 The statue in 2005 | |
 Interactive map of John Brown Gordon statue | |
| Location | Georgia State Capitol,Atlanta,Georgia |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 33°44′59″N84°23′18″W / 33.74972°N 84.38833°W /33.74972; -84.38833 |
| Designer | Solon Borglum Alexander Campbell Bruce (pedestal) |
| Builder | McNeel Marble Works (pedestal) |
| Type | Equestrian statue |
| Material | Bronze Granite (pedestal) |
| Length | 10 feet (3.0 m) |
| Width | 4 feet (1.2 m) |
| Height | 23 feet (7.0 m) |
| Dedicated date | May 25, 1907 |
| Dedicated to | John Brown Gordon |
Theequestrian statue of John Brown Gordon is amonument on the grounds of theGeorgia State Capitol inAtlanta,Georgia,United States. The monument, anequestrian statue, honorsJohn Brown Gordon, ageneral in theConfederate States Army during theAmerican Civil War who later become a politician in post-Reconstruction era Georgia. Designed bySolon Borglum, the statue was dedicated in 1907 to large fanfare. The statue has recently become a figure of controversy over Gordon's racist views and associations with the Confederacy, with some calling for its removal.
John Brown Gordon was a notedConfederategeneral during theAmerican Civil War who served multiple terms as aSenator from Georgia and asGovernor of Georgia in the post-Reconstruction era. He was also generally recognized as the leader of theKu Klux Klan in Georgia and supported both the institution ofslavery as well as theLost Cause of the Confederacy.[1] Following his death on January 9, 1904, multiple civic leaders inAtlanta began to plan a monument in his honor.[2] On January 19, 1904 (Robert E. Lee Day), a meeting at theGeorgia State Capitol of groups including theUnited Daughters of the Confederacy and theUnited Confederate Veterans was held whereClement A. Evans proposed creating a statue to honor Gordon. The John B. Gordon Monument Association was formed for this purpose, led byWilliam Lowndes Calhoun as its president. While the association was successful in fundraising, a total of $25,000 had to be secured from thestate government in order to complete the project.[3]Solon Borglum (whose brotherGutzon Borglum was the first sculptor to work on theStone Mountain Confederate Memorial)[4] was commissioned to design anequestrian statue of Gordon,[5] which would rest on apedestal designed byAlexander Campbell Bruce and supplied by theMcNeel Marble Works.[3]
The statue, Atlanta's only equestrian statue,[4][6] was dedicated on the grounds of the Georgia State Capitol on May 25, 1907.[5] Evans served as the main orator for the unveiling,[4] while two daughters of Gordon's did the unveiling.[7] During the dedication, GovernorJoseph M. Terrell and another speaker called for the erection of additional monuments on the Capitol grounds forRobert E. Lee,James Longstreet, and the "common soldier", but budgetary issues prevented these plans from coming to fruition.[2] The statue's unveiling attracted many onlookers, and contemporary accounts mention a choir singing "Dixie" to loud cheers during the ceremony. The event took place less than a year after theAtlanta Massacre of 1906.[1] In April 1908, aplaster model of the statue was displayed at anart exhibition held by theNational Sculpture Society inBaltimore.[8]
Recently, the statue has come under criticism due to Gordon's stance on race. Following theCharleston church shooting in 2015, astate senator proposed a law forbidding the official recognition of Confederate symbols, including icons such as the Gordon statue. Around the same time, American historianKenneth W. Noe, speaking withThe Atlanta Journal-Constitution, spoke directly about the Gordon statue and others on the Capitol grounds as symbols of the Lost Cause of the Confederacy.[1] In 2019, thegovernment of Georgia passed a law barring the removal ofConfederate monuments and memorials.[9]
In 2020, during theGeorge Floyd protests in Atlanta, many protesters called for the removal of the statue, prompting a trendinghashtag onTwitter, #TEARDOWNGORDON.[10] On June 8,Bob Trammell, theminority leader in theGeorgia House of Representatives, sent a letter toGeorgia GovernorBrian Kemp asking him to remove the statue of Gordon, saying, "the statue's nexus to hate in our state is overwhelming" and "its presence is both divisive and offensive."[11] Protests regarding the statue and others prompted a barricade to be erected around the Capitol grounds.[12] On June 11, a protester was arrested forvandalizing the statue, writing "tear down" with chalk on the monument.[13][14] Following these events, 44 descendants of Gordon sent anopen letter to Governor Kemp calling for the removal of the statue from the Capitol grounds, stating that "the primary purpose of the statue was to celebrate and mythologize thewhite supremacists of the Confederacy".[9][15]
The monument consists of abronze equestrian statue of Gordon resting on agranite pedestal inscribed with his last name on its front.[7] The horse is modeled afterMarye, Gordon'swarhorse during the Civil War.[5] Gordon is dressed in his Confederate uniform, but is depicted as an elderly man.[2] Attached to both sides of the pedestal areplaques depicting Gordon. One shows Gordon on horseback during theBattle of Spotsylvania Court House, while the other plaque is a standing portrait of Gordon inscribed with the words "GOVERNOR PATRIOT SENATOR" beneath him. A plaque affixed to the rear of the pedestal is inscribed with a history of Gordon's life, from his birth through his military and political career to his death in 1904.[16]
The base of the monument measures approximately 8 feet (2.4 m) long, 4 feet (1.2 m) wide, and 12 feet (3.7 m) tall, while the statue measures approximately 10 feet (3.0 m) long, 3 feet (0.91 m) wide, and 11 feet (3.4 m) tall.[17]
Media related toJohn Brown Gordon statue (Georgia State Capitol) at Wikimedia Commons
