Confederate Monument, Shiloh National Military Park

Confederate Monument (oblique view)
Confederate Monument (front view)
"Defeated Victory" at Shiloh Battlefield Confederate Monument

Dublin Core

Title

Confederate Monument, Shiloh National Military Park

Description

Inception and Design

The United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) began work and fundraising in 1900 to honor all the Confederate soldiers who participated in the U.S. victory at Shiloh on April 6-7, 1862.[1] In 1914, they commissioned sculptor Frederick C. Hibbard to create the $50,000 monument using over 100 tons of material.[2] The center represents a “Defeated Victory” with symbols of the Confederacy surrendering victory to Death and Night (decisive Union reinforcements arrived at night). The flanking statues symbolize Confederate frustration, defiance, stoicism, and submission concerning how they might have won the battle. The right panel shows eleven confident Confederates going to battle. The left shows ten leaving with sorrow (representing the battle’s first and second days). The center bust shows General Johnston, killed on the first day and considered a major factor in Confederate defeat.[3] The monument conveys the “Lost Cause” theme and “what if” nostalgia.

Dedication

On May 17, 1917, the Confederate Monument was dedicated. None of the 103 monuments dedicated at Shiloh were as significant as this ceremony. It included Tennessee’s Governor Tom Rye, Congressmen Ezekiel S. Candler, Jr., UDC President General Cordelia Powell Odenheimer, Park Superintendent DeLong Rice, Frederick Hibbard, Rt. Rev. Thomas F. Gailor (Bishop of Tennessee), and a reading of a letter from President Woodrow Wilson. Fifteen thousand people from nearly all Southern states came by boat, car, and horse. [4]

1917-Present

The Shiloh National Military Park was transferred to the National Park Service in 1933 from the War Department.[5] The monument has received periodic protests in response to racial and social unrest. The monument is currently open. [6]

Creator

Frederick C. Hibbard commissioned by United Daughters of the Confederacy

Source

1. Shiloh National Military Park, “United Daughters of the Confederacy Monument Dedication,” Facebook, March 19, 2017, https://www.facebook.com/ShilohNMP/posts/united-daughters-of-the-confederacy-monument-dedicationthe-confederate-monument-/1286659634757353/.

2. Ibid.; “To Heroes of Bloody Shiloh,” Nashville Banner 42, no. 33 (Nashville, TN), May 17, 1917, https://www.newspapers.com/image/604541634/.

3. Shiloh National Military Park, “Shiloh Battlefield-Confederate Monument,” National Park Service, last updated March 12,2015, https://www.nps.gov/places/shiloh-battlefield-confederate-monument.htm.

4. Shedd, Jr., Charles E, A History of Shiloh National Military Park, Tennessee, (United States Department of the Interior: National Park Service, 1954), 42.

5. Ibid., 45.

6. Shiloh National Military Park, “Plan Your Visit,” National Park Service, last updated October 18, 2020, https://www.nps.gov/shil/planyourvisit/index.htm.

Date

May 17, 1917

Contributor

Clay Kenworthy, Michael Danciu

Language

English

Type

Sculpture

Identifier

HIST 402A Fall 2020

Coverage

Shiloh National Military Park, Tennessee

Geolocation