Front (East) Inscription: Around this column is buried all of heroism that could die. Confederate dead.
Rear (West) Inscription: Beneath this sod is mingled the sacred dust of one hundred and one unknown soldiers, who were attached to the following commands: First Mississippi Regiment, Third Mississippi Regiment, Seventh Texas Regiment, Eighth Kentucky Regiment, Forrest's Cavalry, Woodward's Kentucky Cavalry, Green's Kentucky Cavalry. War Between the States. 1861-1865.
North Inscription: While martyrs for all conscience sake are respected, the valor and devotion of the Confederate soldier will be admired by the good and the brave.
South Inscription: This monument is erected at the place of his birth, by a surviving comrade, to commemorate the virtues of the Confederate dead. A.D. 1887.
This 37-foot monument is ornamented with small bronze cannons
and laurel wreaths that surround the cornice and two crossed swords encircled by a laurel
wreath on the front of the shaft. Atop the shaft is a Corinthian capital crowned with a
pyramid of five stacked polished granite cannon balls. Each cannon ball is eighteen inches
in diameter. Hallowell Granite Works in Maine created the memorial.
John C. Latham, born in Hopkinsville but living in New York,
gave the City of Hopkinsville funds to remove 101 Confederate soldiers from scattered
graves and rebury them in the lot designated for the monument. Latham, a Confederate
veteran, initially proposed a plot for the remains of Confederate and Union
soldiers. The plan was modified when it was determined that most Federal soldiers had
already been reinterred at National Cemetery at Fort Donelson.
The monument project, one of the most elaborate in the state, cost approximately $14,000, and was unveiled in a grand ceremony on May 19, 1887. A book, The Story of a Monument, was published to record the addresses and events of the day.
Questions/Activities:
What does the laurel wreath symbolize?
15. Confederate Memorial Fountain Christian County Courthouse lawn, Hopkinsville
White marble fountain, 1911
Inscription: 1861 - 1865 Erected by Christian County Chapter No. 590 United Daughters of the Confederacy - Soldiers from Christian County Kentucky - October 1911.
Made possible by a five-year fundraising effort of the county UDC chapter, this eight-foot fountain was created by a local monument company and installed at the corner of Main and 9th streets, three blocks from its present location. Although the water feature no longer functions, the monument was originally a public drinking fountain for citizens. The base is formed by octagonal marble blocks, and a capped pedestal rests in the former water basin.
As in many Kentucky counties, residents of Christian County held divided sentiments during the War. Some residents were slaveholders, some were not. Further, the county (portions of which were divided to form Todd County) was home to Union General James S. Jackson as well as Confederate President Jefferson Davis
