19. Confederate Monument Daviess County Courthouse lawn, Owensboro
Bronze figure on granite pedestal, 1900
Front Inscription: To Our Confederate Heroes 1861 - 1865
Rear Inscription: 1900 Erected by the John C. Breckinridge Chapter, U.D.C.
Erected by the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) after a long fundraising campaign, this monument was unveiled on the courthouse lawn in September 1900, before a crowd of 5,000. The inscriptions appear on a simple nine-foot granite base ornamented with a relief image of the first Confederate flag encircled by a wreath. A just-over-life-sized bronze statue of a soldier holding a rifle stands atop the pedestal. The monument was designed by George Julian Zolnay, called the "sculptor of the Confederacy" and cast by John Williams Bronze Foundry in New York.
Owensboro's position on the Ohio River led to its occupation by Union soldiers early in the War, but much of the community was more closely allied with Confederate sentiments. On January 4, 1865, Captain William Davison led a band of Confederate guerrillas to burn the courthouse, angered by the African American Union soldiers who were stationed in the area.
Questions/Activities:
Many courthouses in Kentucky were damaged, some even destroyed, during the War. Most were damaged by Confederates angered by Union control of the state and Union occupation of the courthouses. Research the courthouse in your county. Was the current building in use during the Civil War or was it built after the War? Was your courthouse damaged or destroyed during the War?
