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Confederate Obelisk

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Coordinates: 33°44′53″N 84°22′19″W / 33.74802°N 84.37207°W / 33.74802; -84.37207
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Confederate Obelisk
Confederate Obelisk (2020)
Map
33°44′53″N 84°22′19″W / 33.74802°N 84.37207°W / 33.74802; -84.37207
LocationOakland Cemetery, Atlanta, Georgia, United States
TypeObelisk
MaterialGranite
Height65 feet (20 m)
Beginning dateOctober 15, 1870
Dedicated dateApril 26, 1874
Dedicated toConfederate war dead
Confederate Obelisk
Part ofOakland Cemetery (Atlanta) (ID76000627)
Added to NRHPApril 28, 1976

The Confederate Obelisk is a large Confederate monument located in the Oakland Cemetery of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The structure, a tall obelisk located in the cemetery's Confederate section, was dedicated in 1874. Due to its connection to the Confederate States of America, the monument has been vandalized repeatedly.

History

Background and dedication

Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta is one of the largest and oldest cemeteries in the city. Over 6,900 Confederate soldiers are buried in the cemetery, many of whom had died during the Atlanta campaign of the American Civil War.[1] The monument's obelisk was commissioned by the Atlanta Ladies' Memorial Association (ALMA), who later commissioned another Confederate monument in the cemetery, the Lion of the Confederacy sculpture.[1] The cornerstone for the monument was laid on October 15, 1870, on the day of Robert E. Lee's funeral, with John Brown Gordon, a Confederate general and later Governor of Georgia, serving as a speaker at the event.[2] In the cornerstone, the ALMA placed an image of Lee, an 1862 Confederate flag, Confederate money and stamps, a bullet, two gloves, and a roster of the ALMA.[3] The monument cost $8,000 to build, with granite donated by the Stone Mountain Granite Company and marble tablets designed and donated by a local marble merchant.[2]

Stereoscopic image of the obelisk (1880)

The monument was dedicated on April 26, 1874,[2] on Confederate Memorial Day.[3] Librarian and archivist Ruth Blair, speaking in 1939, called the structure Atlanta's first monument.[4] At the time of its dedication, the 65-foot (20 m) tall obelisk stood as the tallest structure in the city, a record it would hold for several years.[3] The ceremony, which started at noon, featured several former Confederate officials as speakers and Confederate veterans as attendees, included a parade and other festivities.[3] The monument would in later years come to be a focal point for annual Confederate Memorial Day celebrations.[1] It currently remains the tallest structure in the cemetery.[5]

Recent controversy

Further information: Removal of Confederate monuments and memorials and List of monuments and memorials removed during the George Floyd protests

In 2017, following the Unite the Right rally, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed organized a committee to assess the Confederate monuments in the city and provide feedback on possible actions to be taken.[6] Georgia state law prohibits the removal of such monuments and so the city government began to work with the Atlanta History Center to create "contextual markers" that would add historical context to the monuments. The Confederate Obelisk was one of several monuments chosen to have markers added to them, which also included the Lion sculpture and the Peace Monument in Piedmont Park.[7] Speaking about the markers, one of the executive directors for the Historic Oakland Foundation said, "We want to say these things have different meanings. Depending on the era and time, it can mean different things to different people."[7] These markers were added to the obelisk in August 2019.[8][9] Following the installation of these markers, the NAACP criticized them, with the president of the Atlanta branch calling them "a profound disappointment" and that they "don't counter the notion of white supremacy."[10]

During the George Floyd protests in Georgia, the obelisk and Lion were vandalized on the night of May 28, 2020.[11] The monuments were subsequently vandalized on several separate occasions throughout May and June 2020.[5][8][12]

Design

The monument is a large granite obelisk that features marble tablets affixed near the base. An inscription on the obelisk reads "OUR CONFEDERATE DEAD".[2]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Breffle, Marcy (August 9, 2019). "Interpreting Atlanta's Confederate History". Historic Oakland Foundation. Archived from the original on September 26, 2020. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d Wiggins, David N. (2006). Georgia's Confederate Monuments and Cemeteries. Arcadia Publishing. p. 36. ISBN 978-0-7385-4233-1 – via Google Books.
  3. ^ a b c d Kaemmerlen, Cathy J. (2007). The Historic Oakland Cemetery of Atlanta: Speaking Stones. The History Press. ISBN 9781625844200 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ Blair, Ruth (October 1940). "Atlanta's Monuments". Atlanta Historical Bulletin. V (23). Atlanta Historical Society: 273 – via Atlanta History Center.
  5. ^ a b Corson, Pete (July 29, 2020). "PHOTOS: Confederate memorials in metro Atlanta". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Cox Enterprises. Archived from the original on July 14, 2018. Retrieved October 6, 2020.
  6. ^ Bentley, Rosalind (July 29, 2019). "Atlanta erecting markers about slavery next to Confederate monuments". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Cox Enterprises. Archived from the original on July 25, 2019. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  7. ^ a b Bentley, Rosalind (November 27, 2018). "Rebel monuments take different route than felled Confederate Avenue". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Cox Enterprises. Archived from the original on November 26, 2018. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  8. ^ a b "Monuments and Interpretive Sign Damaged by Vandals". Historic Oakland Foundation. May 29, 2020. Archived from the original on June 16, 2020. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  9. ^ King, Michael (August 6, 2019). "New markers placed with Atlanta's Confederate monuments adding modern info about racism". WXIA-TV. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  10. ^ Bentley, Rosalind (August 22, 2019). "Atlanta NAACP criticizes markers surrounding Confederate monuments". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Cox Enterprises. Archived from the original on August 22, 2019. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  11. ^ Abusaid, Shaddi (May 29, 2020). "Confederate monuments vandalized in Oakland Cemetery, cops say". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Cox Enterprises. Archived from the original on June 7, 2020. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  12. ^ "An Update on the Remediation of Recent Vandalism". Historic Oakland Foundation. June 9, 2020. Archived from the original on September 19, 2020. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
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