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Downtown Memphis in Shelby County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)
 

Confederate Park

Reunions and Memorials

 
 
Confederate Park Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Don Morfe, April 20, 2014
1. Confederate Park Marker
Inscription. Opened in 1906 as part of the Memphis Park and Parkway System, Confederate Park commemorates the Battle of Memphis. When Confederate forces retreated to Mississippi after the Battle of Shiloh in April 1862, unfortified Memphis became vulnerable to attack. From these bluffs and those at what is now Chickasaw Park, on June 6, 1862, thousands of civilians watched the naval battle on the Mississippi River below. Within 90 minutes, the Union fleet defeated the Confederates. Medical Cadet Charles R. Ellet and a small party entered the city and raised the U.S. flag over the post office. The Federals held Memphis for the rest of the war.

In May 1901, the United Confederate Veterans held a reunion here in an 18,000-seat structure named Confederate Hall. More than 125,000 visitors participated in activities, including a parade led by former generals John B. Gordon, Fitzhugh Lee, and Joseph Wheeler.

During the Progressive era, Park Commissioner Robert Galloway suggested that Confederate Park be one of three small urban parks within a 1,750-acre system. Civilian Conservation Corps workers built the rock wall in 1937. The park contains a statue of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, who lived in Memphis temporarily after the war, and a bust of Captain J. Harvey Mathes, who served in the Army of Tennessee and later edited the
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Memphis Public Ledger. The park also honors Elizabeth Avery Meriwether, an enthusiastic Confederate supporter and suffragist, and Virginia “Ginnie” Bethel Moon, a Confederate spy who escaped from Union forces here and continued her espionage in Washington, D.C., and New Orleans.

(captions)
(lower left) Confederate Park, ca. 1910- Courtesy Library of Congress
(upper center) Medical Cadet Charles R. Ellet raising U.S. flag over Memphis post office, Harper’s Weekly, July 5, 1862
(upper right) Memphis levee from the bluff, 1906 - Courtesy Library of Congress
 
Erected by Tennessee Civil War Trails.
 
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, US Civil. In addition, it is included in the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), and the Tennessee Civil War Trails series lists. A significant historical month for this entry is April 1862.
 
Location. 35° 8.814′ N, 90° 3.264′ W. Marker is in Memphis, Tennessee, in Shelby County. It is in Downtown Memphis. Marker can be reached from the intersection of North Front Street and Jefferson Avenue, on the left when traveling north. The marker is located in Confederate Park. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Memphis TN 38103, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker
Confederate Park Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Don Morfe, April 20, 2014
2. Confederate Park Marker
. Naval Battle of Memphis, 1862 (a few steps from this marker); Memphis and Shelby County Medical Society (within shouting distance of this marker); Confederate History of Memphis (within shouting distance of this marker); Elizabeth Avery Meriwether (within shouting distance of this marker); Capt. J. Harvey Mathes (within shouting distance of this marker); Virginia ("Ginnie") Bethel Moon (within shouting distance of this marker); Cobblestone Landing (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Mississippi River Park (about 300 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Memphis.
 
Additional commentary.
1. Park names changed.
Confederate Park has been renamed Memphis Park, Jefferson Davis Park has been renamed Mississippi River Park, all in the name of being PC. The name changes were quickly done, in 2013, just before the State of Tennessee passed a bill, the "Tennessee Heritage Protection Act of 2013" to prevent such name changes.

Update: The former Confederate Park is now named The Fourth Bluff Park.
    — Submitted September 16, 2017, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.
 
Confederate Park-Division of Parks and Neighborhoods City of Memphis image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Don Morfe, April 20, 2014
3. Confederate Park-Division of Parks and Neighborhoods City of Memphis
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on February 7, 2023. It was originally submitted on June 24, 2014, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. This page has been viewed 1,116 times since then and 46 times this year. Last updated on May 3, 2015, by J. Makali Bruton of Accra, Ghana. Photos:   1, 2, 3. submitted on June 24, 2014, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.

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Mar. 19, 2024