Confederate Memorial in Nicholasville
Encyclopedia
The Confederate Memorial in Nicholasville is an historic statue located on the Jessamine County
courthouse lawn in Nicholasville, Kentucky
, ten miles south of Lexington, Kentucky
. It is one of three locations regarding the Civil War
in Jessamine County; the other two are Camp Nelson Civil War Heritage Park and Camp Nelson National Cemetery
.
It consists of an 11 feet (3.4 m) granite
pedestal and 7 feet (2.1 m) bronze "Confederate
" soldier statue with knapsack and kepi hat
. Inscriptions are on all four sides of the pedestal, including a passage from Bivouac of the Dead
.
The process for erecting the statue started in 1880, when Jefferson Oxley, a veteran of the Confederate Army, started the Jessamine County Memorial Association to fund such a statue. However, by 1896, sixteen years later, it had still not been built. The Association was told there was a Union soldier monument which had not been paid for, and could be theirs at a discount. For $1,500 the monument was purchased, and the Yankee was "galvanized"
into a Confederate soldier.
At the dedication, over 3,500 spectators came to witness the occasion, including 160 from Louisville
who came by special train. Among the Louisvillians was Bennett H. Young
, who spoke at many such statue dedications. The statue was unveiled by Oxley's son Lawson, as Jefferson Oxley had died.
On July 17, 1997, the Confederate Memorial in Nicholasville 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.
Jessamine County, Kentucky
Jessamine County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It is within the Inner Blue Grass region, which was the center of farming and blooded stock raising, including thoroughbred horses. It was formed in 1799. The population was 48,586 in the 2010 Census...
courthouse lawn in Nicholasville, Kentucky
Nicholasville, Kentucky
Nicholasville is the 11th largest city in state of Kentucky and the county seat of Jessamine County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 19,680 at the 2000 census...
, ten miles south of Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...
. It is one of three locations regarding the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
in Jessamine County; the other two are Camp Nelson Civil War Heritage Park and Camp Nelson National Cemetery
Camp Nelson National Cemetery
Camp Nelson National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in southern Jessamine County, Kentucky. It was originally a graveyard associated with the U.S. Army's Camp Nelson, which was active during the U.S. Civil War and its aftermath...
.
It consists of an 11 feet (3.4 m) granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
pedestal and 7 feet (2.1 m) bronze "Confederate
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
" soldier statue with knapsack and kepi hat
Kepi
The kepi is a cap with a flat circular top and a visor or peak . Etymologically, the word is a borrowing of the French képi, itself a respelling of the Alemannic Käppi: a diminutive form of Kappe, meaning "cap"....
. Inscriptions are on all four sides of the pedestal, including a passage from Bivouac of the Dead
Bivouac of the Dead
The Bivouac of the Dead is a poem written by Theodore O'Hara to honor his fellow soldiers from Kentucky who died in the Mexican-American War...
.
The process for erecting the statue started in 1880, when Jefferson Oxley, a veteran of the Confederate Army, started the Jessamine County Memorial Association to fund such a statue. However, by 1896, sixteen years later, it had still not been built. The Association was told there was a Union soldier monument which had not been paid for, and could be theirs at a discount. For $1,500 the monument was purchased, and the Yankee was "galvanized"
Galvanized Yankees
Galvanized Yankees was a term from the American Civil War used to refer to former Confederate prisoners of war who had sworn allegiance to the Union. Due to doubts about their ultimate loyalty, Galvanized Yankees were generally assigned to garrison forts far from the Civil War battlefields or in...
into a Confederate soldier.
At the dedication, over 3,500 spectators came to witness the occasion, including 160 from Louisville
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
who came by special train. Among the Louisvillians was Bennett H. Young
Bennett H. Young
Bennett H. Young was a Confederate officer who led forces in the St Albans raid , a military action during the American Civil War. As a lieutenant of the Confederate States Army, he entered Vermont from Canada and occupied the town of St...
, who spoke at many such statue dedications. The statue was unveiled by Oxley's son Lawson, as Jefferson Oxley had died.
On July 17, 1997, the Confederate Memorial in Nicholasville was one of sixty-one different monuments related to the Civil War in Kentucky placed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
, as part of the Civil War Monuments of Kentucky Multiple Property Submission.