The Battle of Fort Fisher, N.C.

Saturday, June 21, 2014

The Confederate Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery-- Part 2

The United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) petitioned to erect a memorial at the Confederate section and on March 14, 1911, Secretary of War William Howard Taft granted the request.

The cornerstone was laid November 12, 1912.  Speakers were William Jennings Bryan and James A. Tanner, a former Union corporal who lost  both legs at the Battle of Bull Run and was, at the time, the commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, an organization of Union veterans.

That same evening, President William Howard Taft addressed addressed the UDC at a reception of the DAR's Centennial Hall.

Noted sculptor Moses Ezekial designed it and it was rich in symbolism and rose 32-feet.

Buried at the base of the monument are Ezekial, Lt. Henry C. Marmaduke, CSN, Captain John M. Hickey, 2nd Mssouri and Brigadier General Marcus J. Wright who commanded a brigade at Shiloh and Chickamauga.

--Old Secesh

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