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University in Lafayette County, Mississippi — The American South (East South Central)
 

To Our Confederate Dead

1861-1865

 
 
To Our Confederate Dead Monument image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Mark Hilton, April 8, 2017
1. To Our Confederate Dead Monument
Inscription.
Front
To Our
Confederate Dead
1861-1865,

Left side
They fell devoted, but undying;
The very gale their names seem'd sighing:
The waters murmur'd of their name;
The woods were peopled with their fame;
The silent pillar, lone and gray,
Claim'd kindred with their sacred clay;
Their spirits wrapp'd the dusky mountain,
Their memory sparkled o'er the mountain,
The meanest rill, the mightiest river,
Roll'd mingling with their fame forever.
____________ Byron.

Rear
To the heroes
of Lafayette County
whose valor and devotion
made glorious many a
battlefield.
_____

 
Erected 1906 by Albert Sidney Johnston Chapter 379 U.D.C.
 
Topics and series. This memorial is listed in this topic list: War, US Civil. In addition, it is included in the United Daughters of the Confederacy series list.
 
Location. 34° 21.915′ N, 89° 32.047′ W. Marker is in University, Mississippi, in Lafayette County. Memorial is at the intersection of University Avenue and University Circle, on the left when traveling
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west on University Avenue. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: University MS 38677, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Lyceum — The Circle Historic District (here, next to this marker); Ventress Hall (a few steps from this marker); The Old Chapel (within shouting distance of this marker); The Lyceum (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); Barnard Observatory (about 600 feet away); a different marker also named Barnard Observatory (about 600 feet away); Society Of Professional Journalists Historic Site in Journalism (about 700 feet away); Documenting the Blues (about 700 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in University.
 
More about this marker. The University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) adjoins the City of Oxford.

Sculptor: John A. Stinson, Columbus, Mississippi.
 
Regarding To Our Confederate Dead. Oxford is one of the few small Southern towns with two Confederate monuments. It was a compromise between two factions of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, one group wanting the statue placed on Courthouse Square, the other arguing that it should be on the campus of the University of Mississippi.
 
Related marker. Click here for another marker that is related to this marker.
 
Monument south and west sides. image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Mark Hilton
2. Monument south and west sides.
To Our Confederate Dead Monument inside University Circle. image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Mark Hilton, April 8, 2017
3. To Our Confederate Dead Monument inside University Circle.
To Our Confederate Dead Marker in new location image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Duane and Tracy Marsteller, April 1, 2023
4. To Our Confederate Dead Marker in new location
The monument, and an accompanying plaque providing context, were relocated to the on-campus Confederate cemetery in July 2020.
Plaque added in 2016 to "provide context". image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Mark Hilton, April 8, 2017
5. Plaque added in 2016 to "provide context".
Due to numerous protests over keeping this monument, the University added a plaque to provide context in its reasoning to keep it. This is what the original plaque read:

“As Confederate veterans were passing from the scene in increasing numbers, memorial associations built monuments in their memory all across the South. This statue was dedicated by citizens of Oxford and Lafayette county in 1906. On the evening of September 30, 1962, the statue was a rallying point where a rebellious mob gathered to prevent the admission of the University’s first African American student. It was also at this statue that a local minister implored the mob to disperse and allow James Meredith to exercise his rights as an American citizen. On the morning after that long night, Meredith was admitted to the University and graduated in August 1963.  This historic statue is a reminder of the University’s past and of its current and ongoing commitment to open its hallowed halls to all who seek truth and knowledge and wisdom”

Students, faculty and others wanted different wording to include the slavery aspect of the war. This led to a new plaque to replace the wording above. The new plaque reads:

As Confederate veterans were dying in increasing numbers, memorial associations across the South built monuments in their memory. These monuments were often used to promote an ideology known as the "Lost Cause," which claimed that the Confederacy had been established to defend states' rights and that slavery was not the principal cause of the Civil War. Residents of Oxford and Lafayette County dedicated this statue, approved by the university, in 1906. Although the monument was created to honor the sacrifice of local Confederate soldiers, it must also remind us that the defeat of the Confederacy actually meant freedom for millions of people. On the evening of September 30 1962, this statue was a rallying point for opponents of integration.

This historic statue is a reminder of the university's divisive past. Today, the University of Mississippi draws from that past a continuing commitment to open its hallowed halls to all who seek truth, knowledge, and wisdom.
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on April 8, 2023. It was originally submitted on April 23, 2017, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 465 times since then and 14 times this year. Photos:   1, 2, 3. submitted on April 23, 2017, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.   4. submitted on April 5, 2023, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.   5. submitted on April 23, 2017, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.

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Mar. 28, 2024