Confederate Monument (Murray, Kentucky)

The Confederate Monument in Murray is a statue located in the northeast corner of the Calloway County Courthouse in Murray, Kentucky. It honors the 800 citizens of the county who served in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War, and is one of several Confederate monuments in Kentucky featuring Robert E. Lee. There is another one in Bardstown KY.[2] Despite recent controversy, the Calloway County Fiscal Court voted to keep the statue on its grounds in July 2020.[3]

Confederate Monument in Murray
LocationJct. of KY 94 and Ky 121, Murray, Kentucky
Built1917
ArchitectMcneil Marble Co., Marietta, GA
MPSCivil War Monuments of Kentucky MPS
NRHP reference No.97000711[1]
Added to NRHPJuly 17, 1997

Establishment

During the American Civil War, Calloway County saw about 800 of its citizens serve in the Confederate Army. 200 plus served in the Union Army.[2] At the time of the Civil War 1,500 enslaved people were living in Calloway County making up about 15% of the county's population at the time.[4]

The monument was funded after a three-year fund raising drive by the J. N. Williams Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy (U.D.C) in 1917, whose chairman died during that period; her name was added to the monument in tribute. The U.D.C. paid $2,500 to Marietta, Georgia's McNeel Monument Company for the structure.[2][5]

Structure

The 16.5-foot-tall (5.0 m) monument has three parts. The bottom is a porcelain drinking fountain; That was a whites-only when it was a working fountain, a step pedal was used to obtain water. In its time, was the most elaborate and modern of the Civil War fountain monuments:[6] the other three fountains are the Confederate Memorial in Mayfield, Confederate Memorial Fountain in Hopkinsville, and the Confederate Monument of Cadiz.[2]

Four 6-foot-tall (1.8 m) Doric columns support a granite canopy. Inside the canopy is an ornate iron light fixture with four incandescent bulbs to light the fountain. On top are four marble balls and a 5.5-foot-tall (1.7 m) marble statue of Lee, making it the only monument in Kentucky that heavily features Robert E. Lee;[6] the only other monument in Kentucky with a likeness of Lee is Bardstown, Kentucky's Confederate Monument of Bardstown which has only a small relief portrait of Lee below the large statue of a Confederate soldier.[2][6]

On July 17, 1997, the Confederate Monument in Murray was one of sixty-one different monuments related to the Civil War in Kentucky placed on the National Register of Historic Places, as part of the Civil War Monuments of Kentucky Multiple Property Submission.[7]

Controversy

Historically

Since its installation, the Robert E. Lee monument has gained significant controversy over its highlighting of an American traitor, slaveholder, and racist. Statues, such as this one, that were built far after the end of the Civil War during the period of Jim Crow laws are noted by historians from the American Historical Association as being erected to "intimidate African-Americans politically, as well as isolate them from mainstream public life".[8] Historians also acknowledge, the monuments play a part of the "Lost Cause of the Confederacy" narrative, which downplays or omits the role of slavery in the Civil War, painting it instead as a heroic struggle by an outnumbered army to preserve the Southern way of life.[9] The Robert E. Lee statue in Murray is an example of the statues installed during the peak of the "Lost Cause", when the forces of commercialization had begun to infiltrate the U.D.C. and the United Confederate Veterans (U.C.V.) organizations.[10]

Calls for removal

In the wake of the George Floyd protests in June 2020, a call to remove the statue was initially made by Sherman Neal II, a football coach at Murray State University in a letter to Murray Mayor Bob Rogers and other local officials.[11][12][13][14] When asked about this statue, Governor of Kentucky Andy Beshear said, "If it is at a courthouse, it ought to come down. Having a confederate monument on courthouse grounds or in the rotunda is not the right thing."[15][16][17] A number of other prominent local organizations and individuals called for Calloway Court to remove the statue including a unanimous resolution by the Murray City Council,[18][19][20][21] Murray State University,[22][23] Murray Main Street Board of Directors,[24][25] and Ja Morant,[26][27][28][29] among others.

Official response

In response to the June 2020 calls for removal, the Mayor of Murray, Bob Rogers, released a statement that the statue was situated on land owned by Calloway County and therefore the City of Murray had no jurisdiction which was confirmed by Judge/Executive of the Calloway County Fiscal Court, Kenny Imes.[30] In its June 2020 meeting, Calloway Court updated its rules as a result of COVID-19 to limit the number of speakers discussing this issue which included Mr. Neal, but afterwards made no decision about whether to keep or remove the statue citing unclear ownership issues.[31] During the July 2020 meeting of the Calloway Court, a proposal was heard from Kevin Elliott of the Murray State University Political Science Department to move the statue to the nearby Confederate cemetery however, the Court instead unanimously voted to keep the statue where it was located.[3] While a number of reasons were provided in a resolution drafted by Calloway County Attorney Bryan Ernstberger, one of the justifications was a claim of statue ownership by the U.D.C. which Ernstberger indicated the Court could not dispute based on minutes from 1916 Calloway Court meeting which indicated the U.D.C. "may be granted the privilege of erecting a monument" on Courthouse grounds.[3][32] However, the minutes from the 1916 Calloway Court meeting also indicate "the location shall be by and with the approval of the Fiscal Court."[3][32] Although not part of the resolution, a voting magistrate of the Calloway Court, Paul Rister, indicated he was basing his vote on a survey where he drove around his district and asked people who were outside their homes their thoughts on the statue resulting in 77% asking for the monument to stay and 23% asking for it to be moved out of a reported 280 surveyed.[33][34][3]

Protests

In the two months following the June 2020 calls for removal, a number of protests took place in Murray and Calloway County related to this statue, the killing of George Floyd, and police brutality nationwide.[35][24][25][36] An arrest was made of a man at the protests for allegedly pointing a gun at protesters from his vehicle.[37] Another arrest was made of a man who allegedly rolled down his window and sprayed pepper spray on multiple protesters and five police officers.[37] According to police, the suspect then attempted to drive through the crowd of protesters and officers before being stopped by police.[37] Following the Calloway Court's July 2020 vote to keep the statue on its grounds, a series of protests were held at the statue including both protesters and counter-protesters of the Court's decision.[24][38]

  • Front view
  • Monument with courthouse in view

References
  1. "National Register Information System – (#97000711)". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
  2. Murray, Ky. Trailsrus.com, Accessed November 12, 2008
  3. Niemeyer, Liam. "Calloway Co. Fiscal Court Passes Resolution Keeping Confederate Monument By County Courthouse". wkms.org. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  4. Caldwell, Robert (1989). "The Civil War in Murray, Calloway County, Kentucky". Jackson Purchase Historical Society. 17: 115 – via Digital Commons.
  5. Brent, Joseph. Confederate Monument in Murray NRHP Nomination Form (Kentucky Heritage Council, 1997) p.1
  6. Brent p.1
  7. Joseph E. Brent (January 8, 1997). National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Submission: Civil War Monuments in Kentucky, 1865–1935 (pdf). National Park Service.
  8. "AHA Statement on Confederate Monuments (August 2017)". historians.org. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  9. "The battle over Confederate statues, explained". Vox. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  10. "National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form". National Park Service - NPGallery Digital Asset Management System. January 9, 1986. Archived from the original on June 29, 2020. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
  11. Ortiz, Aimee; Diaz, Johnny (2020-06-03). "George Floyd Protests Reignite Debate Over Confederate Statues". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  12. "Request made to remove statute of Robert E. Lee in Murray". Kentucky Today. June 2, 2020. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
  13. Rogers, Tom (June 1, 2020). "Murray State Coach Asks for Lee Statue to Be Removed". WKDZ Radio. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
  14. "Murray State assistant football coach asks for Confederate Memorial to be removed". The State Journal. June 2, 2020. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
  15. York, Dalton. "Beshear Calls For Removal Of Calloway County Confederate Monument". wkms.org. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  16. Rogers, Steve (2020-06-08). "Beshear: Confederate memorials should go, better training, health care, education diversity coming". ABC 36 News. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  17. Yu, Chris. "Murray City Council passes resolution urging fiscal court to remove Confederate monument". WPSD Local 6. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  18. "Kentucky city passes resolution to remove Lee statue". AP NEWS. 2020-06-26. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  19. Rogers, Steve (2020-06-26). "Murray Council asks for removal of Confederate statue". ABC 36 News. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  20. "Murray City Council Wants Confederate Statue Moved". Western Kentucky Star. June 12, 2020. Archived from the original on June 18, 2020. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
  21. Wright, John (June 12, 2020). "Council passes resolution to pursue removing Confederate statue". Murray Ledger & Times. Archived from the original on June 30, 2020. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
  22. Bold, Paige. "Murray State University supports the removal of Confederate statue". TheNews.org. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  23. Niemeyer, Liam. "Murray State University Supports Removal Of Calloway Co. Courthouse Confederate Monument". wkms.org. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  24. News 3 (2020-07-18). "Dueling protests in Murray, KY over Robert E. Lee monument". WSIL. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  25. Teague, Hawkins (July 17, 2020). "Group plans another protest against Confederate monument Saturday morning". Murray Ledger & Times.
  26. "Morant asks for removal of Murray's Lee statue". ESPN.com. 2020-06-13. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  27. "Grizzlies' Ja Morant pens letter to county judge in Kentucky asking for removal of Confederate statue". CBSSports.com. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  28. Chiari, Mike. "Ja Morant Writes Letter Urging Kentucky Judge to Remove Confederate Statue". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  29. Gleeson, Scott. "Ja Morant asks judge to have Confederate 'white supremacy' monument removed". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  30. Yu, Chris. "Murray man calls for removal of Confederate memorial outside Calloway County Courthouse". WPSD Local 6. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  31. Niemeyer, Liam. "As Advocates Call For Confederate Monument Removal, Judge-Executive Says No Timeline For Action". wkms.org. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  32. Calloway County Fiscal Court, 1916, Meeting Minutes
  33. Yu, Chris. "Calloway County Fiscal Court decides to keep Confederate monument where it stands". WPSD Local 6. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  34. Teague, Hawkins (July 15, 2020). "Fiscal Court approves resolution to keep Confederate monument on courthouse lawn". Murray Ledger & Times. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
  35. York, Liam Niemeyer, Rachel Collins, Dalton. "Man Assaults Protesters With Spray During Second Day Of Murray Protests". wkyufm.org. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  36. Mohundro, Mike. "Protesters, counter-protesters quarrel over confederate statue in Murray, Ky". kfvs12.com. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  37. "Two Arrested for Endangering Murray Protesters". Western Kentucky Star. June 3, 2020. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
  38. Teague, Hawkins (July 17, 2020). "Group plans another protest against Confederate monument Saturday morning". Murray Ledger & Times. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
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