The statue was funded by the University Alumni and the United Daughters of the Confederacy. It was erected in 1913 as a memorial to the 321 alumni who lost their lives in the American Civil War and all students who joined the Confederate States Army. More than one thousand members of the university fought in the American Civil War in either the Northern or Southern armies, comprising at least 40% of the student body, a statistic that was unequaled by any other school. The statue was to commemorate 50 years since the beginning of the war (1911). Industrialist Julian Carr gave a speech addressing the race problem in North Carolina for the dedication of the monument on June 2, 1913.
Similar to the sculpture Wilson created of an unarmed Union soldier Daniel A. Bean, Wilson created a "silent" statue by not including a cartridge box on the Confederate soldier's belt so he cannot fire his gun.
Like its neighbor, the Unsung Founders Memorial, the statue has frequently been a source of controversy. It is seen by some as symbol of historical remembrance, while others view it as a sign of racial oppression. Students gathered here to speak out after Los Angeles police officers were found not guilty in the 1992 Rodney King trial.
Famous quotes containing the words silent and/or sam:
“where the Statue stood
Of Newton, with his Prism and silent Face
The marble index of a Mind for ever
Voyaging through strange seas of Thought, alone.”
—William Wordsworth (1770–1850)
“Kick at the rock, Sam Johnson, break your bones:”
—Richard Wilbur (b. 1921)