Nearest city Brandon, Mississippi Added to NRHP August 1, 1997 | NRHP Reference # 97000797 | |
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The Rankin County Confederate Monument is a war memorial located on the downtown square of Brandon, Mississippi, at the intersection of Government and North streets. The monument was erected in 1907 by the Brandon Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy. The monument was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 1, 1997.
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Description
The monument is 37 feet tall in total. A seven foot tall granite statue of a Confederate soldier, facing west in a lookout posture, stands atop a marble pillar and stepped base. Below the statue, on the west side of the pillar, is a relief of a crossed rifle, bayonet and sword. The base is inscribed with poetry.
Inscriptions
Inscriptions of poetry are featured on each side of the square base. The inscriptions are in all capital letters. The poetry is unattributed. Aside from poetic verse, there is also an inscription attributing the local chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy as having erected the monument, as well as E.J. Martin, grand master of a local Masonic organization, as having laid the cornerstone.
Historical context
According to the NRHP application's narrative statement of historical significance, "Local tradition holds that 'the monument marks the spot where General Sherman ordered his troops to stack arms during the siege of Brandon....'" The monument is an example of many similar monuments erected in southern parks and squares during a period postbellum resurgence in regional identity that occurred from approximately 1870 until the first World War. The Rankin County Confederate Monument differs from other, similar monuments in that it is oriented to face west, toward the direction where Union troops entered town during the Siege of Brandon. Most other such monuments are oriented to face toward the north.