Anson County Confederate Soldiers Monument, Wadesboro
Scoggins Memorial Art Shop, Charlotte, NC, Designer
Wadesboro Granite and Marble Finishing Company, Wadesboro, NC, Builder
This monument was built in memory of the Confederate soldiers from Anson County who were killed during the Civil War. The structure consisted of a tall, multi-tiered white granite base and column supporting a bronze Confederate Common Soldier. Standing at parade rest, the soldier rests the butt of his gun on the ground near his feet. An ornate, darker granite section rests on top of the first three tiers of the base, and the four sides of this darker granite face are inscribed. Each corner of this section is framed by a Roman-style column, capped with acanthus leaves.
North face: BY THIS MONUMENT WE / TRANSLATE OUR HOMAGE / FOR THE SOLDIERS OF / ANSON COUNTY / WHO SERVED IN THE WAR / BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT / AND THE CONFEDERATE / STATES.
East face: TO COMPANIES / C-14th. / A-23rd. / K-26th. / B-31st. / H-43rd. / I-43rd. / K-43rd. / A-59th. REGIMENTS / NORTH CAROLINA TROOPS / AND ANSON SOLDIERS / IN OTHER COMMANDS.
South face: ERECTED UNDER THE AUSPICES OF ANSON CHAPTER NO.357 /
UNITED DAUGHTERS OF THE CONFEDERACY /
JANUARY 19, 1906.
West face: THESE MEN EMBRACED THE PRINCIPLES OF THEIR LEADERS. THEY BELIEVED OUR SOCIAL / INSTITUTIONS AND OUR RIGHT OF LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT IMPERILED BY THE AVOWED / HOSTILITY OF A LARGE SECTION OF THE UNION, THEY RESISTED WITH EVERY DEVICE OF / HONORABLE WARFARE. THE GLORY AND GRIEF OF BATTLE WON AND LOSS SOLDERED THEM.
On the base: ANSON
Anson County
January 19, 1906
34.967300 , -80.076510
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“Contract Awarded,” The Messenger and Intelligencer (Wadesboro, NC), May 4, 1905
"Anson County Commissioners Vote to Remove Confederate Monuments from County Property," wbtv.com, July 8, 2020, (accessed July 15, 2020) Link
Butler, Douglas J. North Carolina Civil War Monuments, An Illustrated History, (Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc., 2013), 132, 222
Gullege, John W. “Another Report of Exercise,” News and Observer (Raleigh, NC), January 20, 1906
Hammond, W. M. "Address Delivered at Wadesboro, N.C. Before the Daughters of the Confederacy and the Confederate Veterans," (Atlanta, GA: Foote & Davies Company, 1903), accessed May 24, 2012 Link
United Daughters of the Confederacy, North Carolina Division. Minutes of the Fourth Annual Convention of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, North Carolina Division Held in Raleigh, N.C., October 10, 11, 12, 1900 (Raleigh, N.C.: Capital Printing Company, Printers and Binders, 1901), 113, (accessed September 12, 2012) Link
United Daughters of the Confederacy, North Carolina Division. Minutes of the Tenth Annual Convention of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, North Carolina Division, Held at Durham, N.C., October 10th, 11th and 12th 1906, (Newton, NC: Enterprise Job Print., 1907), 78, (accessed May 23, 2012) Link
Wood, Charles. “Confederate Statue Removed from Anson Courthouse,” Richmond County Daily Journal (Rockingham, NC), July 8, 2020 (accessed July 15, 2020) Link
“A Glorious Day: The Monument Unveiling a Notable Success,” The Messenger and Intelligencer (Wadesboro, NC), January 25, 1906
“Anson County Confederate Memorial-Wadesboro-NC," Waymarking.com, (accessed October 10, 2017) Link
Yes
Granite, bronze
United Daughters of the Confederacy, Anson Chapter No. 357
$3,000
The cornerstone was laid in a dedication ceremony on January 13, 1906, and the monument was unveiled and dedicated on January 19, 1906. The cornerstone dedication ceremony was attended by Anson Camp Daughters of the Confederacy, many old veterans, and a substantial gathering of citizens. The meeting was called to order by Major W. A. Smith and the prayer was given by reverend A. B. Caudle. Colonel Bennett declared that the monument had the greatest likeness of a Confederate soldier in uniform of any monument in the South. The main address was given by Captain John C. McLauchlin. Following the speech, the cornerstone of the monument was laid in front of the court house by Major Smith.
The Wadesboro newspaper reported beautiful weather for the unveiling ceremony. The dedication began with a march from the library to the courthouse by more than 100 old Civil War veterans and the United Daughters of the Confederacy. The exercises were held in the courtroom where Major William A. Smith of the Anson Camp of Confederate Veterans presided over the ceremony. General Lee's favorite hymn was reported to have been sung, and Dr. William C. Power, a chaplain of Colonel Bennett's regiment, gave an address followed by an address by Colonel Bennett of the 14th North Carolina Volunteers.
The Confederate Soldier was reportedly modeled after John Randle Richardson, an Asheville native and Civil War veteran who was a member of the 23rd Regiment, Company A North Carolina Troops. The inscription was written by Colonel Reisden T. Bennett.
Following the massacre of nine African Americans in a church in Charleston, South Carolina on June 17, 2015 by white supremacist Dylann Roof, Americans, especially southerners, have reflected on and argued over the historical legacy of slavery, the Civil War, the Confederacy, and white supremacy. Monuments have been a particular focus of these debates and controversies, especially after the death of a counter-protester, Heather Heyer, at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia in August 2017 and after President Donald Trump expressed his opposition to the removal of Confederate memorials. Despite laws in many southern states intended to prevent or impede the removal or relocation of historical monuments, protesters and local community leaders have removed or relocated controversial monuments associated with slavery, the Confederacy, and white supremacy. The pace of the removal of controversial monuments accelerated sharply in 2020, following the death of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Against the backdrop of protests against police brutality and white supremacy across the nation, local authorities in many communities in North Carolina removed and/or relocated monuments that were the focus of civil unrest.
On July 7, 2020 by a 4-2 vote the Anson County Board of Commissioners voted to remove the Confederate monument outside the courthouse.
The county manager and county attorney were tasked with finding private property for the statues, which must be prominently displayed.
County Manager Barron Monroe II said the monuments would be placed in storage until a location could be determined. The monument was removed on July 8, 2020.
The Confederate Monument was located in front of the entrance to the Anson County Courthouse. On July 8, 2020, it was placed in a storage until a location could be determined. Multiple memorials are associated with this area. The Confederate Women Monument is on the left from where the Confederate Memorial stood. Two bronze plaques are mounted to exterior walls of the Courthouse. One lists African American soldiers and its companion white men and women who served during the Great War. Also nearby is a Memorial Fountain dedicated to citizens of Anson County who died in World War One and to the heroes of the American Revolution.
The monument stood on the right side of the walkway to the steps of the Anson County Courthouse, amidst low shrubs and mature trees.
Until July 8, 2020, the Confederate Monument stood in front of the entrance to the Anson County Courthouse.
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