In 1850, Garnett drove out ninety-seven Seminole tribe members from Florida, relocating them farther west from their ancestral lands. Garnett remained an active participant of violence against the indigenous in the late 1850s as he decimated indigenous groups in the Washington Territory. Garnett is also credited with the creation of the seal of the State of California during the 1849 constitutional convention at Colton Hall in Monterey. As the antebellum South began its secession from the Union, Garnett followed by example, committing treason by joining the Confederate military. Resigning from his post as a major in the United States military, Garnett was bestowed the rank of brigadier general by the Confederacy.
He died in battle on July 13, 1861, becoming the first Confederate general to be killed during the Civil War, sacrificing his life for slavery. On May 4, 1957, 100 years after Garnett’s death, the UDC dedicated a plaque to the Confederate general with Monterey Mayor Dan Searle presiding in support during the ceremony. For 60 years, the 12-by-16-inch bronze and granite monument remained in obscurity, even after the Southern Poverty Law Center's efforts to map Confederate monuments across the United States.
Soon after the 2017 neo-Nazi rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, city officials agreed to remove the monument quietly rather than wait for it to be extralegally removed or vandalized by activists. In the monument's original location, the city of Monterey installed a similar bronze plaque commemorating the creation of the seal of California, leaving out the Confederate history of its creator. However, the reinstalled plaque endured less than three years before being destroyed in June 2020. The unknown perpetrator left a note written on cardboard that read “Celebrate real heroes. No place of honor for racists.” According to the Monterey County Weekly, the city of Monterey does not plan to pursue criminal charges or replace the plaque.
]]>In Monterey, California, a monument to Confederate General Robert Selden Garnett found a home for over 60 years. This controversial marker of the "Lost Cause," erected by the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) with the support of the city's mayor, shows how extensive the Lost Cause narrative has been--even in the history of California. Born on December 16, 1819, to a slave-owning family in Essex County, Virginia, Garnett was a seasoned officer of the U.S. Army with various campaigns under his resume before the Civil War. He fought in the invasion of Mexico of 1846-48. After he finished helping the United States achieve territorial expansion at Mexico’s expense, the decorated soldier became involved in one of U.S. history's most appalling events, known as the Trail of Tears.
In 1850, Garnett drove out ninety-seven Seminole tribe members from Florida, relocating them farther west from their ancestral lands. Garnett remained an active participant of violence against the indigenous in the late 1850s as he decimated indigenous groups in the Washington Territory. Garnett is also credited with the creation of the seal of the State of California during the 1849 constitutional convention at Colton Hall in Monterey. As the antebellum South began its secession from the Union, Garnett followed by example, committing treason by joining the Confederate military. Resigning from his post as a major in the United States military, Garnett was bestowed the rank of brigadier general by the Confederacy.
He died in battle on July 13, 1861, becoming the first Confederate general to be killed during the Civil War, sacrificing his life for slavery. On May 4, 1957, 100 years after Garnett’s death, the UDC dedicated a plaque to the Confederate general with Monterey Mayor Dan Searle presiding in support during the ceremony. For 60 years, the 12-by-16-inch bronze and granite monument remained in obscurity, even after the Southern Poverty Law Center's efforts to map Confederate monuments across the United States.
Soon after the 2017 neo-Nazi rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, city officials agreed to remove the monument quietly rather than wait for it to be extralegally removed or vandalized by activists. In the monument's original location, the city of Monterey installed a similar bronze plaque commemorating the creation of the seal of California, leaving out the Confederate history of its creator. However, the reinstalled plaque endured less than three years before being destroyed in June 2020. The unknown perpetrator left a note written on cardboard that read “Celebrate real heroes. No place of honor for racists.” According to the Monterey County Weekly, the city of Monterey does not plan to pursue criminal charges or replace the plaque.
Chen, Michael. “Confederate monument removed from plot in city-owned Mount Hope Cemetery”. ABC 10 News San Diego. San Diego, California. 23 July. 2020. https://www.10news.com/news/local-news/confederate-monument-removed-from-plot-in-city-owned-mount-hope-cemetery.
Dotinga, Randy. “San Diego's Other Confederate Memorial Sits in a City-Owned Cemetery”. Voice of San Diego. San Diego, California. 18 August. 2017. https://www.voiceofsandiego.org/topics/news/meet-s-d-s-other-confederate-memorial/.
Hall, Jerry. “Mr. Mayor, Remove Confederate Monument Celebrating Slavery from Public Mount Hope Cemetery”. Change.org. https://www.change.org/p/mr-mayor-remove-confederate-monument-celebrating-slavery-from-public-mt-hope-cemetery/u/27216094.
“Mount Hope Cemetery”. The City of San Diego. https://www.sandiego.gov/park-and-recreation/general-info/mthope.
Wilkens, John. “For some, Civil War furor is personal”. The San Diego Union-Tribune. San Diego, California. 28 June. 2015. https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/lifestyle/people/sdut-confederate-flag-civil-war-reaction-2015jun28-story.html.
The JDH was never completed after it failed to compete with the previously constructed 1913 coast-to-coast, New York to San Francisco, Lincoln Highway dedicated to the Union by “the wealthy auto enthusiast Carl G. Fisher and a group of industry boosters and wealthy philanthropists like Thomas Edison and Theodore Roosevelt” [1]. Since JDH was constructed initially to compete with the Union-supported Lincoln Highway, it linked together many places in support or friendly with the Confederate Lost Cause.
At least 250 JDH markers were renamed in the 1920s to the new federal government-imposed numbering system [2]. The highway portions became today’s US 1, US 15, US 29, US 80, US 90, US 99, and US 190. However, many - like San Diego’s Horton Plaza Park - kept their JDH markers alongside their new number markers. Originally a large obelisk located ironically across from the Ulysses S. Grant Hotel, the San Diego JDH obelisk marker was removed the same year (1926) of its placement due to strong opposition. A plaque was installed in place of the obelisk by the UDC California Division on May 12, 1926, and later restored in 1956 [3][4]. In the 1980s, during the construction of Horton Plaza, it was re-embedded in the new sidewalk after being removed from the previous sidewalk.
The San Diego JDH plaque was removed after protests to the San Diego City Council. It was removed by the city on August 16, 2017, at 8:30 am, and the city plans to return the plaque to its original benefactors, the UDC [5]. As of November 8th, 2021, fifteen local military leaders will make up the Military, Veteran, and Families Advisory Council to help advise San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria on military or veteran-related issues. The panel includes eight women and seven men from every service branch. As well as a "veteran small-business owner, a military spouse, a military family caregiver, and someone transitioning from active duty to veteran status" [8].
Jefferson Davis Highway (JDH), named after the Confederacy’s first and only president from 1861-1865, was once meant to be a coast-to-coast highway from Arlington, Virginia to San Diego, California. Construction began in 1913 and was funded by the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC). It was never completed so sections remained along with their old highway markers [1].
The JDH was never completed after it failed to compete with the previously constructed 1913 coast-to-coast, New York to San Francisco, Lincoln Highway dedicated to the Union by “the wealthy auto enthusiast Carl G. Fisher and a group of industry boosters and wealthy philanthropists like Thomas Edison and Theodore Roosevelt” [1]. Since JDH was constructed initially to compete with the Union-supported Lincoln Highway, it linked together many places in support or friendly with the Confederate Lost Cause.
At least 250 JDH markers were renamed in the 1920s to the new federal government-imposed numbering system [2]. The highway portions became today’s US 1, US 15, US 29, US 80, US 90, US 99, and US 190. However, many - like San Diego’s Horton Plaza Park - kept their JDH markers alongside their new number markers. Originally a large obelisk located ironically across from the Ulysses S. Grant Hotel, the San Diego JDH obelisk marker was removed the same year (1926) of its placement due to strong opposition. A plaque was installed in place of the obelisk by the UDC California Division on May 12, 1926, and later restored in 1956 [3][4]. In the 1980s, during the construction of Horton Plaza, it was re-embedded in the new sidewalk after being removed from the previous sidewalk.
The San Diego JDH plaque was removed after protests to the San Diego City Council. It was removed by the city on August 16, 2017, at 8:30 am, and the city plans to return the plaque to its original benefactors, the UDC [5]. As of November 8th, 2021, fifteen local military leaders will make up the Military, Veteran, and Families Advisory Council to help advise San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria on military or veteran-related issues. The panel includes eight women and seven men from every service branch. As well as a "veteran small-business owner, a military spouse, a military family caregiver, and someone transitioning from active duty to veteran status" [8].
However, after the country experienced protests over the police murder of George Floyd, Robert E. Lee's name was removed from the tree. This does not mean General Lee has left California forests. At least two other giant sequoias--located in Yosemite and Sequoia national parks-- currently bear Lee's name [1]. The name removal would only be ceremonial because trees cannot be officially renamed without government involvement.
The Kings Canyon tree was given a formal dedication by the United Daughters of the Confederacy in 1937 keeping the Lost Cause narrative alive in California [4]. It took 83 years for the park to decide to remove the defender of slavery's name from other public places [2]. There is sentiment for renaming the tree after the opposite of Lee, like African American abolitionist leader Frederick Douglass [2]. These majestic trees are a symbol of strength and by naming this one after a high-ranking member of the Confederate military, the Lost Cause narrative fused politics with nature.
]]>The giant Sequoia is a marvel of nature. These are some of the largest trees in the world and they reside in Kings Canyon National Park in California. Each of these grand giants is named for historical figures. In this region, called Ulysses S. Grant Grove, there was a tree named after a slave owned by Confederate General Robert E. Lee. The tree was named by a former Confederate lieutenant around 1875 [3], only ten years after the South was defeated. Ironically, the sequoia tree was found in the Union General Ulysses S. Grant section because these two generals fought each other late in the war with Grant prevailing.
However, after the country experienced protests over the police murder of George Floyd, Robert E. Lee's name was removed from the tree. This does not mean General Lee has left California forests. At least two other giant sequoias--located in Yosemite and Sequoia national parks-- currently bear Lee's name [1]. The name removal would only be ceremonial because trees cannot be officially renamed without government involvement.
The Kings Canyon tree was given a formal dedication by the United Daughters of the Confederacy in 1937 keeping the Lost Cause narrative alive in California [4]. It took 83 years for the park to decide to remove the defender of slavery's name from other public places [2]. There is sentiment for renaming the tree after the opposite of Lee, like African American abolitionist leader Frederick Douglass [2]. These majestic trees are a symbol of strength and by naming this one after a high-ranking member of the Confederate military, the Lost Cause narrative fused politics with nature.
The monument’s inscription and presence set out to honor the Confederacy’s evolving presence beyond the South, from the slave owner to the Klansman. The Lost Cause narrative found its way to the West Coast following the Civil War, allowing its ideology to take hold in the Golden State. One of the founders of Orange County, Dr. Henry William Head, was a Confederate veteran and prominent member of the Klu Klux Klan. As one source notes, “Orange County regards its Klan history fondly enough that there are still public places named after prominent Klansmen.” [3] Orange County’s controversial history is what allowed the establishment of the Confederate Monument at Santa Ana Cemetery. The monument was erected very recently, in 2004, with Santa Ana Mayor Gordon Bricken a strong believer in the Lost Cause narrative. [4]
The monument was removed on August 1, 2019, by the Orange County Cemetery District. The district requested that the Sons of Confederate Veterans remove the monument in February 2019 since there was no record of permits for its construction. [5] The Sons of Confederate Veterans ignored the request. On July 7, 2019, the monument was vandalized “with red paint and the word “RACISTS” inscribed on the face of the structure. [6] The damage resulted in the district acting and removing the monument.
]]>The Confederate Monument at Santa Ana Cemetery was erected in 2004 by Santa Ana Mayor Gordon Bricken and members of the Orange County Sons of Confederate Veterans. The monument was a 9-foot-tall, 7-ton granite rectangular structure created to honor Civil War veterans who lived and died in Orange County. [1]
The monument’s inscription and presence set out to honor the Confederacy’s evolving presence beyond the South, from the slave owner to the Klansman. The Lost Cause narrative found its way to the West Coast following the Civil War, allowing its ideology to take hold in the Golden State. One of the founders of Orange County, Dr. Henry William Head, was a Confederate veteran and prominent member of the Klu Klux Klan. As one source notes, “Orange County regards its Klan history fondly enough that there are still public places named after prominent Klansmen.” [3] Orange County’s controversial history is what allowed the establishment of the Confederate Monument at Santa Ana Cemetery. The monument was erected very recently, in 2004, with Santa Ana Mayor Gordon Bricken a strong believer in the Lost Cause narrative. [4]
The monument was removed on August 1, 2019, by the Orange County Cemetery District. The district requested that the Sons of Confederate Veterans remove the monument in February 2019 since there was no record of permits for its construction. [5] The Sons of Confederate Veterans ignored the request. On July 7, 2019, the monument was vandalized “with red paint and the word “RACISTS” inscribed on the face of the structure. [6] The damage resulted in the district acting and removing the monument.
In the years after the Civil War, Confederate veterans moved their family members to California. Although the state joined the Union as a free state during the war, the state had many Southern supporters. Five years after the formation of the first chapter of the UDC in 1894, several UDC chapters formed in California promoting the care of ailing veterans [2]. In the Los Angeles region, the UDC operated Dixie Manor, a Confederate veteran's senior living facility in the San Gabriel Valley. An estimated 28 veterans spent the remaining days of their lives in the facility and were later buried at Hollywood Cemetery [3].
The CMALA and the UDC had initially set out to build the Confederate memorial in a public park. However, government officials use the land for other purposes [4]. The gray granite boulder used to fabricate the monument came from the San Gabriel Canyon.
In 2017 due to local opposition to Confederate memorabilia and the monument's defacement, the Cemetery administration and the UDC chapter at Long Beach chose to remove the marker [5].
On June 3, 1925, the Confederate Monument Association of Los Angeles (CMALA), together with the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC), unveiled the Confederate memorial at the Hollywood Cemetery. The function of the stone marker was to honor and indicate the burial sites of Confederate veterans. In years prior, the Robert E. Lee Chapter of UDC, the local chapter, bought burial plots in the cemetery section where other Confederate veterans laid to rest [1]. The monument organizer's goal was to create a space where families of deceased Confederate veterans could come together during Memorial Day and other days of remembrance.
In the years after the Civil War, Confederate veterans moved their family members to California. Although the state joined the Union as a free state during the war, the state had many Southern supporters. Five years after the formation of the first chapter of the UDC in 1894, several UDC chapters formed in California promoting the care of ailing veterans [2]. In the Los Angeles region, the UDC operated Dixie Manor, a Confederate veteran's senior living facility in the San Gabriel Valley. An estimated 28 veterans spent the remaining days of their lives in the facility and were later buried at Hollywood Cemetery [3].
The CMALA and the UDC had initially set out to build the Confederate memorial in a public park. However, government officials use the land for other purposes [4]. The gray granite boulder used to fabricate the monument came from the San Gabriel Canyon.
In 2017 due to local opposition to Confederate memorabilia and the monument's defacement, the Cemetery administration and the UDC chapter at Long Beach chose to remove the marker [5].