Confederate Obelisk facts for kids
Confederate Obelisk (2020)
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 Location in Atlanta
Location in Georgia (U.S. state)
Location in the United States
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| Coordinates | 33°44′53″N 84°22′19″W / 33.74802°N 84.37207°W |
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| Location | Oakland Cemetery, Atlanta, Georgia, United States |
| Type | Obelisk |
| Material | Granite |
| Height | 65 feet (20 m) |
| Beginning date | October 15, 1870 |
| Dedicated to | Confederate war dead |
The Confederate Obelisk is a large Confederate monument located in the Oakland Cemetery of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The structure, a tall obelisk 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.
History
Background and dedication
Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta is one of the largest and oldest cemeteries in the city. Over 6,900 Confederate soldiers are buried in the cemetery, many of whom had died during the Atlanta campaign of the American Civil War. The monument's obelisk was commissioned by the Atlanta Ladies' Memorial Association (ALMA), who later commissioned another Confederate monument in the cemetery, the Lion of the Confederacy sculpture. The cornerstone for the monument was laid on October 15, 1870, on the day of Robert E. Lee's funeral, with John Brown Gordon, a Confederate general and later Governor of Georgia, serving as a speaker at the event. In the cornerstone, the ALMA placed an image of Lee, an 1862 Confederate flag, Confederate money and stamps, a bullet, two gloves, and a roster of the ALMA. The monument cost $8,000 to build, with granite donated by the Stone Mountain Granite Company and marble tablets designed and donated by a local marble merchant.
The monument was dedicated on April 26, 1874, on Confederate Memorial Day. Librarian and archivist Ruth Blair, speaking in 1939, called the structure Atlanta's first monument. 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. The ceremony, which started at noon, featured several former Confederate officials as speakers and Confederate veterans as attendees, included a parade and other festivities. The monument would in later years come to be a focal point for annual Confederate Memorial Day celebrations. It currently remains the tallest structure in the cemetery.
Design
The monument is a large granite obelisk that features marble tablets affixed near the base. An inscription on the obelisk reads "OUR CONFEDERATE DEAD".
