Denton Confederate Soldier Monument
| Denton Confederate Soldier Monument | |
|---|---|
 The monument c. 2000 | |
 | |
| Completion date | 1918 |
| Location | Denton, Texas, United States |
| 33°12′53″N 97°07′59″W / 33.2146°N 97.1331°W | |
The Denton Confederate Soldier Monument was an outdoor Confederate memorial installed in downtown Denton, Texas, in the United States.[1]
Description
[edit]The statue depicts an armed Confederate soldier standing on an arch with the inscription, "Our Confederate soldiers". On the left pillar it read:
Erected by the Daughters of the Confederacy in memory of our Confederate soldiers, who in heroic self-sacrifice and devoted loyalty gave their lives to the South in her hour of need.[2]
On the right pillar it read:
"Their names graved on memorial columns are a song heard far in the future, and their examples reach a hand through all the years to meet and kindle generous purpose and mold it into acts as pure as theirs."[3]
History
[edit]The monument was funded and erected in 1918 by the Katie Daffan Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy,[4] and unveiled on June 3, the anniversary of Jefferson Davis's birthday.[2] At the unveiling ceremony, Texas State Senator James Robert Wiley told onlookers:
Historians do not do them [Confederate soldiers] and their work justice. They have been forced to submit to teachings and doctrines unfavorable to themselves. I hope in the future a history will be written that will tell of their deeds as carefully and truthfully as it should be told. The Confederate soldiers were not traitors—the men who went out from the South were God-fearing, patriotic men who believed their cause was just.[2][5]
The monument was named a Texas Historic Landmark in 1970, a National Historic Registry landmark in 1977, and a Texas State Archeological Landmark in 1981.[6][7]
Vandalism and removal
[edit]One local resident, Willie Hudspeth, a Vietnam War veteran and the president of Denton's NAACP, campaigned to remove the memorial since 2000.[8] The monument was vandalized with the words "This Is Racist" in 2015.[9] On February 1, 2018, Denton County leaders voted 12–3 to keep the statue, but to add a plaque denouncing slavery and a video kiosk explaining the city's racial history and progress, which was never added or completed.[10] A standalone plaque was erected nearby to provide a rationale for the monument. It read:
The Denton County soldier memorial was erected in 1918 by the Daughters of the Confederacy. The monument stands as a reminder of historic events and is intended as a memorial to Denton County citizens who sacrificed themselves for the community.
Now let this be a testimony that God created all men equal with certain inalienable rights.
We are all one, citizens of Denton County.[11]
On June 9, 2020, in the wake of the protests following the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Denton County commissioners voted to remove the memorial.[12][13] On the morning of June 25, 2020, removal of the statue began just before dawn.[14]
See also
[edit]- 1918 in art
- Confederate Monument (Fort Worth, Texas)
- List of Confederate monuments and memorials
- List of monuments and memorials removed during the George Floyd protests
References
[edit]- ^ "Confederate Memorial - Denton Texas - American Civil War Monuments and Memorials on Waymarking.com". www.waymarking.com. Archived from the original on 2017-08-19. Retrieved 2017-08-19.
- ^ a b c Vermeer, Hunter. "'As It Should Be Told': The Denton Confederate Soldier and Public Memory" (PDF). Texas Women's University. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
- ^ "How a Confederate Monument Erases History". disorientedtheology.wordpress.com. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
- ^ Little, Carol Morris, A Comprehensive Guide to Outdoor Sculpture in Texas, University of Texas Press, Austin, 1996, pp. 196-197
- ^ "Commemoration of Confederate Deeds Was Given Here Monday". Denton Record-Chronicle. Vol. 18, no. 252. Denton, Texas. June 4, 1918. p. 3. Retrieved 13 December 2024 – via The Portal to Texas History.
- ^ "Denton Confederate Soldier Monument Draws Debate". 24 June 2015. Archived from the original on 2017-08-19. Retrieved 2017-08-19.
- ^ McPhate, Christian (16 August 2017). "Turning 100, a Confederate Soldier Monument in Denton Faces an Uncertain Future". Dallas Observer. Archived from the original on 19 August 2017. Retrieved 19 August 2017.
- ^ Andrea Lucia (16 August 2017). "Denton Man Fights For 17 Years To Have Confederate Monument Removed". CBS News. Archived from the original on 2017-08-19. Retrieved 2017-08-19.
- ^ "Video shows pair vandalizing Confederate monument in Denton". The Dallas Morning News. 20 July 2015. Archived from the original on 4 October 2018. Retrieved 19 August 2017.
- ^ Gill, Julian (2 February 2018). "Confederate monument committee votes to keep statue with additional plaque, informational videos". Denton Record-Chronicle. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
- ^ "Confederate Statue in Denton Faces Uncertain Future". Dallas Observer. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
- ^ "Denton, Tarrant counties vote to remove Confederate monuments". Dallas News. 2020-06-09. Archived from the original on 2020-06-10. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
- ^ Higgs, Ryan (9 June 2020). "Commissioners approve removal and relocation of Confederate soldier memorial". Denton Record-Chronicle. Archived from the original on 2020-06-10. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
- ^ "Confederate monument being removed from Square". Denton Record-Chronicle. 2020-06-25. Archived from the original on 2020-06-26. Retrieved 2020-06-25.
- 1918 establishments in Texas
- 1918 sculptures
- 2020 disestablishments in Texas
- Monuments and memorials in the United States removed during the George Floyd protests
- Buildings and structures in Denton, Texas
- Confederate States of America monuments and memorials in Texas
- Outdoor sculptures in Texas
- Sculptures of men in Texas
- Statues in Texas
- Vandalized works of art in Texas
- Statues removed in 2020