Confederate Monument
Confederate Monument
Confederate Monument
Confederate Monument
Savannah, GA 31401
The Confederate Monument is one of the largest Confederate monuments and is located at the far end of Forsyth Park pass the fountain. This impressive monument honored local Civil War veterans as well as those who had lost their lives in the bloody conflict. The Confederate Monument was erected in Forsyth Park in 1879.
A bronze soldier in a Confederate uniform stands atop a sandstone base, facing north, which was a long-standing tradition of placing a statue to face his enemy. The base was made of Nova Scotia sandstone and was brought to Savannah by ship. The monument features a raised relief carving depicting a grieving widow sitting under a weeping willow tree and is surrounded by 4 winged angels.
Confederate Monument There are two busts of Savannah Civil War heroes. One is a tribute to Major General Lafayette McLaws, a division commander in the 1st Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia. The second memorializes Brigadier General Francis S. Bartow, who was killed at the first Battle of Bull Run, leading the first Savannah company of 106 men who responded to Jefferson Davis’s call for troops in May 1861.
The Savannah’s Ladies Memorial Association began collecting money for a Confederate war memorial in 1868. By 1874, they had raised $10,000 and began making plans. The design for the monument was left to the sculptor but the Ladies Memorial Association had strict rules on the construction of the monument. The monument could not be made of any Northern materials, could not be built by Northern workmen and when complete, could not travel through any Northern state.
