Confederate monument (Gainesville, Florida)
The Confederate monument, also known as Old Joe, was a historic statue in Gainesville, Florida, in the United States. Designed by John Segesman, it was dedicated by the United Daughters of the Confederacy outside the Alachua County Administration Building in 1904. It was moved to a privately owned cemetery in rural Alachua County on August 14, 2017.
Confederate monument | |
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Old Joe | |
![]() Old Joe at its former location, 2005 | |
Artist | John Segesman |
Year | 1904 |
Location | Gainesville, Florida, United States (formerly) |
29.5596°N 82.2583°W | |
Owner | United Daughters of the Confederacy |
Description
The statue, designed by John Segesman, depicts a soldier of the Confederate States Army, the Southern army during the American Civil War of 1861–1865.[1]
According to the Smithsonian Institution Research Information System, he is seen "standing with his proper left leg forward and his proper left foot resting on a camp pack with a bed roll. He is holding the top of a musket with both hands, proper right hand above proper left hand while the musket base is on the ground. The soldier wears a sword scabbard on his proper left hip (no sword is apparent), and a pouch on his back side that is attached by a shoulder strap over his proper right shoulder. On his proper right hip is a rectangular box attached to a strap that is over his proper left shoulder and a small semi-circular pouch is attached to his belt on the proper right side."[1]
History
The monument was dedicated by the Kirby Smith chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) outside the Alachua County Administration Building on January 19, 1904.[2][3][4] There were speeches by Judge Horatio Davis and Hon. W. L. Palmer, followed by Confederate General Robert Bullock.[5] The monument was unveiled by Mrs McKinstry, Jr., and "the attendance was quite large."[5]
On August 14, 2017, in the wake of the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, the statue was moved to the Oak Ridge Cemetery, a privately owned cemetery near Rochelle, Florida, by the UDC.[3][4]
References
- "Confederate Soldier, (sculpture)". Siris-artinventories.si.edu. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
- Widener, Ralph W. (1982). Confederate monuments: Enduring symbols of the South and the War Between the States. Andromeda Associates. p. 34. ASIN B0006E9TUC. OCLC 8697924.
- Caplan, Andrew (August 14, 2017). "Confederate statue removed from downtown Gainesville". The Gainesville Sun. Retrieved October 18, 2017.
- "Gainesville removes Confederate statue; Jacksonville may be next". Orlando Sentinel. August 15, 2017. Retrieved October 18, 2017.
- "CONFEDERATE MONUMENT. Unveiled in Gainesville--Many Visitors Present--Speeches by General Bullock and Hon W. L. Palmer". The Ocala Evening Star. January 20, 1904. p. 1. Retrieved October 18, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.