Confederate Soldier Statue (1928)

The unveiling of a Confederate Army soldier statue in front of the Liberty County Courthouse took place on January 19, 1928. The project was sponsored by Liberty County Chapter No. 480, United Daughters of the Confederacy.

Laura Martin Fraser, president of the organization, made a speech during the unveiling ceremony and spoke not in defense of the Confederate States of America, but with pride of Liberty County men who were members of the Confederate Army during the Civil War. They upheld what she called “the honor of the Southland.”

“These men,” she said, “were not actuated by hate, nor a desire for conquest, nor to maintain the institution of slavery. They struggled for what they believed to be a great fundamental principle of government founded upon the consent of the governed.”

She told a large crowd which attended the ceremony that it was the duty and privilege of  “us, their children” to leave a lasting monument to “the unselfish patriotism, the sacrifice, and valor of Liberty County heroes.”

“Some have said,” she pointed out, “that a land without monuments is a land without memories, and a land without memories is a dead land. Monuments are not cold pieces of stone, as some would have us to believe.”

She maintained that such monuments are “enduring links which bind one generation to another.” She said “they are witnesses to generations yet to come in the principles for which we stand.”

She concluded her speech by saying that the United Daughters of the Confederacy was not organized and did not erect monuments to keep alive “strife and bitterness.” She said “Love makes memory eternal, and it is our duty to see that justice is done, that homage is paid to the great men and women who sacrificed all for principles.”