Fallen Confederate Soldiers Monument

Introduction

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Erected in October of 2012, the Fallen Confederate Soldiers Monument is one of the most recently-constructed Confederate monuments in the United States and one of seventy that were erected by the Tennessee Wars Commission. Twelve of the monuments are located in cemeteries while thirty-seven are in public spaces such as county courthouses and another twenty-one are in other prominent public places.

Images

One of the most recent Confederate monuments, this

Backstory and Context

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Given the connection between secession and slavery, as well as the intent to erect Confederate monuments to vindicate the antebellum South, this monument and others like it have aroused controversy. The monument was not welcomed by all residents and several organizations and government officials have called for the controversial marker to be removed. Defenders claim that the monument is neutral and reflect the history of Robertson County as home to many who supported the Confederacy.

While monuments within cemeteries honor the dead and recognize the valor of those who sided with the Confederacy, the decision to create monuments throughout cities reflects a decision to celebrate the cause of the Confederacy similar to the nature of other monuments that honor veterans of armed conflicts. Implicit in the decision to place a monument such as this next to the courthouse is the idea that the men who are being honored fought to defend the community, a perspective that inherently defends the ideas and goals of the Confederacy.

In addition, recent scholarship has demonstrated that organizations such as the Sons of Confederate Veterans and the United Daughters of the Confederacy made vindication of the the antebellum South their leading priority in ways that also caused them to minimize the suffering caused by slavery, secession, and the Civil War. For example, the United Daughters of the Confederacy worked to remove textbooks that acknowledged the evils of slavery and the connection between slavery and the war.

Sources

Civil War Talk. (2017). Confederate Monument dedicated in Tennessee. Civil War Talk. Retrieved from https://civilwartalk.com/threads/Confederate-monument-dedicated-in-tennessee.76509/page-2

Cyr, A. (2017). Cyr: The history of Confederate monuments matters. Journal Sentinel. Retrieved from https://www.jsonline.com/story/opinion/contributors/2017/08/22/cyr-history-Confederate-monuments-matters/589966001/

HMdb.org. (2018). Fallen Confederate Soldiers In Memorium. The Historical Marker Database. Retrieved from https://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=82329

Janney, C. (2017). Why we need Confederate monuments. The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/made-by-history/wp/2017/07/27/why-we-need-Confederate-monuments/?utm_term=.74965f01c529

Nelson, S. (2017). Opinion: Don't Take Down Confederate Monuments. Here's Why. Think. Retrieved from https://www.nbcnews.com/think/news/opinion-why-i-feel-Confederate-monuments-should-stay-ncna767221

The New York Times. (2017). Confederate Monuments Are Coming Down Across the United States. Here’s a List. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/08/16/us/Confederate-monuments-removed.html