The Confederate Monument

At the close of the War Between the States, Confederate dead buried in various places around Columbia and in outlying communities were disinterred and reburied in one section, where over 120 Confederates are buried but only 105 are marked. Most of these men died in Columbia during the war from wounds or disease in local hospitals, others died in skirmishes fought around the county, and a handful died well after the war but wished to be buried with their comrades on the back row. The Ladies Memorial Association, a predecessor of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, raised funds during Reconstruction to erect a large monument for this section through bake sales, dinners, and a joust. With local support, the project was completed through a contract with the Muldoon Monument Company of Louisville, Kentucky. In 1881, George W. Kendall came to Columbia to present his design for the monument, called the “Lost Cause,” which features a Confederate soldier standing at “funeral parade rest” with his rifle inverted and resting on his boot, a base with four inverted cannon barrels, and a marble panel depicting the carnage of battle. Carved in Italy, the monument arrived in Columbia by train, was hauled from the depot to the cemetery by wagons, and was erected with great fanfare. Said to be perfect in all of its proportions, it is the only known Confederate monument with the soldier standing at “funeral parade rest,” and today it is cared for by the Capt. James Madison Sparkman Chapter 2363, United Daughters of the Confederacy.

Columbia, Tennessee · United States