield, a Civil War site in Johnston County.[3][4] The Commission found that the 2015 law prohibited their removal, but recommended signage to add context to the monuments, including noting that slavery was a cause of the Civil War. The Commission also found unanimously that the Capitol monuments are "an overrepresentation and over-memorialization" of the Confederacy and Civil War in North Carolina. The Commission urged the state’s Department of Natural and Cultural Resources to plan and raise money for a monument recognizing the contributions of African Americans to North Carolina's history.[5] On June 19, 2020, the two statues at the base of the monument were toppled by protestors. The protestors proceeded to drag one statue to the streets and hang it from a street light.[6]
Monument Removed June 21, 2020 [7] - North Carolina State Confederate Monument (1895), also known as the Soldiers and Sailors Monument. "This 75-foot-tall monument to fallen Confederate soldiers is located on the State Capitol grounds. At the top of the column is a statue depicting a Confederate artillery soldier holding a gun. Near the bottom of the column are two statues, one representing the Confederate infantry and the other a Confederate cavalryman. Two 32 pounder naval cannons stand on each side of the monument."[8] Contains the Seal of North Carolina. Front: "To Our Confederate Dead." Rear: "First at Bethel, last at Appomattox".
Monument Removed June 21, 2020 [9] - Monument to North Carolina Women of the Confederacy, also called Confederate Women's Monument (1914). "The seven foot tall monument, made possible through a private donation, honors the hardships and sacrifices of North Carolina women during the Civil War. A bronze sculpture depicts an older woman, a grandmotherly figure, holding a book as she sits next to a young boy holding a sword. It sits on top of a granite base with bronze bas-relief plaques. The woman, representing the women in the South as the custodians of history, imparts the history of the Civil War to the boy. The two relief plaques portray the Civil War; the eastern side shows soldiers departing for war and leaving their loved ones behind, while the western side depicts a weary or injured Confederate soldier returning home."[10] In 2019, a protester placed Ku Klux Klan hoods on the two figures.[11]
Monument Removed June 21, 2020 [7] - Henry Lawson Wyatt Monument (1912). He was the first Confederate soldier to die in battle. Sculpture by Gutzon Borglum. Inscriptions: Front: HENRY LAWSON WYATT / PRIVATE CO. A / BETHEL REGIMENT / NORTH CAROLINA VOLUNTEERS / KILLED AT BETHEL CHURCH / JUNE 10, 1861 / FIRST CONFEDERATE SOLDER | TO FALL IN BATTLE IN THE | WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. Rear: WYATT'S COMRADES / IN DASH TO BURN THE HOUSE / GEORGE T. WILLIAMS / JOHN H. THORPE / ROBERT H. RICKS / ROBERT H. BRADLEY / THOMAS FALLON / ERECTED BY THE NORTH CAROLINA | DIVISION, UNITED DAUGHTERS | OF THE CONFEDERACY. / JUNE 10, 1912 Base, east face: GORHAM. Co. FOUNDERS.[12]
In addition, the following Civil War monuments are on the Capitol grounds:
A statue of Confederate Colonel Zebulon Baird Vance, Governor during the Civil War, 1862–1865.
Monument to Civil War Captain and North Carolina legislator Samuel A'Court Ashe (1940), two plaques on a large granite block.[13]
To be removed per 6–1 decision of Asheville City Council on March 23, 2021:[15]Zebulon Baird Vance Monument, a granite obelisk erected in 1896.[16] Near the obelisk, a small granite marker memorializes the Dixie Highway, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, and Col. John Connally, a Confederate officer who was wounded at the Battle of Gettysburg. Near the Buncombe County Courthouse entrance, a smaller obelisk memorializes Confederate soldiers from Buncombe County who fought at Chickamauga and in other Civil War battles.[16] The monument was vandalized in August 2017 and 4 individuals out of 30–40 protesters were arrested for trying to remove it with crowbars.[17][18]
Monument to 60th Regiment North Carolina Volunteers (1905)
Memorial plaque to Lieutenant William Henry Hardy (1930), "the First Soldier from Buncombe County to Fall in the War Between The States"[19]
Bakersville: Mitchell County's Confederate Dead Monument (2011) commemorates 79 men "who died for their freedom and independence. And not for slavery."[20]
Beaufort: Carteret County Confederate Soldiers Monument (1926) at the Carteret County Courthouse. "TO THE MEMORY OF THE CONFEDERATE DEAD OF CARTERET COUNTY 1861-1865 ERECTED BY THE DAUGHTERS OF CONFEDERACY FORT MACON CHAPTER BEAUFORT, N.C. 1926 NOT EVEN TIME CAN DESTROY HEROISM" [21]
Clinton: Monument removed July 12, 2020.[22] Confederate Soldiers Monument (1916). "In honor of the Confederate soldiers of Sampson County who bore the flag of a nation's trust and fell in a cause though lost still just and died for me and you."[23]
Columbia: Confederate Soldiers Monument (1902); "In appreciation of our faithful slaves"[24][25]
Concord: Confederate Soldiers Monument (1892) at Old Cabarrus County Courthouse[14]
Currituck: Confederate Soldiers Monument "To Our Confederate Dead 1861–1865" (1918)[26]
Dallas: Gaston County Confederate Soldier Monument (2003)
Gastonia: Confederate Soldiers Monument, Gaston County Courthouse, dedicated November 21, 1912[14]
Graham: Confederate Soldiers Monument (1914), Alamance County Courthouse.[14] Demonstrators called for its removal in 2017, and the matter was discussed at an Alamance County Commission meeting.[27]
Laurinburg: Confederate Soldiers Monument (1912), sponsored by UDC. "The Scotland County monument has been moved several times in the years since first being placed. Originally it sat in the middle of the road in front of the courthouse at Main and Church streets. It was then moved onto the grounds of the courthouse after becoming a traffic hazard. When the new courthouse was completed in the 1960s, the monument moved with it and was placed in its current location.... [T]he inside contains time capsules."[28]
Lincolnton: Confederate Soldiers Memorial Drinking Fountain (1911)
Louisburg: The Confederate Memorial Drinking Fountain (1923) is dedicated to North Carolinian Orren Randolph Smith, who designed the Stars and Bars, the first official flag of the Confederacy. It is five feet high, six feet across, and has separate "white" and "colored" drinking fountains.[14][29] A similar marker is in Wilson, North Carolina (below).
Morganton: Confederate Soldiers Monument at Old Courthouse (1918)[14]
Newton: Catawba County Confederate Soldiers Monument (1907), Old Catawba County Courthouse[14][30]
Oxford: the Granville Gray- originally dedicated directly in front of the Granville County Courthouse it was moved to the local library after the 1970 protests following the murder of Henry Marrow.
Plymouth: Battle of Plymouth monument (1928) at Washington County Courthouse[31]
Wilson: Memorial Drinking Fountain (1926). This fountain, like a similar one from the same artist in Louisburg, NC, originally had "white" and "colored" water fountains, separated by the Confederate flag. The water bowls have been removed and replaced with generic tops, and the labels "white" and "colored" sandblasted off; their location is clearly visible.[32]
Last Meetings of the Confederate Cabinet Marker (1915)
1929 Confederate Reunion Marker (1929). "Erected by citizens of City of Charlotte and County of Mecklenburg commemorating the 39th Confederate Reunion June 4–7, 1929." Currently (2018) protected by a glass enclosure.[35]
Judah P. Benjamin Memorial "erected in His Honor by Temple Israel and Temple Beth El, the Jewish Congregations of Charlotte, as a Gift to the North Carolina Division, United Daughters of the Confederacy" (1948)[36]
Jefferson Davis Camp marker, showing where Davis "hitched his horse to a tree which stood on this spot" (1941)[37]
Cornelius: Confederate Soldiers Monument (1910), Mt. Zion United Methodist Church. 19600 Zion Avenue.[38]
Edenton: Confederate Soldiers Monument (1909); moved from courthouse in 1961[14]
Enfield: Confederate Soldiers Memorial (1928) at Elmwood Cemetery. Originally located in downtown Enfield, the sculpture contains a drinking fountain.[14]
Faison: Monument to the "Confederate Grays" 20th Regiment North Carolina State Troops (1932)[14]
Henry Timrod marker (1930), recognizing Timrod as "Laureate of the Confederacy"[42]
Matthew Fontaine Maury marker (1932). A Confederate Navy commander and slave owner, Maury investigated resettling American slaves in Brazil.[43][44]
Robert E. Lee Dixie Highway marker (1926), "In Loving Memory of Robert E. Lee...'The Shaft Memorial and Highway Straight Attest His Worth – He Cometh to His Own'"[45]
Harnett County: Confederate Monument (1872) at Chicora Civil War Cemetery to soldiers killed at the Battle of Averasborough, "In Memory of our Confederate Dead Who Fell Upon That Day"[53]
Hendersonville: Robert E. Lee Dixie Highway Marker (1926; re-dedicated 2008)[54]
High Point: Confederate Monument (1899), Oakwood Cemetery[55]
Confederate Soldiers Monument (1914) to "Our Confederate Dead".[58] The monument was formerly on the street in front of Louisburg College, but the College has grown to surround the monument. Some on campus want it removed. "It's not clear whether the town owns the statue, or whether it belongs to the county or to the quiet but still active Joseph J. Davis 537 chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy."[59]
Middletown: Confederate Soldiers war Monument (2001)
Reidsville: From 1910 to 2011, the monument stood in Reidsville's downtown area. In 2011, a motorist hit the monument, shattering the granite soldier which stood atop it. Placing the monument back in the center of town sparked a debate between local officials, neighbors and friends – which resulted in it being placed at its current site – the Greenview Cemetery. The new site contains a brand new statue. The original 101-year-old statue was completely destroyed.[62]
Rocky Mount: Nash County Confederate Monument (1917), honoring Confederate war dead in Edgecombe County and Nash Counties; rededicated to all veterans of all wars in 1976. On June 2, 2020, the City Council of Rocky Mount voted to remove it.[63]
Salisbury: Gloria Victis ("Glory to the Defeated", 1891), also called Fame Confederate Monument by Frederick Ruckstull, purchased by the UDC as a Confederate monument for Salisbury, relocated 1909. Removed in 2020[64] and relocated 2021.[65]
Wilson: Confederate Monument at Maplewood Cemetery (1902)[70]
Windsor: Memorial to the Confederate Dead, erected in 1896 by the Confederate Veterans Associations of Bertie County[71]
Yanceyville: Confederate Soldiers Monument (1921), Old Caswell County Courthouse[14]
Private monuments
Durham: Confederate memorial, Maplewood Cemetery. A block of granite with a bronze plaque. About 40 Confederate veterans are buried at the site. Erected in 2015 by the Sons of Confederate Veterans at a cost of about $3,000. Vandalized shortly thereafter with "Black Lives Matter" and "Tear It Down".[72] Vandalized again in April, 2019, with "cement or another hard substance" smeared on the plaque.[73]
North Carolina Confederate Veterans Forest (1956)[76] 125,000 spruce pine trees were planted by the UDC in the 1940s as a living memorial to North Carolina Confederate Veterans. The forest was rededicated in 2001. The area is located beneath Mt. Hardy near the Blue Ridge Parkway.
North Carolina State University: In 2016 the Faculty Senate passed a resolution asking that a reference to "the winds of Dixie" be removed from the school song[citation needed]
Vance Elementary School
Notes
^"In an effort to assist the efforts of local communities to re-examine these symbols, the SPLC launched a study to catalog them. For the final tally, the researchers excluded nearly 2,600 markers, battlefields, museums, cemeteries and other places or symbols that are largely historical in nature."[1]
References
^ abGunter, Booth; Kizzire, Jamie (April 21, 2016). Gunter, Booth (ed.). "Whose heritage? Public Symbols of the Confederacy" (PDF). Southern Poverty Law Center. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 16, 2017. Retrieved August 15, 2017.
^Moore, Jeff (August 22, 2017). "Gov. Cooper gives UNC green light to remove 'Silent Sam', UNC holds off, citing 2015 law". North State Journal.
^Bonner, Lynn (September 8, 2017). "NC governor has a new site in mind for 3 Confederate monuments on Capitol grounds". News & Observer.
^Anapol, Avery (August 19, 2018). "Confederate statue vandalized in North Carolina". The Hill.
^Boraks, David (August 22, 2018). "Commission Votes Against Removing 3 Confederate Monuments in NC Capitol". WFAE. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
^ ab"Workers dismantling 75-foot Confederate monument at NC Capitol". News and Observer. Retrieved Jul 21, 2020.
^"Confederate Monument, State Capitol, Raleigh". Documenting the American South. Retrieved April 15, 2018.
^"Workers dismantling 75-foot Confederate monument at NC Capitol". News and Observer. Retrieved Jul 21, 2020.
^"Monument to North Carolina Women of the Confederacy, Raleigh". Documenting the American South. 19 March 2010. Retrieved April 15, 2018.
^CBS 17 staff (March 5, 2019). "Raleigh man charged after KKK hoods placed on Capitol Confederate monument". WBTV.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^"Henry Lawson Wyatt Monument, Raleigh". Documenting the American South. 19 March 2010. Retrieved September 3, 2017.
^"Samuel A'Court Ashe Monument". Documenting the American South. 19 March 2010. Retrieved April 15, 2018.
^ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzaaabacadaeafagahai"North Carolina Civil War Monuments". North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources. 19 March 2010. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
^Cooper, Andrea (April 7, 2021). "Confederate Governor's monument coming down in Asheville, N.C.". Jewish Journal (Ft. Lauderdale, FL). pp. 8–9.
^ abHunt, Max (July 6, 2017). "Debate over Asheville's Confederate memorials continues". Mountain Xpress. Retrieved August 15, 2017.
^Barrett, Mark (August 18, 2017). "4 charged with damaging Lee plaque at Vance Monument". Citizen-Times. Retrieved August 19, 2017.
^ abRobbins, Peter (October 27, 2017). "A modest proposal for the Vance Monument". Mountain Xpress.
^"William Henry Hardy Plaque, Asheville". Documenting the American South. 19 March 2010. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
^Hampson, Rick (May 22, 2017). "Confederate monuments, more than 700 across USA, aren't budging". USA Today. Retrieved November 24, 2017.
^"Carteret County Confederate Soldiers Monument, Beaufort". Documenting the American South. The University Library of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 19 March 2010. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
^"Since George Floyd's Death, These Confederate Monuments Have Been Removed in North Carolina". 21 December 2020.
^Winberry, John J. (1983). ""Lest We Forget": The Confederate Monument and the Southern Townscape". Southeastern Geographer. 23 (2): 107–21. doi:10.1353/sgo.1983.0008. ISSN 1549-6929. S2CID 201779463.
^"Tyrrell County Confederate Memorial, Columbia". Documenting the American South. 19 March 2010. Retrieved September 28, 2017.
^Holloway, Kali (March 25, 2019). "'Loyal Slave' Monuments Tell a Racist Lie About American History". The Nation. Archived from the original on November 15, 2019. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
^"Confederate War Memorial". Currituck Outer Banks. November 21, 2013. Retrieved August 17, 2017.
^Hildyard, Carly (August 22, 2017). "County leaders, NAACP address Confederate statue at Alamance County Courthouse". WGHP (MyFox8).
^Gandee, Katelin (August 23, 2018). "Silent Sam sparking emotions". Laurinburg Exchange. Retrieved October 15, 2018.
^"Orren Randolph Smith, Fletcher". Documenting the American South. 19 March 2010. Retrieved September 23, 2017.
^Commemorative Landscapes. Catawba County Confederate Soldiers Monument.
^"Battle of Plymouth (1928), Plymouth". Documenting the American South. 19 March 2010. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
^"Wilson County Civil War Memorial". Retrieved December 2, 2018.
^"Confederate Monument, Bentonville Battlefield, Four Oaks". Documenting the American South. 19 March 2010. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
^"Joseph Johnston Monument". Documenting the American South. 19 March 2010. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
^Marchant, Bristow (August 25, 2017). "Protesters want Confederate monuments removed from SC State House". The State. Retrieved April 18, 2018.
^"Judah P. Benjamin Memorial, Charlotte". Documenting the American South. 19 March 2010. Retrieved September 15, 2017.
^"Jefferson Davis Camp, Concord". Documenting the American South. 19 March 2010. Retrieved September 15, 2017.
^North Carolina Department of Natural Resources (19 March 2010). "North Carolina Civil War Monuments". Retrieved January 2, 2018.
^"Judah P. Benjamin Marker, Fayetteville". Documenting the American South. 19 March 2010. Retrieved September 15, 2017.
^"Jefferson Davis, Fletcher". Documenting the American South. 19 March 2010. Retrieved September 16, 2017.
^"Orren Randolph Smith, Fletcher". Documenting the American South. 19 March 2010. Retrieved September 16, 2017.
^"Henry Timrod, Fletcher". Documenting the American South. 19 March 2010. Retrieved September 16, 2017.
^"Matthew Fontaine Maury, Fletcher". Documenting the American South. 19 March 2010. Retrieved September 16, 2017.
^Horne, Gerald (2007). The Deepest South: The United States, Brazil, and the African Slave Trade. New York University Press. p. 106. ISBN 9780814790731.
^"Robert E. Lee Dixie Highway Marker, Fletcher". Documenting the American South. 19 March 2010. Retrieved September 16, 2017.
^"Zebulon Baird Vance, Fletcher". Documenting the American South. 19 March 2010. Retrieved September 16, 2017.
^"Albert Pike, Fletcher". Documenting the American South. 19 March 2010. Retrieved September 16, 2017.
^"Calvary Episcopal Church Memorial, Fletcher". Documenting the American South. 19 March 2010. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
^"Confederate Monument, Goldsboro". docsouth.unc.edu. Goldsboro, North Carolina. May 10, 1883.
^"Since George Floyd's Death, These Confederate Monuments Have Been Removed in North Carolina". 21 December 2020.
^"North Carolina Civil War Monuments". ncmonuments.ncdcr.gov. 19 March 2010.
^"General Junius Daniel, Halifax". Documenting the American South. 19 March 2010. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
^ abcButler, Douglas J. (2013). North Carolina Civil War Monuments: An Illustrated History. McFarland. pp. 16, 18, 20. ISBN 9781476603377.
^"Robert E. Lee Dixie Highway Marker, Hendersonville". Documenting the American South. 19 March 2010. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
^"Confederate Soldiers Monument, High Point". Documenting the American South. 19 March 2010. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
^"1932 Fort Fisher Confederate Monument, Kure Beach". Documenting the American South. 19 March 2010. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
^"Lexington Confederate monument removed overnight into Friday". WXII 12. October 17, 2020. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
^"Commemorative Landscapes of North Carolina". docsouth.unc.edu. March 19, 2010.
^Quillin, Martha (April 20, 2018). "A Confederate statue. A mostly black college. And simmering small-town resentment". News & Observer.
^"Commemorative Landscapes of North Carolina". docsouth.unc.edu. May 25, 2017.
^"Confederate Monument, Cedar Grove Cemetery, New Bern". Documenting the American South. 19 March 2010. Retrieved September 3, 2017.
^"New Confederate statue goes up in Reidsville". myfox8.com. December 12, 2013. Retrieved August 17, 2017.
^"Rocky Mount mayor says city council votes to remove Confederate monument at local park". wral.com. June 2, 2020.
^Bergeron, Josh (July 7, 2020). "111 years after its dedication, 'Fame' hoisted away from West Innes Street". Salisbury Post. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
^Anderson, Natalie (July 23, 2021). "A year after removal, 'Fame' Confederate monument relocated to new home". Salisbury Post. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
^"The Last Grand Review (Confederate Army), Selma". Documenting the American South. 19 March 2010. Retrieved September 16, 2017.
^"Commemorative Landscapes of North Carolina". 19 March 2010.
^"Robert E. Lee Dixie Highway Marker, Tuxedo". Documenting the American South. 19 March 2010. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
^"Rockingham County Confederate Monument, Wentworth". Documenting the American South. 19 March 2010. Retrieved September 15, 2017.
^Kay, Lindell J. (June 11, 2020). "A Confederate Controversy: Wilson Divided Over Civil War Monuments". The Wake Weekly.
^Murphy, Kate (July 29, 2020). "These UNC dorms and academic buildings are no longer named after white supremacists". News & Observer. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
^Randolph County Public Library (January 19, 2024). "Town History – Ramseur" (PDF).
^Corwin, Brook (2001-08-10). "Trees a living memorial to Confederate veterans". Hendersonville Times. Retrieved 2017-08-29.
^ abHarrison, Steve (2017-08-26). "148-year-old handwritten notes show Confederate origins of Stonewall St. – and others". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved 2017-08-30.
^"About Us". Zeb Vance Elementary. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
External links
Media related to Monuments and memorials of the Confederate States of America in North Carolina at Wikimedia Commons