Thompson and Powell Martyrs Monument facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Thompson and Powell Martyrs Monument
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| Location | St. Joseph, Kentucky |
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| Built | 1880 |
| MPS | Civil War Monuments of Kentucky MPS |
| NRHP reference No. | 97000707 |
| Added to NRHP | July 17, 1997 |
The Thompson and Powell Martyrs Monument is a memorial to two Confederate soldiers in St. Joseph, Kentucky. It is on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), one of only three NRHP locations in Daviess County, Kentucky that is not in Owensboro, Kentucky.
Executions
The memorial honors two Confederate soldiers who were killed in accordance with the standing order of the Union general in command of Kentucky, Stephen G. Burbridge, known as Order No. 59. This called for the execution of four Confederate prisoners for every unarmed Union civilian killed by the Confederates. The two men honored on the monument were Charles W. Thompson (aged 18) and Pierman Powell (aged 25), who were executed in retaliation for the fatal wounding of a prominent resident of Henderson, Kentucky, James E. Rankin. They were originally held in Daviess County, but were taken to Henderson by Federal troops to be killed. The two men were executed on July 22, 1864.
Attempted rescue
Confederate Colonel Lee A. Sypert of the 16th Kentucky Cavalry (unofficially called the 13th Cavalry) tried to rescue the two men on July 21, using a bluff to draw away Union forces. However, the defenders held on until Union gunboats arrived, forcing Sypert to withdraw. The two Confederate prisoners were killed by firing squad on the banks of the Ohio River in Henderson, immediately after which the Union gunboats left the city, along with all the Union soldiers in the city.
Like most monuments dedicated in the memory of the Confederacy, the letters CSA are at the bottom of the monument. Due to the placement of the lettering on the monument it is possible to misconstrue that Burbridge was a Confederate general, not a Union one. Burbridge spent years trying unsuccessfully to have those letters removed, as it angered him to have those letters after his name.
National Register of Historic Places
On July 17, 1997, the Thompson and Powell Martyrs Monument was one of sixty-one different monuments related to the Civil War in Kentucky placed on the National Register of Historic Places, as part of the Civil War Monuments of Kentucky Multiple Property Submission. The Confederate Monument in Owensboro is the only other monument on the list in Daviess County. Other monuments to victims of Burbridge so honored are Confederate Martyrs Monument in Jeffersontown, Confederate Soldiers Martyrs Monument in Eminence, and Martyrs Monument in Midway.
Gallery
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Back of monument
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St. Alphonsus Catholic Church; the monument is in front of the church in this picture
