THE LAURENS COUNTY CONFEDERATE MONUMENT

The veiled monument was placed just in time for its dedication on Memorial Day, 1909. A major obstacle blocked the unveiling of the monument. There was not enough money to pay the contractor. For three years the monument to the glorious feats of the Sons of the South stood beneath a veil and became an embarrassment to the entire county. Donations were slow because they were limited to one dollar per person.

The unveiling was delayed until June 3 in celebration of Confederate President Jefferson Davis' birthday. The committee hoped to place it between a pyramid of stacked cannon balls and a fountain. But the monument was still not ready to be dedicated.

Mrs. Adeline Baum, Mrs. E.J. Blackshear, Mrs. J.S. Almand, Mrs. J.D. Prince, and Mrs. J.A. Thomas led a year-long campaign to pay off the debt. The ladies of the community were able to raise $2,000 in the last year to reach their goal. After reaching a settlement with the contractor the dedication was set for April 26, 1912.

Col. C.A. Weddington presided over the Confederate Memorial Day services which were held in the Methodist Church. Dr. A.M. Williams gave the opening prayer, followed by a patriotic song. Col. Thomas, who was there during the last dark days of the war, spoke just before a solo song by Mrs. E. Fred Brown. Capt. L.Q. Stubbs eloquently spoke of the causes leading up to the war and brought the capacity crowd to tears when he spoke of the Confederate generals who fought on the southern side and held them up as worthy examples of the youth of the day.

Dedication - April 26, 2012

The Dublin Band, the Dublin Guards, the Veterans, the Daughters, Sons, and Children of the Confederacy, and the Boy Scouts paraded down Monroe Street to the monument.

"To the heroes of the sixties, I do unveil this monument," said Miss Adeline Baum. Miss Baum was assisted by nine children: Marie New, Rose Arnau, James Moore, Baum Dreyer, Jeanette Stubbs, Evelyn Prince, Evelyn Camp, Nina Peyton Smith, and Sarah Beall in unveiling the monument to G.B. Fout's choir's heart stirring rendition of "Dixie." Miss Baum, who would lead the founding of a chapter of the United Children of the Confederacy the following year, was given the honor of unveiling the monument for "her hard work and great love for the cause that have characterized their efforts all along."

C.A. Weddington, on behalf of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, presented the monument to Mayor E.R. Orr, who accepted it on behalf of the city. A dinner for the veterans at the pavilion at Stubbs Park concluded the ceremonies for the day.

The Confederate Monument stands as a lasting tribute not to the abominable institution of slavery, but to men of nobility. It represents the bravery of young boys who never owned a slave but took up arms in defense of their homeland, against what, in their time they saw as an eminent danger to their way of lives. Perhaps what we should endeavor to do is inscribed on the monument's eastern face: "Your sons and daughters will forever guard the memory of your brave deeds," not just the brave deeds of the children who bore the brunt of the Civil War, but to all the young men and women who fight wars started by men.