Confederate Monument in Frankfort
Encyclopedia
The Confederate Monument in Frankfort, in Frankfort Cemetery
in Frankfort, Kentucky
, is a monument dedicated to the Confederate States of America
that is on the National Register of Historic Places
.
The statue depicts a Confederate soldier standing ready. It is made of white marble
, and stands atop a granite
pedestal and limestone
base. On the pedestal is part of the Bivouac of the Dead
, written by Theodore O'Hara
, who is also buried in Frankfort Cemetery.
Frankfort would be the only Union state capital captured in the war. Confederate general Kirby Smith would capture the town on September 3, 1862, and would continue a Confederate force until the Battle of Perryville
, which forced the Confederacy away from any future control of Kentucky during the American Civil War. This would cause the Union citizenry to build two forts to protect Frankfort. These forts prevented John Hunt Morgan
from recapturing the city for the Confederacy in 1864.
On July 17, 1997, the Confederate Monument in Frankfort was one of 60 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. The Colored Soldiers Monument in Frankfort
is the only other one in Frankfort, located in Green Hill Cemetery to the east of Frankfort Cemetery.
Frankfort Cemetery
The Frankfort Cemetery is located on East Main Street in Frankfort, Kentucky. The cemetery is the burial site of Daniel Boone and contains the graves of other famous Americans including seventeen Kentucky governors.-History:...
in Frankfort, Kentucky
Frankfort, Kentucky
Frankfort is a city in Kentucky that serves as the state capital and the county seat of Franklin County. The population was 27,741 at the 2000 census; by population it is the 5th smallest state capital in the United States...
, 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 statue depicts a Confederate soldier standing ready. It is made of white 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...
, and stands atop 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 limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
base. On the pedestal is part of the 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...
, written by 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...
, who is also buried in Frankfort Cemetery.
Frankfort would be the only Union state capital captured in the war. Confederate general Kirby Smith would capture the town on September 3, 1862, and would continue a Confederate force until 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...
, which forced the Confederacy away from any future control of Kentucky during the American Civil War. This would cause the Union citizenry to build two forts to protect Frankfort. These forts prevented 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...
from recapturing the city for the Confederacy in 1864.
On July 17, 1997, the Confederate Monument in Frankfort was one of 60 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. The Colored Soldiers Monument in Frankfort
Colored Soldiers Monument in Frankfort
The Colored Soldiers Monument in Frankfort, Kentucky's Green Hill Cemetery, at the corner of US-60 and US-127, is the only Kentucky monument to black soldiers that participated in the American Civil War, and one of only four in the entire United States...
is the only other one in Frankfort, located in Green Hill Cemetery to the east of Frankfort Cemetery.