Our Confederate Dead, Anderson County Courthouse, Anderson, South Carolina

Our Confederate Dead, Anderson County Courthouse, Anderson, South Carolina

This Confederat monument is located in Anderson County, Anderson, South Carolina. The statue is of native Anderson County Confederate soldier William Wirt Humphreys. The statue was made to honor all Confederate soldiers from Anderson County and the idea of it began in 1886. The real planning began in 1891 when local school teacher Leonora Hubbard encouraged her young students to raise money for the statue's development. This inspired many of the locals and sixteen years later in 1902, the monument was unveiled. The statue has inscriptions on the north, west, and south sides. On the side pointing north, there is a Palmetto tree--symbol of South Carolina--over crossed swords on top of a laurel wreath. This sign represents the Confederate cavalry. On the lower side of that inscription, there is a Battle Flag and a section of the poem "The Conquered Ban" by American poet and Confederate proponent Father Abram Joseph Ryan. On the west side, there is an inscription, “CSA” and a cannon that represents the Confederate artillery. On the lower die is inscribed a list of the great battles of the war. On the south side of the monument, there is another inscription that represents the Confederate navy. And finally, on the east side, there is an inscription that says "Our Confederate Dead," where the monument gets its name. According to a 2017 Greenville News article, the monument is surrounded by a steel fence after protests began throughout the south asking for Civil War monuments to be removed. According to the article, this particular statue had not yet been targeted but the fence was put there as a precaution against vandalism. As of June 2020, after the Black Lives Matter protests, there is a petition to remove it. The County Council had a meeting to debate the removal. County has no control because it is up to the state. They are hoping to relocate it if the state allows it.

1902 by Citizens of Anderson County.

1. "Anderson Confederate Monument Erected in Jan.1902." Accessed 09 December 2021. http://andersonobserver.com/news/2017/8/17/anderson-confederate- monument-erected-in-jan-1902.html

2. "Anderson County Confederate Monument." Accessed 09 December 2021.
https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=155713

3. "Editorial: The fate of Confederate monuments should reside with local residents" Accessed 09 December 2021.
https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/opinion/2017/09/06/editorial-fate-confederate-monuments-should-reside-local-residents/637243001/

"Growing calls to remove Confederate monument in Anderson" https://www.wyff4.com/article/growing-calls-to-remove-confederate-monument-in-anderson/32804240#

The idea to make a monument was first brought up in 1886 on "Declaration Day" but it was not unveiled until 1902.

Andrea Mercado, Raylene Castellano

English

Confederate Monument

HIST 402A Fall 2021

Tribute to Confederate soldiers in the United States.