Latham Confederate Monument
Encyclopedia
The Latham Confederate Monument in Hopkinsville, Kentucky
's Riverside Cemetery, is a monument on the National Register of Historic Places
.
A native of Hopkinsville then living in New York City
, John C. Latham, desired that deceased veterans on both sides in Hopkinsville be buried together. Latham was a millionaire in the cotton
business, who fought for the Confederate States of America
during the conflict. However, most of the Union veterans had already been buried at the Fort Donelson National Cemetery, so instead the mass burial would involve only Confederate veterans, 101 in total, that were scattered at various burial locations. Latham gave $14,000 to the city of Hopkinsville for the project. The dedication of the monument and the accompanying graves was on May 19, 1887, with a book, The Story of a Monument, was published by Dennison & Brown in 1888 with notes about the monument and its dedication. Latham would also donate $50,000 for the construction of turnpikes.
Latham had Hallowell Granite Works, a company based in Bangor, Maine
, build the monument. The monument is made of granite
and is 37 feet tall. The monument has several decorations: 18 inches (457.2 mm) cannonballs
, Laurel wreath
s, bronze
cannon
s, and two swords.
On July 17, 1997, the Latham Confederate Monument 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. The Confederate Memorial Fountain in Hopkinsville
is also in Hopkinsville; it is located by the Christian County Courthouse in downtown Hopkinsville.
Hopkinsville, Kentucky
Hopkinsville is a city in Christian County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 31,577 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Christian County.- History :...
's Riverside Cemetery, is a monument 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...
.
A native of Hopkinsville then living in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, John C. Latham, desired that deceased veterans on both sides in Hopkinsville be buried together. Latham was a millionaire in the cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
business, who fought for 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...
during the conflict. However, most of the Union veterans had already been buried at the Fort Donelson National Cemetery, so instead the mass burial would involve only Confederate veterans, 101 in total, that were scattered at various burial locations. Latham gave $14,000 to the city of Hopkinsville for the project. The dedication of the monument and the accompanying graves was on May 19, 1887, with a book, The Story of a Monument, was published by Dennison & Brown in 1888 with notes about the monument and its dedication. Latham would also donate $50,000 for the construction of turnpikes.
Latham had Hallowell Granite Works, a company based in Bangor, Maine
Bangor, Maine
Bangor is a city in and the county seat of Penobscot County, Maine, United States, and the major commercial and cultural center for eastern and northern Maine...
, build the monument. The monument is made of 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...
and is 37 feet tall. The monument has several decorations: 18 inches (457.2 mm) cannonballs
Round shot
Round shot is a solid projectile without explosive charge, fired from a cannon. As the name implies, round shot is spherical; its diameter is slightly less than the bore of the gun it is fired from.Round shot was made in early times from dressed stone, but by the 17th century, from iron...
, Laurel wreath
Laurel wreath
A laurel wreath is a circular wreath made of interlocking branches and leaves of the bay laurel , an aromatic broadleaf evergreen. In Greek mythology, Apollo is represented wearing a laurel wreath on his head...
s, bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
cannon
Cannon
A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
s, and two swords.
On July 17, 1997, the Latham Confederate Monument 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. The Confederate Memorial Fountain in Hopkinsville
Confederate Memorial Fountain in Hopkinsville
The Confederate Memorial Fountain in Hopkinsville, Kentucky is a monument placed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was dedicated in October 1911....
is also in Hopkinsville; it is located by the Christian County Courthouse in downtown Hopkinsville.