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Confederate War Memorial (Dallas)

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Coordinates: 32°46′32″N 96°47′59″W / 32.775559°N 96.799631°W / 32.775559; -96.799631
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Confederate War Memorial
Map
Year1896
LocationDallas, Texas, United States
Coordinates32°46′32″N 96°47′59″W / 32.775559°N 96.799631°W / 32.775559; -96.799631

The Confederate War Memorial in Dallas, Texas, is a 60 foot (18 m)-high monument that pays tribute to the soldiers and generals from Texas during the American Civil War. It was dedicated in 1897, following the laying of its cornerstone the previous year.

The monument is located in Pioneer Park Cemetery in the Convention Center District of downtown Dallas, Texas (USA), next to the Dallas Convention Center and Pioneer Plaza.

After the wave of removal of Confederate monuments in 2017, the City of Dallas convened a task force to decide what to do with the memorial and the statue of Robert E. Lee in Lee Park.[1] The Dallas City Council subsequently approved removal of the Confederate War Memorial in February of 2019,[2] but the planned removal was blocked indefinitely later that year by the Fifth Court of Appeals of Texas.[3]

History

The monument was designed by Frank Teich, who in 1896 was made an honorary member of Dallas Chapter, No. 6 of the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC).[4] The cornerstone was dedicated by the UDC Dallas chapter on June 25, 1896.[5] The dedication of the monument on April 29, 1897[6] was attended by thousands, with hundreds of Confederate veterans, including Colonel William Lyne Crawford[5] and Texas governor Charles Allen Culberson.[7] There were also Masons, Knights Templar, Free Thinkers and German Turners.[5] The Galveston Daily noted that a black woman threw granite at a carriage on the way, but she was dismissed as "insane."[5]

The dedication of both the cornerstone and the monument itself took place during Katie Doswell Cabell's first of two terms (25 May 1896–17 Dec 1897 and 17 Oct 1921–19 Oct 1922) as president of the Texas Division of the UDC.[8] Her position in that office at that time may account for the inclusion of the marble bas relief roundel portrait bust of her father, William Lewis Cabell, on the south side of the monument base. W.L. Cabell served three two-year terms as mayor of Dallas (1874–1876, 1877–1879 and 1883–1885). A Confederate veteran who attained the rank of brigadier-general, Cabell remained active in the United Confederate Veterans until his death in 1911.[8] Cabell's grandson, Earle Cabell, was serving as mayor of Dallas when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated there on November 22, 1963.

The monument was originally located at Old City Park, but was relocated to Pioneer Park in 1961 due to construction on R.L. Thornton Freeway.[9] It is believed to be the city's oldest public sculpture.[7]

In 2017, the controversial Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia prompted the removal of Confederate monuments in various southern cities, and Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings called for a task force to decide what to do with the memorial.[1] In April 2018, a local group calling itself Return to Lee Park was formed, and lawyers for the group filed lawsuits to block the removal of both the War Memorial and the Robert E. Lee on Traveller statue in Lee Park.[3] In an 11–4 vote on February 13, 2019, the Dallas City Council approved removal of the War Memorial.[2] Although the Pioneer Park Cemetery around the monument is considered a historical area, the city Landmark Commission and City Plan Commission subsequently and independently deemed that the monument has no historical connection to the cemetery, having been moved to the location decades after the last person was interred there in 1921.[3]

Robert E. Lee on Traveller was later removed and sold at auction for $1.4 million, and the city earmarked the funds to cover the estimated $500,000 cost to remove the War Memorial; however, on June 27, 2019, lawyer Warren Norred, acting on behalf of Return to Lee Park, filed an emergency stay with the Fifth Court of Appeals of Texas to block removal of War Memorial, arguing that the city had violated the Texas Open Meetings Act and the Texas Antiquities Act in its earlier actions. On July 1, 2019, Appeals Court Justice Bill Whitehall sided with Return to Lee Park and issued an order indefinitely blocking the memorial's removal until the legal dispute is resolved.[3]

In late May of 2020, the killing of George Floyd prompted massive protests across the United States, and protests in downtown Dallas on May 29 and 30 turned violent, with mobs looting stores, blocking highways, and vandalizing landmarks and police vehicles.[10] Protests in other cities focused on destroying or defacing Confederate monuments, and on June 11, 2020, the city filed an emergency motion with the Court of Appeals asking for immediate permission to remove the War Memorial, citing the possibility of serious injury to protesters if the monument is toppled during a planned rally at the site on Saturday, June 13, 2020.[11]

Structure

The monument is made of granite and marble, the figures being of Italian marble,[12] with a 60-foot pillar rising into the sky topped with a Confederate soldier. The letters “CSA” (for Confederate States of America) are engraved on the front of the monument base, above the motto “Confederate” and a dedication stone. Inset in the capital of the monument base, above the dedication stone, is a medallion of William Lewis Cabell. Cabell is identified only by his nickname, "Old Tige."[13]

The other three sides pay homage to the cavalry, infantry, and naval forces. Surrounding the base are statues of CSA generals Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson and Albert Johnston, and CSA president Jefferson Davis. All of these men were leaders of the Confederate States of America, which seceded from the United States of America, leading to the American Civil War in 1861.

Inscriptions

The inscription on the south-facing side below the medallion reads, "The brazen lips of Southern cannon thundered an unanswered anthem to the God of Battle". The northern face is decorated with an anchor, and reads, "It was given the genius and valor of Confederate seamen to revolutionize naval warfare over the earth". Below the writing, another inscription says, "This stone shall crumble into dust ere the deathless devotion of Southern women be forgotten". The west side inscription is below an engraving of crossed swords and reads, "The Confederate sabreur kissed his blade homeward riding on into the mouth of hell". The east side is decorated with crossed rifles, and reads, "Confederate infantry drove bayonets through columns that never before reeled to the shock of battle".[14]

Gallery

  • Albert Johnston
    Albert Johnston
  • Robert E. Lee
    Robert E. Lee
  • Stonewall Jackson
    Stonewall Jackson
  • Jefferson Davis
    Jefferson Davis
  • Confederate Soldier
    Confederate Soldier
  • Cavalry inscription
    Cavalry inscription
  • Infantry inscription
    Infantry inscription
  • Naval inscription
    Naval inscription
  • Memorial dedication inscription
    Memorial dedication inscription
  • Daughters of Confederacy inscription
    Daughters of Confederacy inscription
  • Confederate Monument (postcard, circa 1897-1924)
    Confederate Monument (postcard, circa 1897-1924)

See also

References

  1. ^ a b CNN (August 18, 2017). "Here are the Confederate memorials that will be removed after Charlottesville". WPTV. Retrieved February 12, 2018. {{cite news}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  2. ^ a b Smith, Corbett (February 13, 2019). "Dallas City Council votes to take down Confederate War Memorial". The Dallas Morning News. Dallas, Texas. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d Wilonsky, Robert (July 2, 2019). "Appeals court rules Dallas can't remove Confederate War Memorial 'until further notice'". The Dallas Morning News. Dallas, Texas. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  4. ^ Hendricks, Patricia D. and Becky Duval Reese, A Century of Sculpture in Texas: 1889–1989, University of Texas, Austin, 1989 p. 21
  5. ^ a b c d "FOR THE HEROIC DEAD. CORNERSTONE OF A MONUMENT TO PERPETUATE THEIR VALOR LAID YESTERDAY. IMPOSING STREET PARADE. Eloquent Orations by Ex-Confederate Soldiers—Decorates Carriages and Other Features". The Galveston Daily News. June 28, 1896. p. 18. Retrieved December 10, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Widener, Ralph W. Jr. Confederate Monuments: Enduring Symbols of the South and the War Between the States, Andromeda Associates, and Ralph W. Widener, Jr., Ph.D., Washington D.C., 1982 p.215
  7. ^ a b Little 1996, p. 165.
  8. ^ a b "William Lewis Cabell", Wikipedia, 2020-01-15, retrieved 2020-01-22
  9. ^ Teich, Frank (11 December 1896). "Confederate Monument". Retrieved 11 December 2017 – via siris-artinventories.si.edu Library Catalog.
  10. ^ Manuel, Obed; Singer, Dan; Smith, Corbett; DiFurio, Dom; Krause, Kevin; Ramirez, Mark (May 30, 2020). "Protests at Dallas City Hall again prompt tear gas as demonstrators against police brutality say 'No more'". The Dallas Morning News. Dallas, Texas. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  11. ^ Norimie, Hayat (June 11, 2020). "Dallas asks Court of Appeals for permission to remove Pioneer Park's Confederate War Memorial". The Dallas Morning News. Dallas, Texas. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  12. ^ Little, Carol Morris, A Comprehensive Guide to Outdoor Sculpture in Texas, University of Texas Press, Austin, 1996 p.165
  13. ^ "Old Tige - Steam Pumper Dallas Fire Dept. in 1884 1 of 3 remaining in US". Dallas Fire Museum. Retrieved 2020-01-22.
  14. ^ Teich, Frank (11 December 1896). "Confederate Monument". Retrieved 11 December 2017 – via siris-artinventories.si.edu Library Catalog.
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