Old Joe Confederate Monument

In the year 1904, the United Daughters of Confederacy of the Kirby Smith Chapter unveiled the Old Joe Monument in Gainesville, Florida. Although the Confederate monument was met with opposition, it was still placed in front of the Alachua County Administration Building. Designed by John G. Segesman, the monument commemorates fallen Confederate soldiers. For over 100 hundred years, Old Joe stood proudly in front of this administration building. Then, on August 14, 2017, the statue was removed and relocated to the Oak Ridge Cemetery. Was it wrong to remove a statue commemorating fallen soldiers? Or was it right to remove a statue that stood as a symbol of oppression? Old Joe and other Confederate monuments are more than bronze statues of men. They represent and perpetuate a controversial period of American history. Understanding Florida’s Civil War history and the Lost Cause helps to see how and why these statues are so controversial.

In the early part of the Civil War, Florida’s cattle industry boomed. The Confederate army needed beef to feed their soldiers, and Florida became critical in providing food supplies (Yarlett). After the cattle population had been depleted in states like Alabama and Georgia, the Confederacy turned toward the sunshine state to be their army’s main supplier (Yarlett). The Confederates bought the cattle in Florida and then trailed the cows north to other southern states (Yarlett). Due to Florida’s key, but overlooked, role in the Civil War, there was a sense of pride attached to the Confederate cause. A sense strong enough that about 30 years after the Civil War, the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) started to become active in Florida.

In 1895, The UDC came together in Florida “for the purpose of perpetuating and commemorating the memory of [their] loved ones who fought and died for a cause that to them seemed right” (Codieck 11). Leadership of the Florida division was mainly comprised of elite women while the members were from modest backgrounds. Working class women were not allowed to be members, and applicants needed to have documentation of their relationship to Civil War men. These restrictions accounted for the low membership rates because most women depended on their personal contacts to show their relation. The Florida UDC was one of the first groups to begin erecting monuments. These women believed so much in the cause their husbands or fathers fought for that they even campaigned for pro southern textbooks in public schools. Even if the Florida UDC could not get all of the schools to use pro southern textbooks, they just turned to their religion to begin “educating” their followers. The UDC created “A Confederate Catechism”, which supported the Lost Cause ideology by attempting to reinterpret the Word of God. The end goal of all these efforts was “a vindication for the confederate generation (Codieck 17). The UDC represents a just a small group that attempted to preserve the Lost Cause ideology. This belief plays a mammoth role in why Confederate statues were erected and why some are still standing. 

The tenants of the Lost Cause are as followed: cultural and constitutional differences- not a singular interest in preserving slavery- forced the slave holding states to secede; the Confederate armies surrendered because the Union was too strong; women were sanctified by wartime sacrifice and were perfect examples of gender conformity; and slavery was beneficial to Blacks and whites (Graham). These tenants attempt to warp reality: that slavery was not the driving force behind why the southern states decided to secede. The Lost Cause attempted to paint the Confederacy as doing a favor for African Americans, and that the south actually had decent intentions throughout the Civil War. Curator of Exhibitions at the American Civil War Museum, Christopher Graham, writes: 

[t]he Lost Cause gave rise to cultural tropes that shaped dominant public understandings of the Civil War and southern history—namely, the idea of plantations (and the American South at large) as sites of hospitality featuring white women “belles” as hostesses and Black men and women as servants 

The slaves in south were portrayed to be loyal servants rather than dehumanized objects, women were dainty and polite hostesses, and plantations provided pleasant living conditions to the slaves. The sad truth is that this false narrative has deep roots in American society today and is a big reason why Confederate Statues were erected, are still standing, and are so controversial.

Those who have been duped by the Lost Cause justify Confederate statues presence because they are a part of history. People who advocate for the removal of these statues are attempting to alter the past, but there is another perspective to consider. Travis Timmerman argues that the removal of these statues is not an attempt to alter history, but rather an attempt to remove a symbol of subjugation. The majority of the Confederate statues were erected during the era of the Jim Crow Laws and the Civil Rights Movement (Timmerman). Yes, there were monuments erected directly after the Civil War, but these monuments were built to “promote white cultural unity” and “an immediate consequence of promoting white cultural unity meant excluding non-whites” (Timmerman). The monuments constructed immediately after the Civil War commemorated the Confederate beliefs that the white man was superior to the Black man, and the South wanted everyone to know that Black people were not recognized as humans. The monuments erected during Jim Crow Laws and the Civil Rights Movement reminded African Americans that they were undignified. No matter how much progress was made for the deserving equality of African Americans, Confederate monuments revived the feelings of oppression. Confederate monuments are so controversial because they perpetuate this never-ending cycle of making progress but feeling stagnant. These monuments were accepted before as commemorating the Lost Cause, but today they are a constant symbol to African Americans of their former enslaved lives. 

The Ocala Evening Star was the newspaper in Ocala, Florida when Old Joe was unveiled in 1904. The paper described Old Joe’s unveiling in a ceremonious manner: 

The program commenced with music by the Gainesville Orchestra. A few welcome remarks to veterans and the public were made by Judge Horatio Davis… The Veterans gave a grand barbeque… The attendance was quite large and the Daughters of the Confederacy are delighted with the success that attended the unveiling (“Ocala Evening Star”). 

The UDC and the people of Gainesville were proud of the statue that stood in front of the Alachua County Administration Building. Their celebratory barbeque and music stand in direct opposition to how the statue of Old Joe and other Confederate monuments are treated today. 

Since Dylan Roof opened fire on a historically Black church in 2015, Confederate monuments have become increasingly controversial. When Old Joe was removed in 2017, it was another statue to be removed in the long line since Roof's attack. The Gainesville Sun interviewed different people to see how they felt about the aging monument's removal. Melissa Wokasch “wiped tears away as she watched workers chip away at the statue’s base. ‘It’s about time,’ she said. ‘I think this should have been done a long time ago” (Caplan). Ian Mitchell believes, “[t]hese weren’t American soldiers… There’s no valor in the Confederate soldier. This is nothing to be celebrated here and this isn’t a piece of history” (Caplan). Over 100 years ago, Confederate monuments were praised for their commemoration of valiant fallen soldiers. Today, these statues are condemned for their preservation of an oppressive ideology.

Old Joe was not a specific individual, but the statue represented an entirety of people who fought to keep Black people enslaved. Across the country, monuments like Old Joe are a reminder of the horrors of the Civil War and the false ideology of the Lost Cause. Florida may have had a minor role during this time of American history, but the state nonetheless aided in efforts to keep slavery. Reflecting on the events before, during, and after the Civil War can provide answers as to why these statues are so controversial. Racism and hate fueled the creation of a majority of Confederate monuments. Hopefully, understanding and compassion can fuel a movement of truth that can heal a poisoned nation.

Bowman, Nick. “Old Joe's History as Complicated as Current Debate.” Gainesville Times - Gainesville Times, 28 Aug. 2017, www.gainesvilletimes.com/news/old-joes-history-complicated-current-debate/. 

Caplan, Andrew. “Confederate Statue Removed from Downtown Gainesville.” Gainesville Sun, Gainesville Sun, 14 Aug. 2017, www.gainesville.com/news/20170814/confederate-statue-removed-from-downtown-gainesville. 

Codieck, Barrett. “Keepers of History, Shapers of Memory: The Florida Division of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, 1895 1930.” Fsu.digital.flvc.org, 13 Mar. 2012, fsu.digital.flvc.org/islandora/object/fsu%3A182809/. JOURNAL?

Graham, Christopher A. “Lost Cause Myth.” The Inclusive Historian's Handbook, 13 May 2020, inclusivehistorian.com/lost-cause-myth/. 

“Ocala Evening Star 20 Jan 1904 Wed. Page 1.” Newspapers.com, 20 Jan. 1904, www.newspapers.com/clip/71399982/ocala-evening-star-20-jan-1904-wed/. 

Lewis L. Yarlett. “History of the Florida Cattle Industry.” Rangelands, vol. 7, no. 5, 1985, pp. 205–207. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/3901207. Accessed 11 Mar. 2021.

Palmer, Brian, and Seth Freed Wessler. “The Costs of the Confederacy.” Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian Institution, Dec. 2018, www.smithsonianmag.com/history/costs-confederacy-special-report-180970731/. 

“Smithsonian Institution Research Information System.” SIRIS, siris-artinventories.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=1508MQ638T793.518&profile=ariall&source=~%21siartinventories&view=subscriptionsummary&uri=full&ri=2&aspect=Browse&menu=search&ipp=20&spp=20&staffonly=&term=Outdoor%2BSculpture%2B--%2BFlorida%2B--%2BGainesville&index=OBJEC&uindex=. 

Timmerman, Travis. “Travis Timmerman, A Case for Removing Confederate Monuments.” PhilPapers, 2018, philpapers.org/rec/TIMACF.