The Ladies' Confederate Memorial is an

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

monument erected in 1874 in

Lexington Cemetery Lexington Cemetery is a private, non-profit rural cemetery and arboretum located at 833 W. Main Street, Lexington, Kentucky. The Lexington Cemetery was established in 1848 as a place of beauty and a public cemetery, in part to deal ...

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, Fayette County. By population, it is the List of cities in Kentucky, second-largest city in Kentucky and List of United States cities by popul ...

. It was placed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

on July 17, 1997, as part of the

Civil War Monuments of Kentucky MPS This is a list of American Civil War monuments in Kentucky — Union, Confederate or both. The earliest Confederate memorials were, in general, simple memorials. The earliest such monument was the Confederate Monument in Cynthiana erected in 1869 ...

. Unlike most

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

monuments in

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

, it represents grief rather than Southern patriotism.

Fund raising

The Ladies Memorial and Monument Association was founded by

Mary Cyrene Burch Breckinridge Mary Cyrene Breckinridge ( Burch; August 16, 1826 – October 8, 1907) was the wife of John C. Breckinridge and served as the second lady of the United States from March 4, 1857, until March 4, 1861, while her husband was the 14th vice presiden ...

, the wife of

John C. Breckinridge John Cabell Breckinridge (January 16, 1821 – May 17, 1875) was an American lawyer, politician, and soldier. He represented Kentucky in both houses of Congress and became the 14th and youngest-ever vice president of the United States. Serving ...

, on May 26, 1869, after she saw the unveiling of the

Confederate Monument In the United States, the public display of Confederate monuments, memorials and symbols has been and continues to be controversial. The following is a list of Confederate monuments and memorials that were established as public displays and symb ...

Cynthiana, Kentucky Cynthiana is a list of Kentucky cities, home rule-class city in Harrison County, Kentucky, Harrison County, Kentucky, in the United States. The population was 6,402 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. It is the county seat, seat of its ...

. After six years of fund raising the memorial was dedicated on May 26, 1875.

Description

The statue features a

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite. Marble is typically not Foliation (geology), foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the ...

cross shaped as if made of logs. A broken sword and broken flagstaff are among the motifs, which also include

lilies ''Lilium'' () is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large prominent flowers. They are the true lilies. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world. M ...

. Rugged rocks are the motif for the limestone 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 in Italy, 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 ''Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper'', later renamed ''Leslie's Weekly'', was an American illustrated literary and news magazine founded in 1855 and published until 1922. It was one of several magazines started by publisher and illustrator Frank ...

''.

Inspiration

It is believed that the memorial might have been inspired by a poem written by

Abram Joseph Ryan Abram Joseph Ryan (February 5, 1838 – April 22, 1886) was an American poet, Catholic priest, Catholic newspaper editor, orator, and former Vincentian. An active proponent of the Confederate States of America, he has been called the "Poet-Priest ...

, 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

Image:Ladies' Confederate Memorial 2.jpg, Closeup Image:Ladies' Confederate Memorial 3.jpg,

Fund raising

Description

Inspiration

Gallery

References

See also