Towering approximately 6 meters tall in the South Lawn of the Texas Capitol is the Confederate Soldiers Monument, also known as the Confederate Dead Monument. This monument was constructed in 1903 by Frank Teich and Pompeo Coppini, who designed the base and sculpted the statues, respectively. With a base of grey granite and 5 bronze men of the confederacy standing proud, this memorial immortalizes the courageous southern soldiers who fought for their rights, as well as slavery and racism.
Standing in the center of the monument is Jefferson Davis, a U.S. Senator who served as the Confederate president during the Civil War. Surrounding him in all four corners are southern soldiers representing the infantry, cavalry, artillery, and navy. The positioning of the men symbolizes the confederacy’s protection of their ideals; Davis, the president, is a symbol of Southern pride and slavery, while the other men represent their will and capability to fight for these goals. Although the traits demonstrated in this work are typically considered commendable, the context of the south during the Civil War makes this rather controversial; in today’s society, things that depict support for the confederacy and, in extension, racism, are not exactly popular. On top of the statue’s implications as is, the plaque on the front also describes a historically distorted account of the South’s motivations.
The plaque, right from the beginning, starts with “Died for State Rights guaranteed under the Constitution.” It romanticizes the South and leaves out any details of slavery, stating, “the people of the South, animated by the spirit of 1776, to preserve their rights, withdrew from the federal compact in 1861. The North resorted to coercion, the South, against overwhelming numbers and resources, fought until exhausted.” The wording of these sentences depicts the North as an oppressive opponent and the South as the valiant underdog, which not only paints the South in a much better light than reasonably justified, but also completely leaves out any mention of slavery as the primary subject of the war. As such, the people who commissioned the monument are most likely supporters of the old South; the main purpose of this memorial’s creation is, presumably, to honor the soldiers and leaders of the confederacy and, as a result, attempts to depict them in a strictly positive manner.
These questionable qualities are further exacerbated with the memorial’s placement: right at Texas’s capitol. Although this was probably not a particularly strange move at the time of its construction, having a confederate symbol right next to Texas’s seat of government can give people the wrong impression that Texas still supports the old South, along with the slavery and white supremacy it fought for. This implicit suggestion can be detrimental to Texas’s reputation, especially towards black people and activists targeting black social issues.
Despite its various negative implications, the Confederate Soldiers Monument is still an important part of the United States’ history. Even if people in the modern era do not agree with the inscriptions or the ideals it symbolizes, the memorial demonstrates how many of the southerners of the past thought and felt about their situation.
Works Cited
“Confederate Soldiers Monument (Austin, Texas).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 11 Jan. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confederate_Soldiers_Monument_(Austin,_Texas).
“Jefferson Davis.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 29 June 2019, http://www.biography.com/political-figure/jefferson-davis.
Morris, Allie. “Push to Remove Confederate Monuments at State Capitol Facing Roadblock.” ExpressNews.com, Express-News, 18 Aug. 2017, http://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Push-to-remove-Confederate-monuments-at-state-11882898.php.
Texas State Preservation Board. “Confederate Soldiers Monument.” SPB, tspb.texas.gov/prop/tcg/tcg-monuments/02-confederate-soldiers/index.html.
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