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The George Davis Monument in Wilmington, North Carolina is a monument to George Davis in Wilmington, North Carolina erected by the United Daughters of the Confederacy. It was sculpted by Francis Herman Packer a native from Munich, Germany who worked out of New York. Funding for Mr. Packer’s travel to and from Wilmington was provided directly from James Sprunt. The casting of the monument was done by the Gorham Manufacturing Company in 1910 in Rhode Island. The casting was 8 feet tall bound bronze weighing in at 1,700 pounds.
Contents
The cornerstone 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 George Davis 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 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. The minute book of UDC Cape Fear Chapter shows that funds were complete in April 1909 with the Chapter raising almost $900 and the rest being raised by cotton magnate James Sprunt. 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.