Grand Army of the Republic Monument

Introduction

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Dedicated in 1894, this Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) monument is one of only three GAR monuments within Arkansas. It was also the first to be built in the state and the only one to be outside of Benton County. This monument was built by Post 84 of the GAR, which was named after the notable General William T. Sherman. At the time of its unveiling, the monument would serve as a symbol of the healing which had taken place within Judsonia and White County after the war. Despite being a state that joined the Confederacy, there were a large number of Unionists who resided in Arkansas. Of the states which joined the Confederacy, Arkansas provided the second largest number of Union soldiers. The high number of GAR posts formed in the state after the war would reflect this. Initially, in the late 1860s and early 1870s, membership within these posts was strong. However, during the 1870s membership in Arkansas would drop significantly and remain low until a resurgence of GAR membership in the early 1880s. The monument was placed in the National Register of Historic Places on May 3, 1996.

Images

This is the western face of the monument, note the crossed flags and the inscription which reads In Memory of the Defenders of the Union 1861-1865

Note the graves of the sixteen GAR members and James Edward Wheeler placed around the monument

A closer view of the inscription In Memory of the Defenders of the Union 1861-1865

Headstone, Memorial, Grave, Historic site

A closer view of the inscription on the southern face which states Erected By W.T. Sherman Post 70' 84 G.A.R. 1894

Backstory and Context

Text-to-speech Audio

Seeing its first burial in 1873 for Cornelia W. "Nellie" Briggs, Evergreen Cemetery was well established before the GAR monument's inclusion. It continues to serve as a burial site for many members of the Judsonia community. In addition to being a final resting place for sixteen members of the Grand Army of the Republic placed near the monument, Evergreen Cemetery holds several graves for soldiers who fought in various wars across U.S. history. One grave also placed near the monument holds Marine Corporal James Edward Wheeler, who was killed November 1, 1943, while serving in the Solomon Islands. He is the only combat-related death placed among the seventeen graves near the monument. Eleven of the cemetery graves are for victims of the 1952 tornado that hit Judsonia and decimated the town.

At the time of the monument’s unveiling, the war had been well over, and it appeared as though the inhabitants of Judsonia had begun to heal strained relations. Both Union and Confederate veterans were present for the ceremony, and no note is made of any confrontation or resentment during the unveiling, which included the reading of “In Memory of the Defenders of the Union, 1861-1865.” Further evidence of the healing the monument provided can be seen in those chosen to remove the veil. Ethel Newman and Carly Kinney were daughters of Union soldiers, and Nell Young and Laura Hanson, who were daughters of Confederate soldiers, pulled down the sheet covering together. This action was intended to symbolize unity.

The monument located in Evergreen Cemetery is inscribed with “GAR” on its eastern side and a carved eagle that sits on a sword, and nine cannonballs placed above the GAR emblem, a five-pointed star. The western side of the monument has a carving of two crossed flags and the inscription “In Memory of the Defenders of the Union 1861-1865. The southern side of the monument has the inscription “Erected by W.T. Sherman Post ’70. 84. GAR 1894” and has a carving of two crossed muskets. The northern side has a carving of two crossed swords. The monument stands thirteen feet tall and has a stone cannonball on the top. Of the sixteen Union graves placed near the monument, none of them are from Judsonia. Many of the men are from the states of Indiana, Ohio, Illinois and Kentucky, and Tennessee.

The Grand Army of the Republic was initially formed in 1866 in Decatur, Illinois, and served as an organization for Union veterans of the Civil War. From this start, posts of the GAR would sprout across the country in both former Union and Confederate states who had given men to the Union cause. Though officially a Confederate state, Arkansas would provide the second-highest number of soldiers to the Union cause of all Confederate states. These soldiers were made up of Unionists who lived in the state and former slaves. African American veterans would form a large number of the GAR posts within the former Confederacy. However, by 1868 due to the sentiments of the time and tensions created by Reconstruction, many Arkansas posts of the GAR ceased to exist. The GAR was able to have a resurgence in the 1880s in Arkansas partly due to the color line's introduction within GAR posts and the GAR no longer being an active component of the Republican Party. By 1891, Arkansas had the second-highest number of posts and membership for the GAR in the former Confederate States. Post 84, which would purchase the monument, was created during this resurgence. In 1915 the post would move from Judsonia in White County to the city of De Queen in Sevier County.

Sources

Christ, Mark K. "The Arkansas Listings in the National Register of Historic Places." The Arkansas Historical Quarterly 77, no.1 (2018): 67-73

Logan, Charles Russell. Something So Dim It Must Be Holy: Civil War Commemorative Sculpture in Arkansas 1886-1934. Little Rock, Arkansas. Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, 1997.

Orr, W. E.. That's Judsonia: An Informal History of a Small Town In Arkansas. Judsonia, Arkansas. White County Printing Company, 1957.

Isbell, Paul V.. Evergreen Cemetery Judsonia, Arkansas, argenweb.net. Accessed November 19th 2020. http://www.argenweb.net/white/cems/Evergreen_Cemetery_files/evergreen_cemetery_judsonia.htm.