Confederate Obelisk

{{Infobox monument

| name = Confederate Obelisk

| image = Confederate Obelisk, Atlanta 1.jpg

| caption = Confederate Obelisk (2020)

| location = Oakland Cemetery, Atlanta, Georgia, United States

| height = {{convert|65|ft|m}}

| dedicated = April 26, 1874

| dedicated_to = Confederate war dead

| begin = October 15, 1870

| material = Granite

| type = Obelisk

| coordinates = {{coord|33.74802|-84.37207|type:landmark_region:US-GA|format=dms|display=inline,title}}

| map_image = Atlanta#Georgia (U.S. state)#United States

| module = {{Infobox NRHP

| embed = yes

| nrhp_type = cp | nocat = yes

| partof = Oakland Cemetery (Atlanta)

| partof_refnum = 76000627

| location=

| architect =

| architecture =

| added = April 28, 1976

}}

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.{{Cite web|last=Breffle|first=Marcy|date=August 9, 2019|title=Interpreting Atlanta's Confederate History|url=https://oaklandcemetery.com/interpreting-atlantas-confederate-history/|url-status=live|access-date=October 2, 2020|website=Historic Oakland Foundation|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200926101016/https://oaklandcemetery.com/interpreting-atlantas-confederate-history/ |archive-date=September 26, 2020 }} 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.{{Cite book|last=Wiggins|first=David N.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=39QnjtYAV4gC&q=confederate+obelisk+atlanta|title=Georgia's Confederate Monuments and Cemeteries|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|year=2006|isbn=978-0-7385-4233-1|pages=36|language=en|via=Google Books}} 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.{{Cite book|last=Kaemmerlen|first=Cathy J.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eNZ2CQAAQBAJ&q=confederate+obelisk+oakland+cemetery&pg=PT53|title=The Historic Oakland Cemetery of Atlanta: Speaking Stones|publisher=The History Press|year=2007|isbn=9781625844200|via=Google Books}} 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.

File:Confederate Monument, Oakland Cemetery, Atlanta, Ga (NYPL b11707424-G90F147 004F).tiff image of the obelisk (1880)]]

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.{{Cite journal|last=Blair|first=Ruth|author-link=Ruth Blair|date=October 1940|title=Atlanta's Monuments|url=https://album.atlantahistorycenter.com/digital/collection/AHBull/id/10146|journal=Atlanta Historical Bulletin|publisher=Atlanta Historical Society|volume=V|issue=23|pages=273|via=Atlanta History Center}} At the time of its dedication, the {{convert|65|ft|m|adj=on}} 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.{{Cite web|last=Corson|first=Pete|date=July 29, 2020|title=PHOTOS: Confederate memorials in metro Atlanta|url=https://www.ajc.com/news/local/photos-confederate-memorials-metro-atlanta/FH1y7URHRaoVx9xofRbqjP/|url-status=live|access-date=October 6, 2020|website=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution|publisher=Cox Enterprises|language=English|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180714000755/https://www.ajc.com/news/local/photos-confederate-memorials-metro-atlanta/FH1y7URHRaoVx9xofRbqjP/ |archive-date=July 14, 2018 }}

= Recent controversy =

{{Further|Removal of Confederate monuments and memorials|List of monuments and memorials removed during the George Floyd protests}}

In 2017, following the Unite the Right rally, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed organized a committee to assess the Confederate monuments in the city and provide feedback on possible actions to be taken.{{Cite web|last=Bentley|first=Rosalind|date=July 29, 2019|title=Atlanta erecting markers about slavery next to Confederate monuments|url=https://www.ajc.com/news/local-govt--politics/atlanta-erecting-historical-markers-next-confederate-monuments/84aZJcUhOA7GparAHNOGCP/|url-status=live|access-date=October 7, 2020|website=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution|publisher=Cox Enterprises|language=English|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190725022927/https://www.ajc.com/news/local-govt--politics/atlanta-erecting-historical-markers-next-confederate-monuments/84aZJcUhOA7GparAHNOGCP/ |archive-date=July 25, 2019 }} Georgia state law prohibits the removal of such monuments and so the city government began to work with the Atlanta History Center to create "contextual markers" that would add historical context to the monuments. The Confederate Obelisk was one of several monuments chosen to have markers added to them, which also included the Lion sculpture and the Peace Monument in Piedmont Park.{{Cite web|last=Bentley|first=Rosalind|date=November 27, 2018|title=Rebel monuments take different route than felled Confederate Avenue|url=https://www.ajc.com/news/local/rebel-monuments-take-different-route-than-felled-confederate-avenue/2Bofb21rSG8A7cGzbRBN7N/|url-status=live|access-date=October 7, 2020|website=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution|publisher=Cox Enterprises|language=English|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181126150320/https://www.ajc.com/news/local/rebel-monuments-take-different-route-than-felled-confederate-avenue/2Bofb21rSG8A7cGzbRBN7N/ |archive-date=November 26, 2018 }} Speaking about the markers, one of the executive directors for the Historic Oakland Foundation said, "We want to say these things have different meanings. Depending on the era and time, it can mean different things to different people." These markers were added to the obelisk in August 2019.{{Cite web|date=May 29, 2020|title=Monuments and Interpretive Sign Damaged by Vandals|url=https://oaklandcemetery.com/monuments-and-interpretive-sign-damaged-by-vandals/|url-status=live|access-date=October 2, 2020|website=Historic Oakland Foundation|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200616015838/https://oaklandcemetery.com/monuments-and-interpretive-sign-damaged-by-vandals/ |archive-date=June 16, 2020 }}{{Cite web|last=King|first=Michael|date=August 6, 2019|title=New markers placed with Atlanta's Confederate monuments adding modern info about racism|url=https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/new-markers-placed-with-atlantas-confederate-monuments-adding-modern-info-about-racism/85-17230349-8f6a-4628-a58f-131b6eb3688b|access-date=October 2, 2020|website=WXIA-TV|language=en-US}} Following the installation of these markers, the NAACP criticized them, with the president of the Atlanta branch calling them "a profound disappointment" and that they "don't counter the notion of white supremacy."{{Cite web|last=Bentley|first=Rosalind|date=August 22, 2019|title=Atlanta NAACP criticizes markers surrounding Confederate monuments|url=https://www.ajc.com/news/local/atlanta-naacp-criticizes-markers-surrounding-confederate-monuments/J270cXywg1hiMAlUZQll0O/|url-status=live|access-date=October 7, 2020|website=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution|publisher=Cox Enterprises|language=English|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190822032144/https://www.ajc.com/news/local/atlanta-naacp-criticizes-markers-surrounding-confederate-monuments/J270cXywg1hiMAlUZQll0O/ |archive-date=August 22, 2019 }}

During the George Floyd protests in Georgia, the obelisk and Lion were vandalized on the night of May 28, 2020.{{Cite web|last=Abusaid|first=Shaddi|date=May 29, 2020|title=Confederate monuments vandalized in Oakland Cemetery, cops say|url=https://www.ajc.com/news/crime--law/confederate-monuments-vandalized-oakland-cemetery-cops-say/f3s4KoXNqCQJlvCgZvpndP/|url-status=live|access-date=October 2, 2020|website=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution|publisher=Cox Enterprises|language=English|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200607143443/https://www.ajc.com/news/crime--law/confederate-monuments-vandalized-oakland-cemetery-cops-say/f3s4KoXNqCQJlvCgZvpndP/ |archive-date=June 7, 2020 }} The monuments were subsequently vandalized on several separate occasions throughout May and June 2020.{{Cite web|date=June 9, 2020|title=An Update on the Remediation of Recent Vandalism|url=https://oaklandcemetery.com/an-update-on-the-remediation-of-recent-vandalism/|url-status=live|access-date=October 7, 2020|website=Historic Oakland Foundation|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200919163743/https://oaklandcemetery.com/an-update-on-the-remediation-of-recent-vandalism/ |archive-date=September 19, 2020 }}

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".