Union in Union County, South Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)

Union County Confederate Monument

Photographed By Brian Scott, November 8, 2008

1. Union County Confederate Monument - East Side

Inscription.
[East Side]: In Memory of the
Confederate Soldiers
of Union County,
South Carolina.
[North Side]: Truth, courage,
and patriotism
endure forever.
[South Side]: These were men who gave
their live and fortunes
to home and country,
in vindication
of those sacred rights
reserved to the states
and guaranteed by the
Federal Constitution
as adopted and ratified
by
South Carolina
May 23, 1788.

Erected 1907 by William Wallace Chapter, U.D.C.

Topics and series. This historical marker and monument is listed in these topic lists: Military • War, US Civil. In addition, it is included in the United Daughters of the Confederacy series list. A significant historical month for this entry is May 1865.

Location. 34° 42.9′ N, 81° 37.5′ W. Marker is in Union, South Carolina, in Union County. Marker is on West Main Street. Monument is located in the northwest corner of the intersection of Main and Herndon Streets. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Union SC 29379, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 10 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Union County Revolutionary War (within shouting distance of this marker); John Pratt (within shouting distance

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of this marker); Lynching in America / Lynching in Union County after 1877 (within shouting distance of this marker); Reconstruction Era Lynchings in Union County / Union County Jail Raid Massacre (within shouting distance of this marker); Union Community Hospital (within shouting distance of this marker); Union County Lynchings of 1871 (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Union County Jail (about 300 feet away); Union Mill (about 700 feet away); Union County Veterans Memorial (approx. ¼ mile away); Presbyterian Cemetery (approx. 0.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Union.

Also see . . . Union Downtown Historic District. The Union Downtown Historic District is significant as the public, commercial, and social center of the city of Union. (Submitted on March 11, 2009, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina.)

Additional commentary.
1. Monument Re-dedication
In 2007, the Children of the Confederacy Chapter of South Carolina, an auxiliary

Union County Confederate Monument Marker - West Side image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Stanley and Terrie Howard, February 9, 2013

2. Union County Confederate Monument Marker - West Side

of the United Daughters of the Confederacy of South Carolina, began re-dedicating confederate monuments that reached 100 years of age. The Union County Marker and the Wade Hampton Marker on the statehouse grounds in Columbia, was re-dedicated during 2007. Both ceremonies included horses and cannon fire, making them the first ceremonies to do so in South Carolina in nearly a century. The re-dedication was led by the year's president, Miss Ann Marie Verdin. Her theme for the year was "Remember the Meaning and the Messages of the Monuments."

— Submitted November 21, 2008, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina.

2. William Wallace Chapter, U.D.C.
The William Wallace Chapter, U.D.C., formed to erect a monument in memory of the Confederate soldiers of Union County. This chapter was named in honor of William Henry Wallace, a Union native who rose from private in Company A, 18th S.C. Volunteer Regiment to brigadier general by the close of the war.

Fund raising by the chapter and citizens began in earnest in November 1904 with Mrs. B.G. Clifford leading the drive. They raised the first fifty dollars by selling donated chrysanthemums formed into "monument bouquets" and received the first voluntary subscriptions the next month. In 1905, the schools raised money by giving concerts,

Union County Confederate Monument - North Side image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Brian Scott, November 8, 2008

3. Union County Confederate Monument - North Side

and in 1906, the ladies held a successful luncheon. The drive eventually raised $3,000. In the summer of 1906, the chapter accepted a design by the McNeal Marble Company. (Source: A Guide to Confederate Monuments in South Carolina: "Passing the Silent Cup" by Robert S. Seigler, pg. 490.)

— Submitted March 11, 2009, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina.

3. Union County Confederate Monument
The thirty-five-foot granite shaft, which is surmounted by pyramided cannon shots, was originally located "in the middle of Main street at a point in front of the courthouse and on the highest point in the city." The dedication ceremony took place on May 25, 1907. A speakers' stand was erected in front of the courthouse near the monument. Garland bearers, flower girls, and the Union cornet band led union's veterans in a parade from Hotel Union to the monument. The band and a group of Union schoolchildren greeted the veterans with a rendition of "The Sunny South," a new song dedicated to the Confederate veterans. Reverend B.G. Clifford offered the invocation. Mayor Macbeth Young gave the welcoming address, and the band played "The Bonnie Blue Flag." Four Union County veterans then unveiled the monument. They were Charner S. Greer, formerly a captain of Company A, 18th S.C.V. Regiment;

Union County Confederate Monument - South Side image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Brian Scott, November 8, 2008

4. Union County Confederate Monument - South Side

James C. Shellteworth, formerly a private in the Tyger River Volunteers, Company D, 5th S.C.V. Regiment; J.D. Eppes, formerly a private in the Macbeth Light Artillery; and W.T. Betsill, formerly a private in the Congaree Troop, Company D, The Hampton Legion Cavalry Battalion. While little girls decorated the monument, the assembly sang "Tenting on the Old Camp Ground." After the band played "Taps," the beloved Reverend A.A. James, chaplain of the 18th S.C.V. Regiment during the entire war, introduced Colonel Asbury Coward, the speaker of the day. A crowd of 3,000 to 5,000 filling the streets of Union interrupted him several times with bursts of enthusiastic applause. Reverend James offered the benediction, and the band led the 500 veterans in a parade to the graded school grounds for dinner. The monument was later moved to its present location, probably because of traffic congestion. (Source: A Guide to Confederate Monuments in South Carolina: "Passing the Silent Cup" by Robert S. Seigler, pg. 491.)

— Submitted March 12, 2009, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina.

Union County Confederate Monument (South)<br>(Right of Court House) image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Brian Scott, November 8, 2008

5. Union County Confederate Monument (South)
(Right of Court House)

From the National Register nomination form: "1911-1913 Neoclassical two-story brick and concrete courthouse; notable features include a projecting semicircular bay and colossal Ionic portico with paired columns, Scamozzi Ionic capitals in terra cotta, and a balustraded parapet with a central cartouche-relief; flanking pavilions; full entablature with modillion blocks on the projecting bay and portico; a simple entablature with dentils on the pavilions and wrapping the left, right, and rear elevations; and the inscription 'COVNTY COVRT HOVSE' in the portico frieze."

Union County Confederate Monument Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Stanley and Terrie Howard, February 913

6. Union County Confederate Monument Marker

Union County<br>Confederate Monument<br>(West) image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Brian Scott, November 8, 2008

7. Union County
Confederate Monument
(West)

On the plaque is engraved a cannon, representing the artillery.

Union County<br>Confederate Monument<br>(North) image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Brian Scott, November 8, 2008

8. Union County
Confederate Monument
(North)

Union County<br>Confederate Monument<br>(East) image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Brian Scott, November 8, 2008

9. Union County
Confederate Monument
(East)

Crossed swords at the top of the base represent the cavalry.

Union County Court House -<br>Front (South) Entrance image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Brian Scott, November 8, 2008

10. Union County Court House -
Front (South) Entrance

The court house's circular portico makes its design unique among the state's county court houses.

Photographed By Brian Scott, November 8, 2008

11. Union County Court House -
Front (South) Entrance

From the National Register nomination form: "Built 1911-1913 to replace a c. 1825 courthouse designed by Robert Mills, which was demolished in 1911, this building still serves as the county courthouse. It was designed by A. Ten Eyck Brown, an architect from Atlanta who also designed early twentieth century courthouses in Atlanta and Miami. It was built by John Jefferson Cain, a contractor from Columbia who also built the Palmetto Building there."

Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on November 12, 2008, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina. This page has been viewed 1,780 times since then and 50 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on November 12, 2008, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina. 2. submitted on February 11, 2013, by Stanley and Terrie Howard of Greer, South Carolina. 3, 4, 5. submitted on November 12, 2008, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina. 6. submitted on February 11, 2013, by Stanley and Terrie Howard of Greer, South Carolina. 7, 8, 9, 10, 11. submitted on November 12, 2008, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina.