The Confederate-Union Veterans' Monument in front of the Butler County Courthouse in Morgantown, Kentucky, was built in the aftermath of the Spanish–American War, which helped alleviate the bitterness both sides felt toward the other when it was dedicated to the sacrifice of veterans of both sides of the Civil War. It is one of only two monuments in Kentucky that reveres both sides, instead of only one, and funds to build it came from both sides. Butler County had mixed loyalties in the War, with both sides well supported by the county.[2]
The monument was dedicated on May 30, 1907. It has a life-sized zinc statue of a Union soldier with kepi hat, winter great coat, and rifle. It stands atop a twelve-foot pedestal, making the entire monument eighteen feet in height. Depictions of Ulysses S. Grant, Abraham Lincoln, and Joseph Wheeler are placed on three sides of the pedestal. On the various sides of the pedestal are the names of several citizens of Butler County who fought on both sides, some of which died during the War and some that were still living when the monument was built in 1907. As a reflection of the joint effort made to build the statue, the monument refers to the conflict as the "War of 1861-5".[2][3]
Other than two skirmishes outside of town, Morgantown/Butler County saw very little action during the war,[4] although the first of these skirmishes, fought in October 1861, claimed the first county resident killed in the war, Granville Allen.[5]
On July 17, 1997, the Confederate-Union Veterans' Monument was one of sixty 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. It is one of ten soldier monuments in the MPS that was placed on a courthouse lawn, out of 23 soldier monuments in total.[6]
Gallery
-
Far view of monument -
Closeup of inscription on front of statue
References
- ^ "National Register Information System – (#97000713)". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
- ^ a b Civil War in Kentucky
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-04-12. Retrieved 2008-05-12.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Kentucky: Butler County - About Butler County". Archived from the original on 2014-03-10. Retrieved 2008-05-12.
- ^ "Butler County". The Kentucky Encyclopedia, John E. Kleber, ed. Lexington: U of Kentucky P, 1992, 147.
- ^ Joseph E. Brent (January 8, 1997). "National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Submission: Civil War Monuments in Kentucky, 1865-1935" (pdf). National Park Service.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help)
External links
Media related to Confederate-Union Veterans' Monument in Morgantown at Wikimedia Commons
