The George Davis Monument in Wilmington, North Carolina

Wilmington, North Carolina

Wilmington is a port city in and is the county seat of New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. The population is 106,476 according to the 2010 Census, making it the eighth most populous city in the state of North Carolina...

 was sculpted by Francis Herman Packer a native from Munich

Munich

Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 who worked out of New York

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...

. Funding for Mr. Packer’s travel to and from Wilmington was provided directly from Mr. James Sprunt. The casting of the monument was done by the Gorham Manufacturing Company in 1910 in Rhode Island

Rhode Island

The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...

. The casting was 8 feet tall bound 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...

 weighing in at 1,700 pounds.

The cornerstone

Cornerstone

The cornerstone concept is derived from the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation, important since all other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure.Over time a cornerstone became a ceremonial masonry stone, or...

 of the monument was laid on October 14, 1909 during a ceremony of the Masonic. Within the cornerstone are some of the following items: A copy of the first number Carolina Churchman, dated October, 1909, copy of commission of Honorable George Davis

George Davis (politician)

George Davis was a Confederate States of America political figure and the last Confederate Attorney General, serving from 1864 to 1865.He was not related to Confederate President Jefferson Davis.-Early life and career:...

 as Attorney General of the Confederate states, dated January 4, 1864, and many other items of historical interest.
The base weighed in at five and a half tons and included gilded seals of both North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

 and the Confederate states. Long encomiums were also utilized within the base to celebrate Davis’s virtues.The statue itself was unveiled on April 20, 1911 to the chimes of the Delgado Band hired for the occasion for $25.

Inception

The idea for the monument was originally developed by the Cape Fear Chapter 3 of the United Daughters of the Confederacy in 1901. This occurred during a time when there was a general incentive to celebrate the history of the South by commemoration through the psychology of monuments. These monuments were heralded as part of the civic improvements for the city of Wilmington, North Carolina as well as monuments located throughout the South. Created well after the Civil War these monuments were a reflection from the construction of cultural memory.

Funding

The Cape Fear Chapter 3 of the United Daughters of the Confederacy began raising money for the George Davis monument in 1904. The funding was very slow to arrive despite the urgency the UDC gave to the community. Unfortunately it took them seven years to achieve their mission. By this time the UDC had raised only $190.76. The cotton magnate James Sprunt stepped in and provided additional funding he had amassed through friends and colleagues which brought the total budget to $5,010.34.

Timeline of the Monument

1993—Sons of Confederate Veterans Celebrate George Davis’ Birthday
1995—Descendants Honor George Davis at Monument Ceremony
2000—Traffic Damage to the George Davis Monument
2000—Repair and Reinstallation of the Monument

George Davis

The following is a timeline of George Davis.

• 1820, March 1: Born in Porter’s Neck in New Hanover County (now Pender County)
• 1834: Entered UNC Chapel Hill at the age of 14
• 1838: Graduated from UNC Chapel Hill, was valedictorian of his class
• 1841: Graduated from law school and licensed to practice
• 1847-1855: Served as a Wilmington Town Commissioner along with 33 other commissioners
• 1861, Jan. 26: Delegate to the Peace Convention—Whig who supported Henry Clay, originally sided with the Constitutional Union party, but at the Peace Convention on 2 March he stated he was now a secessionist and that “The division must be made on the line of slavery. The State must go with the South.”
• 1863, December 31: Confederate President appointed him Attorney General
• 1866, January 2: Paroled by President Johnson as part of the General Amnesty
• 1870, April 28: General Robert E. Lee entertained in Honorable G. Davis home on Second Street in Wilmington, North Carolina
• 1896, February: Died. Buried in Oakdale Cemetery in Wilmington, North Carolina