- Ladies' Confederate Memorial
Infobox_nrhp | name =Ladies' Confederate Memorial, The
nrhp_type =
caption =
location=Lexington, Kentucky
lat_degrees = 38
lat_minutes = 3
lat_seconds = 34.04
lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 84
long_minutes = 30
long_seconds = 31.93
long_direction = W
locmapin = Kentucky
area =
built =1874
architect= Ranck, George W.; Muldoon Monument Company, Louisville
architecture= No Style Listed
added =July 17 ,1997
governing_body = Local
mpsub=Civil War Monuments of Kentucky MPS
refnum=97000706cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2007-01-23|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service] The Ladies' Confederate Memorial is anAmerican Civil War monument erected in 1874 inLexington Cemetery inLexington, Kentucky . It was placed on theNational Register of Historic Places on July 17, 1997, as part of the Civil War Monuments of Kentucky MPS. Unlike most Confederate monuments inKentucky , it represents grief rather than Southern patriotism. [ [http://www.trailsrus.com/monuments/reg4/lexington.html Civil War in Kentucky ] ]The Ladies Memorial and Monument Association was founded by the wife of
John C. Breckinridge on May 19, 1869, after she saw the unveiling of the Confederate Monument inCynthiana, Kentucky . After six years of funding, the memorial was dedicated on May 26, 1875.citation|title=PDFlink| [http://www.nr.nps.gov/multiples/64500229.pdf National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Submission: Civil War Monuments in Kentucky, 1865-1935] |1.81 MiB |date=January 8, 1997 |author=Joseph E. Brent |publisher=National Park Service]The statue features a
marble cross shaped as if made of logs. A broken sword and broken flagstaff are among the motifs, which include lilies, with rugged rocks being the motif for thelimestone pedestal. It was designed by George W. Ranck (1841–1901), a Lexington historian, and paid for by the Ladies Memorial and Monument Association of Lexington. The cross was made inItaly , with the pedestal supplied by Louisville's Muldoon Monument Company. It was called "probably the most perfect thing of its kind in the South" by "Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper ". [trailsrus.com]It is believed that the memorial might have been inspired by a poem written by
Abram Joseph Ryan , a Confederate chaplain:"Take that banner down! 'tis tattered;
"Broken is its staff and shattered,
"And the valiant hosts are scattered
"Over whom it floated high. [trailsrus.com"]The
Confederate Soldier Monument in Lexington is a few feet away, and was also part of the Civil War Monuments of Kentucky MPS.Gallery
References
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