Confederate Monument in Owensboro
Encyclopedia
The Confederate Monument in Owensboro is a historic statue located at the southwest corner of the Daviess County Courthouse lawn in Owensboro, Kentucky
.
The Monument was placed on the courthouse lawn in September 1900 by the John C. Breckinridge Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy
, after several years of fund raising. Over 5,000 came to witness the dedication, which included speeches and music. Among the dignitaries was the editor of The Confederate Veteran, S. A. Cunningham.
The monument consists of two parts. The granite
base is nine feet tall, and has carved upon it a wreath encircling the original Confederate flag. The statue depicts a Confederate soldier on alert bearing a rifle and wearing a short jacket and slouch hat. It is seven feet tall and made of bronze. It was made at the John Williams Bronze Foundry in New York
, and was sculpted by the Romania
n-American "sculptor of the Confederacy" George Julian Zolnay
.
In the summer of 1861, one of Kentucky's first Confederate companies was raised at Owensboro. The war hurt the city, as it disrupted river traffic that the city relied upon, and Confederate forces occasionally raided the city, including burning the courthouse. A historical marker near the monument tells of three residents of Daviess County that received the Confederate Medal of Honour; one at the Battle of Murfreesboro, and two for the Battle of Chickamauga
.
On July 17, 1997, the Confederate Monument in Owensboro was one of sixty-one different monuments related to the Civil War in Kentucky placed on the National Register of Historic Places
, as part of the Civil War Monuments of Kentucky Multiple Property Submission. The only other monument on the list in Daviess County is the Thompson and Powell Martyrs Monument
.
Owensboro, Kentucky
Owensboro is the fourth largest city by population in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It is the county seat of Daviess County. It is located on U.S. Route 60 about southeast of Evansville, Indiana, and is the principal city of the Owensboro, Kentucky, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's...
.
The Monument was placed on the courthouse lawn in September 1900 by the John C. Breckinridge Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy
United Daughters of the Confederacy
The United Daughters of the Confederacy is a women's heritage association dedicated to honoring the memory of those who served in the military and died in service to the Confederate States of America . UDC began as the National Association of the Daughters of the Confederacy, organized in 1894 by...
, after several years of fund raising. Over 5,000 came to witness the dedication, which included speeches and music. Among the dignitaries was the editor of The Confederate Veteran, S. A. Cunningham.
The monument consists of two parts. The granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
base is nine feet tall, and has carved upon it a wreath encircling the original Confederate flag. The statue depicts a Confederate soldier on alert bearing a rifle and wearing a short jacket and slouch hat. It is seven feet tall and made of bronze. It was made at the John Williams Bronze Foundry in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, and was sculpted by the Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n-American "sculptor of the Confederacy" George Julian Zolnay
George Julian Zolnay
George Julian Zolnay was a Romanian and American sculptor called the "sculptor of the Confederacy".-Early years:Zolnay was born on July 4, 1863 to Ignatius and Carolina Vagan Zolnay...
.
In the summer of 1861, one of Kentucky's first Confederate companies was raised at Owensboro. The war hurt the city, as it disrupted river traffic that the city relied upon, and Confederate forces occasionally raided the city, including burning the courthouse. A historical marker near the monument tells of three residents of Daviess County that received the Confederate Medal of Honour; one at the Battle of Murfreesboro, and two for the Battle of Chickamauga
Battle of Chickamauga
The Battle of Chickamauga, fought September 19–20, 1863, marked the end of a Union offensive in southeastern Tennessee and northwestern Georgia called the Chickamauga Campaign...
.
On July 17, 1997, the Confederate Monument in Owensboro was one of sixty-one different monuments related to the Civil War in Kentucky placed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
, as part of the Civil War Monuments of Kentucky Multiple Property Submission. The only other monument on the list in Daviess County is the Thompson and Powell Martyrs Monument
Thompson and Powell Martyrs Monument
The Thompson and Powell Martyrs Monument is a place on the National Register of Historic Places in St. Joseph, Kentucky, one of only three locations of the NRHP in Daviess County, Kentucky that is not in Owensboro, Kentucky....
.