Athens Confederate Monument Explained

Athens Confederate Monument
City:Athens, Georgia, U.S.

The Athens Confederate Monument is a Confederate memorial near Barber Creek in Athens, Georgia, United States. It is a Carrara marble obelisk mounted on a granite foundation engraved with names of the city's soldiers who were killed during the American Civil War. It was formerly located in the median strip of Broad Street in the Downtown Local Historic District of Athens[1] until being removed in 2020 and being placed at its current site in 2021.

Description

The monument is made up of two different sections, an obelisk made of Carrara marble that has six shafts, and a granite base. Only the marble obelisk is engraved. The names of white Confederate soldiers from Athens who were killed during the Civil War are inscribed on the marble. A veteran of the war called for the names to be arranged in alphabetical order rather than by rank so none of their deaths would be perceived as greater than the others, but his request was left unfulfilled. The master of a local Masonic Lodge, William King, included a time capsule in the monument's cornerstone. The time capsule, which according to an interview with William King contains Confederate memorabilia and a list of Athens Freemasons, was removed after the monument's most recent relocation.[2]

History

The monument was one of the first monuments to the casualties of the American Civil War to be raised in the South after the war's conclusion.[3] Construction of the monument began on May 5, 1871, and was completed on June 3, 1872, at the cost of $4,444.44 (about $111,363 in 2023) raised by the Ladies' Memorial Association from the residents of the city, though another professor at the university, Akela Reason, proposed that it was actually funded by the city's wealthy men because "it would have been easier for women to build a memorial mourning the dead than for men to build one in defiance."[4] It has been moved three times since it was first erected at the intersection of College Avenue and Washington Street. It was first moved north one block to the center of College Avenue, but was relocated again in 1912 when it caused congestion there. It then stood in the median of Broad Street until August 10, 2020.[5]

2020-2021 relocation

Discussions by the city and local activists to remove the monument began after the Charleston church shooting in 2015.[4] After the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police the area around the monument became the rally point for the city's protest. Protesters called for the monument to be removed.[6]

In response to the local outcry it was planned for the monument to be moved again from the intersection of Broad Street and College Avenue in downtown Athens in 2020 by Athens mayor, Kelly Girtz. The mayor's desire to move the monument was challenged by Senate Bill 77, which prevents the city from moving Confederate monuments from prominent locations to another of lower prominence, but a loophole in the bill allowed the monument to be removed.[7] [8] [9] On June 16, 2020, the mayor proposed a $450,000 plan to move the monument from Broad Street to Timothy Place.[10] The mayor's plan was approved by the city commissioners on June 25 as part of a project to make the surrounding area more pedestrian-friendly.[11]

Work began on August 10 to remove the monument from the intersection at Broad Street. It was being moved according to the plan approved by the city's commissioners on June 25, but was temporarily stored in a field due to size restrictions until it could be installed on a new foundation.[12] [13] By June 2021, the memorial was partially reassembled, with the base of the structure already in place, at its current location at the end of Timothy Place visible from the Athens Perimeter. Its current placement is near the site of the Battle of Barber Creek, a skirmish that occurred on August 2, 1864, between a detachment of General George Stoneman's cavalry forces and the Athens Home Guard during the Atlanta campaign.[14] [15]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Map of the Downtown Local Historic District. Athens-Clarke County Unified Government. 2017. June 11, 2020. June 10, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200610211334/https://www.athensclarkecounty.com/DocumentCenter/View/306/HP_Map-Downtown-2017?bidId=. live.
  2. Dowd. Chris. Time Capsule Found in Athens Confederate Monument. Flagpole Magazine. September 16, 2020. October 25, 2020. October 28, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201028212245/https://flagpole.com/news/city-dope/2020/09/16/time-capsule-found-in-athens-confederate-monument/. live.
  3. News: Charlotte. Norsworthy. Division on Broad Street: Confederate monument in the heart of Athens stirs controversy. The Red & Black. August 24, 2017. June 10, 2020. June 10, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200610073415/https://www.redandblack.com/athensnews/division-on-broad-street-confederate-monument-in-the-heart-of-athens-stirs-controversy/article_e2d0184e-8879-11e7-982a-8faa013e2660.html. live.
  4. Blake. Aued. Athens Anti-Discrimination Movement Calls to Take Down Confederate Monument. Flagpole Magazine. September 27, 2017. June 10, 2020. June 10, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200610075339/https://flagpole.com/news/city-dope/2017/09/27/athens-anti-discrimination-movement-calls-to-take-down-confederate-monument/. live.
  5. E. Merton . Coulter. E. Merton Coulter. The Confederate Monument In Athens, Georgia. The Georgia Historical Quarterly. 40 3. 230–247. September 1956. 3. 40577689.
  6. News: Athens mayor, commissioners call for the relocation of Confederate monument. WAGA-TV. June 4, 2020. June 10, 2020. June 12, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200612035530/https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/athens-mayor-commissioners-call-for-the-relocation-of-confederate-monument. live.
  7. News: Sofi. Gratas. Athens Mayor Calls For Removal Of Confederate Monument In Wake Of Recent Protests. GPB News. June 4, 2020. June 10, 2020. June 10, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200610041606/https://www.gpbnews.org/post/athens-mayor-calls-removal-confederate-monument-wake-recent-protests. live.
  8. 2019–2020 Regular Session – SB 77 State Flag, Seal, and other Symbols. 155th Georgia General Assembly. April 26, 2019. Web site: Georgia General Assembly . June 10, 2020 . June 10, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200610090131/http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/en-US/display/20192020/SB/77 . bot: unknown .
  9. Chris. Dowd. Mayor Girtz Calls for Removing Confederate Monument. Flagpole Magazine. June 5, 2020. June 10, 2020. June 10, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200610090342/https://flagpole.com/news/city-dope/2020/06/05/mayor-girtz-calls-for-removing-confederate-monument/. live.
  10. News: Lee. Shearer. As Savannah waits, Athens proposes plan to move Confederate memorial to Civil War battle site. June 18, 2020. June 22, 2020. June 25, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200625011544/https://www.onlineathens.com/news/20200618/as-savannah-waits-athens-proposes-plan-to-move-confederate-memorial-to-civil-war-battle-site. live.
  11. News: Lee. Shearer. Athens-Clarke commissioners OK moving Confederate monument, closing College Square to vehicles. Online Athens. June 25, 2020. July 3, 2020. July 3, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200703013727/https://www.onlineathens.com/news/20200625/athens-clarke-commissioners-ok-moving-confederate-monument-closing-college-square-to-vehicles. live.
  12. News: Donesha. Aldridge. Crews to begin work to move Confederate monument in Athens. 11Alive. August 10, 2020. August 11, 2020. June 15, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220615034755/https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/mynews/athens/athens-downtown-confederate-monument-to-be-moved/85-9f0ae40f-0b92-48db-9730-d2571b272eac. live.
  13. News: Lee Shearer. Athens Confederate monument stored in field as workers break up its foundation. Athens Banner-Herald. August 13, 2020. August 21, 2020. August 14, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200814210051/https://www.onlineathens.com/news/20200813/athens-confederate-monument-stored-in-field-as-workers-break-up-its-foundation. live.
  14. News: Allen. Stephanie. Athens Confederate monument being reassembled in its new location. Athens Banner-Herald. June 25, 2021. December 23, 2022.
  15. Web site: Thomas. Frances. Athens. New Georgia Encyclopedia. June 7, 2022. December 23, 2022.

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