Southern Historical Society Papers, Volume 11.
Reverend J. William Jones, Ed.

Madam,—In pursuance of the proposition made and accepted in April of last year, I now present to the Ladies' Memorial Association a bronze statue of a Confederate soldier.

It represents him as he was, marked with the marks of service in features, form and raiment; a man who chose rather to be than to seem, to bear hardship than to complain of it; a man who met with unflinching firmness the fate decreed him, to suffer, to fight, and to die in vain.

I offer the statue as a tribute to the ‘men’ of the Confederate army. Without name or fame, or hope of gain, they did the duty appointed them to do. Now, their last fight fought, their suffering over, they lie in scattered graves throughout our wide Southern land, at rest at last, returned to the bosom of the loved Mother they valiantly strove to defend.

According to your faith, believe that they may receive their reward in the world to come; they had none on earth.

With the expression of my profound respect for those women of the South, who, true to the dead, have sought to save their memory from perishing, I am, madam,

Very respectfully, etc.,

Whereas our fellow-citizen, G. W. J. DeRenne, has presented to this Association the bronze statue of a Confederate soldier, now crowning the monument erected in the military parade of this city to the memory of the soldiers who perished for the cause they held more precious than life; therefore,

Resolved, That we, the members of this Association, individually and as a body, do hereby unanimously express our grateful appreciation of this noble gift; recognizing its great merit not only as a work of art, but as a signal ornament to our beloved city, and as a valued