Monday, January 20, 2014

To the Soldiers of the Confederacy

My favorite Civil War monument of them all. Geographic coordinates, Wilmington, NC,


  34.234350 , -77.945910."Erected to honor the courage and self-sacrifice of New Hanover County's Confederate soldiers, this monument presents two bronze sculptural figures framed by a tall granite stele. The figures represent two Confederate soldiers as the figures of courage and sacrifice. The figure of courage stands tall and determined, as he protects the body of his fallen comrade, the figure of sacrifice. The standing soldier is dressed in military attire and wearing a caped coat that floats in the air behind him as he holds his rifle in his right hand with the bayonet pointing upward. Unlike many Confederate soldier statues where the figure stands silently and obediently at parade rest, the standing soldier in this rendering wears no hat and is portrayed as if in motion, elegant and gallant. One soldier’s face is modeled after that of granite salesman John Ernest Ramsay of Salisbury, who provided the stone for the stele. The monument was apparently vandalized around 1950 with John Ramsay replacing the stone at that time. "

"The pedestal is inscribed with a commemoration in verse. It includes the Latin phrase Pro Aris et Focis. This phrase, literally translated as "for our altars and hearths", is also translated into the patriotic motto, "for God and country." "

http://docsouth.unc.edu/commland/monument/116/