Confederate Memorial in Nicholasville facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Confederate Memorial in Nicholasville
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| Location | Courthouse Lawn. Jct. of US 27 and KY 29, Nicholasville, Kentucky |
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| Built | 1896 |
| MPS | Civil War Monuments of Kentucky MPS |
| NRHP reference No. | 97000686 |
| Added to NRHP | July 17, 1997 |
The Confederate Memorial in Nicholasville is a historic statue. It stands on the courthouse lawn in Nicholasville, Kentucky. This town is about ten miles south of Lexington, Kentucky. The memorial was put up during a time when laws separated people based on race.
Contents
What Does the Memorial Look Like?
The memorial has a tall granite base. This base is about 11 feet (3.4 meters) high. On top of it is a bronze statue of a soldier. The soldier statue is about 7 feet (2.1 meters) tall. It shows a soldier from the Confederate States of America. He carries a knapsack and wears a kepi hat. Messages are carved into all four sides of the base. One message is from a famous poem called Bivouac of the Dead.
How the Statue Was Built
The idea for this statue started in 1880. A man named Jefferson Oxley began a group to raise money. He was a veteran of the Confederate Army. His group was called the Jessamine County Memorial Association. They wanted to fund a statue like this.
Sixteen years later, the statue was still not built. The Association then heard about another statue. It was a statue of a Union soldier that had not been paid for. They could buy it at a lower price. For $1,500, the group bought this statue. They then changed the Union soldier statue to look like a Confederate soldier.
The Dedication Ceremony
The statue was officially revealed in 1896. More than 3,500 people came to see it. About 160 people traveled from Louisville, Kentucky by a special train. Among the speakers was Bennett H. Young. He was a supporter of the "Lost Cause" idea. This idea was a way of remembering the Confederacy. He spoke at many statue dedications. Jefferson Oxley had passed away by then. So, his son, Lawson Oxley, unveiled the statue.
Why Is It Important?
On July 17, 1997, this memorial became very important. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places. This is a list of places in the United States that are important to history. The Nicholasville memorial was one of 61 monuments listed that day. All of them were related to the Civil War in Kentucky.
This memorial is one of three places in Jessamine County that remember the American Civil War. The other two are Camp Nelson Civil War Heritage Park and Camp Nelson National Cemetery.
Gallery
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Front view
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Front view
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Back view
