- Silent Sam
UNC-Chapel Hill landmarks
name = Silent Sam
image_size = 300
caption = Silent Sam in spring 2007
location = Chapel Hill,North Carolina
erected = 1913
website =Silent Sam is a statue of a Confederate soldier on the campus of the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill . It is located on McCorkle Place, the university's upper quad; facing Franklin Street on the northern edge of campus. [" [http://museum.unc.edu/get_page.html?chapter=5&slide=17 The Civil War Years] ." "The Carolina Story: A Virtual Museum of University History." Retrieved onMarch 1 , 2008.]The statue was given to the university by
United Daughters of the Confederacy and erected in 1913 as a monument to the 321 alumni who died in the Civil War and all students who joined theConfederate States Army . More than one thousand members of the university fought in theAmerican Civil War (1861-1865), at least 40% of the students, a record not equaled by any other school, in either the North or South. It is silent because the figure wears no cartridge box for ammunition. [" [http://www.unc.edu/tour/LEVEL_2/sam.htm Silent Sam (Civil War Monument)] ." "The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Virtual Tour." Retrieved onMarch 1 , 2008.]It is said that if a female student who is a virgin walks past Silent Sam, his rifle will fire. The statue has frequently been a source of controversy, being seen by some as a symbol of regional pride, others a sign of ongoing racial oppression. Students gathered here to speak out after Los Angeles police officers were found not guilty in the 1992
Rodney King trial. [" [http://www.snopes.com/college/halls/virgin.asp College Virgin Lore] ." "Urban Legends Reference Pages." Retrieved onMarch 29 , 2007.] [" [http://gradschool.unc.edu/programs/weiss/interesting_place/landmarks/sam.html Silent Sam] ." "The Weiss Urban Livability Program." Retrieved onMarch 1 , 2008.]References
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