Documenting the American South

Monument Name

Gaston County Confederate Soldiers Monument, Dallas

Type

Marker

Subjects

Civil War, 1861-1865

City

Dallas

County

Gaston

Description

This monument is composed a large, square piece of granite. It bears a color inlay of North Carolina's flag of 1861, ratified just after the state seceded from the Union. The inscription on the front commemorates the service of more than 1,500 Gaston County men who served as soldiers for the Confederacy. The rear of the monument is inscribed with the regiments of Gaston County soldiers and the Latin phrase "DEO VINDICI." The rallying cry of the Confederacy, this phrase is translated as "God will vindicate us."

Images: Rear inscription

Inscription

Front: CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS / MONUMENT / ON THESE GROUNDS BETWEEN 1861-1865 / OVER 1500 MEN FROM GASTON COUNTY / ANSWERED THE CALL OF THEIR STATE AND / COUNTRY TO DEFEND THE SOUTH IN THE / WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. / ERECTED BY DESCENDANTS OF CONFEDERATE / VETERANS OF GASTON COUNTY / MAY 4, 2003

Rear: CO.1-11 87TH NC MILITIA / CO. M 16TH NC TROOPS / CO. H 23RD NC TROOPS / CO. B 28TH NC TROOPS / CO. H 37TH NC TROOPS / CO. H 49TH NC TROOPS / CO. C 2ND NC JR. RESERVES / CO. E 4TH NC SR. RESERVES / “DEO VINDICE”

Custodian

Gaston County Museum of Art and History

Dedication Date

May 4, 2003

Decade

2000s

Geographic Coordinates

35.316060 , -81.176140 View in Geobrowse

Supporting Sources

"Confederate Soldiers Monument [Dallas in Gaston County, North Carolina]," The Historical Marker Database, HMdb.org, (accessed March 11, 2013) Link

Howard, Josh. "State Flag," NCpedia.org, (accessed March 11, 2013) Link

Whitney, James, Royster, Caleb, and Alec Loeb. "The Civil War Experience in Gaston and Cleveland County," from “Commemorative Landscapes of North Carolina”, http://docsouth.unc.edu/commland/, (accessed March 5, 2013) Link

Public Site

Yes

Materials & Techniques

Granite

Sponsors

Sons of Confederate Veterans of Gaston County

Subject Notes

Despite the general reluctance of the citizens of North Carolina to endorse secession and the Confederacy, Gaston County residents strongly supported the Confederate war effort and sent many men to the war along with neighboring Cleveland County. Dallas was the original county seat for Gaston County from 1846 until 1911 when the county government officially moved to Gastonia. At that time, the historic Gaston County Confederate Soldiers Monument was installed at the front of the new county courthouse in Gastonia. The monument in Dallas is significant as a 21st century commemoration by descendants of Confederate soldiers to their ancestors and the Confederate cause (see also Confederate Soldiers Monument in Stanley, NC.)

The State Flag of North Carolina of 1861 was ratified on June 22, 1861. It bears two dates -- the date of May 20, 1775, the date of the alleged revolutionary Mecklenburg Declaration, and the date of May 20, 1861, the date of North Carolina's secession from the Union.

Location

The memorial marker is located in front of the historic Gaston County Courthouse on North Gaston Street in Dallas, NC. It stands just a few steps away from Vietnam Memorial, First Gaston County Courthouse marker and a plaque to William Friday.

Landscape

The monument sits in the semi-circular lawn area between the street and driveway in front of the courthouse. It is surrounded by plantings and mature shade trees.