Confederate Monument in Danville
Encyclopedia
The Confederate Monument in Danville, located between Centre College
and the First Presbyterian Church at the corner of Main and College Streets in Danville, Kentucky
's McDowell Park, is a monument dedicated to the Confederate States of America
that is on the National Register of Historic Places
. The monument was dedicated in 1910 by the surviving veterans of the Confederacy of Boyle County, Kentucky
and the Kate Morrison Breckinridge Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy
.
The monument consists of a granite
pedestal and a marble
statue resting thereon. The marble figure depicts Captain Robert D. Logan, who actually came from Lincoln County, Kentucky
, but lived after the War in Boyle County. Captain Logan served under John Hunt Morgan
in the 6th Kentucky Cavalry's Company A, and was captured after Morgan's Raid
in Cheshire, Ohio
on July 20, 1863, and spent much of the War afterwards in prison camps, particularly the Ohio State Penitentiary
. He died on June 25, 1896, fourteen years before the construction of the monument. The granite pedestal is twelve feet tall, and uses pairs of Doric
columns to decorate it. The main inscription reads: C. S. A. 1861 - 1865 What They Were the Whole World Knows.
Danville's participation in the War was limited. The courthouse served as a hospital for Union forces after the Battle of Perryville
. On October 11, Confederate forces retreated through the city with a Union force behind them. Danville was also the birthplace of Theodore O'Hara
, whose Bivouac of the Dead
would be a popular poem placed in various cemeteries for the War's dead.
It was after the War that the citizens of Danville showed their level of respect for the Confederacy. Many of the citizens of Danville gave up their eventual burial spots in 1868 to form a Confederate cemetery, with 66 fallen Confederate soldiers reinterred in the cemetery. Danville National Cemetery
would eventually be built next to the Confederate cemetery, but would be a place to inter former Union troops.
On July 17, 1997, the Confederate Monument in Danville 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. Three other monuments on the MPS are also in Boyle County, all of which commemorate the Battle of Perryville
. These are the Confederate Monument in Perryville
and Union Monument in Perryville
, both by the visitor center at Perryville Battlefield State Historic Site
, and the Unknown Confederate Dead Monument in Perryville
, located in a nearby private cemetery.
Centre College
Centre College is a private liberal arts college in Danville, Kentucky, USA, a community of approximately 16,000 in Boyle County south of Lexington, KY. Centre is an exclusively undergraduate four-year institution. Centre was founded by Presbyterian leaders, with whom it maintains a loose...
and the First Presbyterian Church at the corner of Main and College Streets in Danville, Kentucky
Danville, Kentucky
Danville is a city in and the county seat of Boyle County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 16,218 at the 2010 census.Danville is the principal city of the Danville Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Boyle and Lincoln counties....
's McDowell Park, is a monument dedicated to the Confederate States of America
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...
that is 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...
. The monument was dedicated in 1910 by the surviving veterans of the Confederacy of Boyle County, Kentucky
Boyle County, Kentucky
Boyle County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. Its county seat is Danville. In 2000, its population was 28,432. It was formed in 1842 and named for John Boyle , a U.S...
and the Kate Morrison Breckinridge Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy
United Daughters of the Confederacy
The United Daughters of the Confederacy is a women's heritage association dedicated to honoring the memory of those who served in the military and died in service to the Confederate States of America . UDC began as the National Association of the Daughters of the Confederacy, organized in 1894 by...
.
The monument consists of a 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 a marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
statue resting thereon. The marble figure depicts Captain Robert D. Logan, who actually came from Lincoln County, Kentucky
Lincoln County, Kentucky
Lincoln County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. The population was 24,742 in the 2010 Cesus. Its county seat is Stanford. Lincoln is a prohibition or "dry county" and is part of the Danville Micropolitan Statistical Area.- History :...
, but lived after the War in Boyle County. Captain Logan served under John Hunt Morgan
John Hunt Morgan
John Hunt Morgan was a Confederate general and cavalry officer in the American Civil War.Morgan is best known for Morgan's Raid when, in 1863, he and his men rode over 1,000 miles covering a region from Tennessee, up through Kentucky, into Indiana and on to southern Ohio...
in the 6th Kentucky Cavalry's Company A, and was captured after Morgan's Raid
Morgan's Raid
Morgan's Raid was a highly publicized incursion by Confederate cavalry into the Northern states of Indiana and Ohio during the American Civil War. The raid took place from June 11–July 26, 1863, and is named for the commander of the Confederates, Brig. Gen...
in Cheshire, Ohio
Cheshire, Ohio
Cheshire is a village in Gallia County, Ohio, United States, along the Ohio River. The population was 221 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Point Pleasant, WV–OH Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Cheshire is located at ....
on July 20, 1863, and spent much of the War afterwards in prison camps, particularly the Ohio State Penitentiary
Ohio State Penitentiary
The Ohio State Penitentiary is a 502-inmate capacity supermax Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction prison in Youngstown, Ohio...
. He died on June 25, 1896, fourteen years before the construction of the monument. The granite pedestal is twelve feet tall, and uses pairs of Doric
Doric order
The Doric order was one of the three orders or organizational systems of ancient Greek or classical architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian.-History:...
columns to decorate it. The main inscription reads: C. S. A. 1861 - 1865 What They Were the Whole World Knows.
Danville's participation in the War was limited. The courthouse served as a hospital for Union forces after the Battle of Perryville
Battle of Perryville
The Battle of Perryville, also known as the Battle of Chaplin Hills, was fought on October 8, 1862, in the Chaplin Hills west of Perryville, Kentucky, as the culmination of the Confederate Heartland Offensive during the American Civil War. Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg's Army of Mississippi won a...
. On October 11, Confederate forces retreated through the city with a Union force behind them. Danville was also the birthplace of Theodore O'Hara
Theodore O'Hara
Theodore O'Hara was a poet and an officer for the United States Army in the Mexican-American War, and a Confederate colonel in the American Civil War...
, whose 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...
would be a popular poem placed in various cemeteries for the War's dead.
It was after the War that the citizens of Danville showed their level of respect for the Confederacy. Many of the citizens of Danville gave up their eventual burial spots in 1868 to form a Confederate cemetery, with 66 fallen Confederate soldiers reinterred in the cemetery. Danville National Cemetery
Danville National Cemetery (Kentucky)
Danville National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in the city of Danville, in Boyle County, Kentucky. It has 394 interments and is currently closed to new interments.-Description:...
would eventually be built next to the Confederate cemetery, but would be a place to inter former Union troops.
On July 17, 1997, the Confederate Monument in Danville was one of sixty 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. Three other monuments on the MPS are also in Boyle County, all of which commemorate the Battle of Perryville
Battle of Perryville
The Battle of Perryville, also known as the Battle of Chaplin Hills, was fought on October 8, 1862, in the Chaplin Hills west of Perryville, Kentucky, as the culmination of the Confederate Heartland Offensive during the American Civil War. Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg's Army of Mississippi won a...
. These are the Confederate Monument in Perryville
Confederate Monument in Perryville
The Confederate Monument in Perryville is a historic monument located by the visitor center of the Perryville Battlefield State Historic Site, in the vicinity of Perryville, Kentucky, in Boyle County, Kentucky, USA. It was built in 1902, forty years after the Battle of Perryville, the bloodiest...
and Union Monument in Perryville
Union Monument in Perryville
The Union Monument in Perryville is an historic monument located by the visitor center of the Perryville Battlefield State Historic Site, in the vicinity of Perryville, Kentucky, in Boyle County, Kentucky. It was built in 1928, sixty-six years after the Battle of Perryville, the bloodiest battle...
, both by the visitor center at Perryville Battlefield State Historic Site
Perryville Battlefield State Historic Site
Perryville Battlefield State Historic Site is a park near Perryville, Kentucky, in Boyle County, Kentucky. An interpretive museum is located near the site where many Confederate soldiers killed in the Battle of Perryville were buried. Additionally, monuments, interpretive signage, and cannons mark...
, and the Unknown Confederate Dead Monument in Perryville
Unknown Confederate Dead Monument in Perryville
The Unknown Confederate Dead Monument in Perryville is located in the vicinity of Perryville, in Boyle County, Kentucky, United States, in the Goodknight Cemetery, a small family cemetery on private land...
, located in a nearby private cemetery.