 Confederate Obelisk (2020) | |
 Interactive map of Confederate Obelisk | |
| Location | Oakland Cemetery,Atlanta,Georgia,United States |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 33°44′53″N84°22′19″W / 33.74802°N 84.37207°W /33.74802; -84.37207 |
| Type | Obelisk |
| Material | Granite |
| Height | 65 feet (20 m) |
| Beginning date | October 15, 1870 |
| Dedicated date | April 26, 1874 |
| Dedicated to | Confederate war dead |
Confederate Obelisk | |
| Part of | Oakland Cemetery (Atlanta) (ID76000627) |
| Added to NRHP | April 28, 1976 |
TheConfederate Obelisk is a largeConfederate monument located in theOakland Cemetery ofAtlanta,Georgia,United States. The structure, a tallobelisk located in the cemetery's Confederate section, was dedicated in 1874. Due to its connection to the Confederate States of America, the monument has been vandalized repeatedly.
Oakland Cemetery inAtlanta is one of the largest and oldestcemeteries in the city. Over 6,900Confederate soldiers are buried in the cemetery, many of whom had died during theAtlanta campaign of theAmerican Civil War.[1] The monument'sobelisk was commissioned by the AtlantaLadies' Memorial Association (ALMA), who later commissioned anotherConfederate monument in the cemetery, theLion of the Confederacy sculpture.[1] Thecornerstone for the monument was laid on October 15, 1870, on the day ofRobert E. Lee'sfuneral, withJohn Brown Gordon, a Confederate general and laterGovernor of Georgia, serving as a speaker at the event.[2] In the cornerstone, the ALMA placed an image of Lee, an 1862Confederate flag,Confederate money and stamps, a bullet, two gloves, and a roster of the ALMA.[3] The monument cost $8,000 to build, withgranite donated by theStone Mountain Granite Company andmarble tablets designed and donated by a local marble merchant.[2]
The monument was dedicated on April 26, 1874,[2] onConfederate Memorial Day.[3] Librarian and archivistRuth Blair, speaking in 1939, called the structure Atlanta's first monument.[4] At the time of its dedication, the 65-foot (20 m) tall obelisk stood as the tallest structure in the city, a record it would hold for several years.[3] The ceremony, which started at noon, featured several former Confederate officials as speakers and Confederate veterans as attendees, included a parade and other festivities.[3] The monument would in later years come to be a focal point for annual Confederate Memorial Day celebrations.[1] It currently remains the tallest structure in the cemetery.[5]
In 2017, following theUnite the Right rally,Atlanta MayorKasim Reed organized a committee to assess the Confederate monuments in the city and provide feedback on possible actions to be taken.[6]Georgia state law prohibits the removal of such monuments and so thecity government began to work with theAtlanta History Center to create "contextual markers" that would add historical context to the monuments. The Confederate Obelisk was one of several monuments chosen to have markers added to them, which also included theLion sculpture and thePeace Monument inPiedmont Park.[7] Speaking about the markers, one of theexecutive directors for the Historic Oakland Foundation said, "We want to say these things have different meanings. Depending on the era and time, it can mean different things to different people."[7] These markers were added to the obelisk in August 2019.[8][9] Following the installation of these markers, theNAACP criticized them, with the president of the Atlanta branch calling them "a profound disappointment" and that they "don't counter the notion ofwhite supremacy."[10]
During theGeorge Floyd protests in Georgia, the obelisk andLion were vandalized on the night of May 28, 2020.[11] The monuments were subsequently vandalized on several separate occasions throughout May and June 2020.[5][8][12]
The monument is a large granite obelisk that features marble tablets affixed near the base. An inscription on the obelisk reads "OUR CONFEDERATE DEAD".[2]
Media related toConfederate Obelisk at Wikimedia Commons