Confederate Soldiers Monument, Winston-Salem

The Confederate Soldiers Monument of Winston-Salem, North Carolina used to stand on the corner of Fourth and Liberty Street by the Forsythe County Courthouse. The monument consisted of a Confederate soldier standing in uniform with a rifle on a column adorned with two trumpets and a rosette. There are four inscriptions on each side of the column They read as follows:

Front: ERECTED BY THE JAMES B. GORDON CHAPTER / UNITED DAUGHTERS OF THE CONFEDERACY / OCTOBER 1905 / WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. OUR CONFEDERATE/ DEAD.

Left: AS SOUTHERN SOLDIERS OF THE WAR OF 1861-1865, THEY SHARE THE FAME THAT MANKIND AWARDS TO THE HEROES WHO SERVED IN THAT GREAT CONFLICT.

Right: IN CAMP ON FAME’S ETERNAL CAMPING GROUND.

Rear: SLEEPING, BUT GLORIOUS / DEAD IN FAME’S PORTAL / DEAD BUT VICTORIOUS / DEAD BUT IMMORTAL / THEY GAVE US GREAT GLORY /WHAT MORE COULD THEY GIVE? / THEY LEFT US A STORY, / A STORY TO LIVE!

The monument was placed in October of 1905 by the United Daughters of the Confederacy: James B. Gordon Chapter. The UDC raised $3000 to construct the statue. The statue was designed by Thomas Delahunty and created by James Alfred Blum. The monument remained for over 100 years, but not without controversy. Various incidents of vandalism and talks of removal are a part of the monument’s history. A specific incident occurred on August 18th of 2017. The monument was defaced with Black paint saying “Cowards and Traitors” in response to the death of a counter-protester at a white supremacist rally. Two years later, the statue was finally removed despite the UDC’s wishes. The ruling was made by Judge Eric C. Morgan.

             Although North Carolina became part of the Confederacy, Forsythe County voted against succession. During this time, Winston and Salem were still two separate towns. Those who were strongly against succession and the Confederacy would either flee north or be faced with potential violence. Many men from Forsythe County tried to avoid joining the Confederacy at all costs. It is recorded that most residents there did not own slaves, and those few hundred families who did typically owned less than six. It is stated in 1845 town meeting notes that the Moravians in the town of Salem were generally opposed to slavery. In Salem, there were select rules regarding the holding of slaves. Years after the war, the unionist memory started to fade, even though it had flourished earlier. The Confederate memory and pride in southern white heritage grew. Today, we call this narrative the Lost Cause Myth. This ideology led to the creation of the Confederate Soldiers Monument.

             There is no question that the integration of Black people into white communities as free people caused racial tensions. Town meeting notes from 1895 in Winston provide lots of information regarding race relations. Most interesting regarding race in Winston was The Riot of 1895. An incident occurred where a Black man shot a cop. A group of Black men were asked to clear a path so that a white woman could pass by and Arthur Tuttle refused, resisted arrest, and fatally shot an officer. Several people were killed by cops later during an altercation at the jail where he was kept. This occurred only 10 years before the unveiling of the Confederate Soldiers memorial. In the late 40s into the 50s, the Black community saw small changes in what had become the larger city of Winston-Salem. A Black man was elected to the Board of Aldermen, the first Black credit union was organized, and several Black men participated in the famous strike against R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company where many of them lost their jobs to more efficient machines. Black employment decreased, leading to many families being evicted from their homes. African Americans faced great inequities living in white neighborhoods.

             When ideas of the Confederate Soldiers Monument were announced, there was virtually no debate about it. The monument was called a “gift” from the UDC. The unveiling ceremony took place inside the county courthouse with an abundance of people in attendance. Key speakers from the event included Lieutenant Governor Francis D. Winston, Winston Mayor Oscar B. Eaton, Reverend Henry A. Brown, Alfred M. Waddell of Wilmington, and Cyrus B. Watson. Ironically, women from the UDC who had worked hard to raise money for the monument attended, but did not speak at the event, as women were not allowed to speak at such events. Lieutenant Governor Winston spoke on behalf of them. After the monument was officially unveiled, a band played, and hundreds of Confederate veterans were served dinner. The ceremony was described by the president of the North Carolina division of the UDC as a way of “cherishing southern traditions and history.”

             As mentioned above, Alfred M. Waddell, a former Confederate soldier was a very important speaker at the unveiling ceremony. This man was a known white supremacist. Shortly before the event, Waddell was involved in a violent massacre in Wilmington where dozens of Black leaders were murdered. In a book he wrote, he describes a plantation where he spent lots of his childhood. Waddell talks about encounters with slaves here and speaks of them fondly but derogatorily as he often refers to them as “the negroes.” Towards the end of the book, he speaks about the Wilmington Riot. He describes how a Black printing shop was destroyed deliberately by white men but claims there was no harm done until a Black man shot a white man. He calls this the “Wilmington Revolution” then continues to say that no “pure-blooded” Black man had ever achieved greatness, reciting his meeting with Booker Washington, who he notes was three-fifths white. This was the chosen key speaker at the unveiling.

           Before the statue was officially removed, there were various opinions from local people and organizations regarding the subject. The UDC fought long and hard to keep their beloved monument where it was originally placed over 100 years prior. The apartment complex located in the renovated courthouse is a private business, so they had the main say in removal. Lance Spivey, a member of the organization Heirs to the Confederacy stated that the monument simply honors dead Confederate soldiers. He stated “The Confederacy didn’t stand for slavery. [the statue] honors the men who died to honor the ideals of our founding fathers. We are not racists.” Regarding the monument, a history professor, Walter Milteer Jr. from UNC Greensboro testified that “Statues like the one in Winston-Salem are propaganda, not monuments. Monuments are supposed to commemorate historical events and people, but these statues commemorate a victorious Confederacy that never existed". The year of removal, African Americans made up 34.8% of the Winston-Salem population. The Confederacy is becoming less and less celebrated by the public, even in southern cities like Winston-Salem.

The Confederate Soldiers Memorial was officially removed on March 12 of 2019. Judge Eric C. Morgan of the Forsyth Superior Court ruled that the UDC had no legal standing to sue the city. The monument was declared a nuisance and a safety hazard due to protesting. Many people are still divided on what the monument meant. Some say it stood for white supremacy and slavery. Others say it represented southern heritage. Memory of culture and heritage can strengthen communities with a collective heritage, but as communities evolve, sometimes attitudes towards these things start to change and collective cultural memories shift. Mayor Allen Joines attended the removal as well as many other bystanders both with smiles and scowls. The statue still remains at a storage facility and has not yet been relocated.

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Domby, Adam H. “‘Loyal to the Core from the First to the Last:" Remembering the Inner Civil War of Forsyth County, North Carolina, 1862-1876,” 2011. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.17615/qm5n-5435.

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Fam. “The True History of the Confederate Memorial in Winston-Salem...” North Carolina Collection. Forsyth County Public Library, May 2, 2019. https://northcarolinaroom.wordpress.com/2019/01/10/the-true-history-of-the-confederate-memorial-in-winston-salem/.

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Hinton, John. “Winston-Salem's Confederate Statue: A Symbol of White Supremacy or a Memorial to Confederate Sacrifice?” Winston-Salem Journal, January 27, 2019. https://journalnow.com/news/local/winston-salems-confederate-statue-a-symbol-of-white-supremacy-or-a-memorial-to-confederate-sacrifice/article_0170b22a-780c-5d98-b307-81a32c73742b.html.

“U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Winston-Salem City, North Carolina.” Census Bureau QuickFacts. United States Census Bureau, July 1, 2019. https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/winstonsalemcitynorthcarolina.

Apaydin, Veysel. “The Interlinkage of Cultural Memory, Heritage and Discourses of Construction, Transformation and Destruction.” In Critical Perspectives on Cultural Memory and Heritage Construction, Transformation and Destruction, 13–30. London: UCL Press, 2020. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv13xpsfp.7. 

Hinton, John. “Confederate Statue Won't Go Back up in Downtown Winston-Salem, Judge Rules,” May 8, 2019. https://journalnow.com/news/local/confederate-statue-wont-go-back-up-in-downtown-winston-salem-judge-rules/article_72fb0e5e-90c2-5833-9317-d0748b2897ce.html.