Will this “Confederate Defender” stay Standing?
By Dan Neil Leininger, Webmaster-
What is the future of this statue?
“Confederate Defender of
Charleston?”
Given the recent violence around Confederate monuments,
And the removal of others
one must wonder.
How long will this pair point out to
Fort Sumter Bay?
Since 1932 if this monument has stood in
Charleston harbor at Battery Park.
Twice it has been vandalized with spray paint.
In separate news: At the University of Texas – Austin, Confederate statues have been removed. University President Greg Fenves said in a statement that it has become clear “that Confederate monuments have become symbols of modern white supremacy and neo-Nazism.” (USA Today, Aug 22, 2017)
Is the sun setting on this piece by Hermon MacNeil?
only time will tell…
Hermon A. MacNeil’s words at the dedication:
“Its motif in brief, is that the stalwart youth, standing in front with sword and shield, symbolizes by his attitude the defense not only of the fort, but also of the fair city behind the fort in which are his most prized possessions, wife and family. And she, the wife, glorified into an Athena-like woman, unafraid, stands behind him with arms outstretched toward the fort, this creating an inseparable union of the city and Fort Sumter.”

“BLACK LIVES MATER. THIS IS THE PROBLEM RACISM”. SOURCE: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/statue-honoring-confederacy-defaced-charleston-park-article-1.2266043

MacNeil’s “Confederate Defenders” was completed as a studio model in 1931. This is is an autographed photo of the model of Confederate Defenders of Charleston Monument pictured in MacNeil’s studio in College Point, NY before completion of the full bronze sculpture as dedicated on October 20, 1932

“THE CAUSE FOR WHICH THEY FOUGHT THE CAUSE OF SLAVERY WAS WRONG.” SOURCE: The Blaze ( http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2015/07/11/charleston-confederate-monument-vandalized-again-this-time-with-obama-quote/ )
Can America as a nation get beyond the “birthmark of slavery” present throughout our founding, our history, our civil war, our Jim Crow apartheid, our Civil Rights violence, our ongoing racial prejudice, ethnic discrimination, black voter suppression, and claims of racial supremacy?
The answer is up to us.
“The cause for which they fought,
the cause of slavery was wrong.”
President Barack Obama ~ Eulogy for Rev. Pickney, Pastor of Emanuel AME Church 1.5 miles North of this statue
An excerpt From President Barack Obama’s
FAREWELL ADDRESS
January 10, 2017
“I am asking you to hold fast to that faith written into our founding documents; that idea whispered by slaves and abolitionists; that spirit sung by immigrants and homesteaders and those who marched for justice; that creed reaffirmed by those who planted flags from foreign battlefields to the surface of the moon; a creed at the core of every American whose story is not yet written; Yes we can.”

“BLACK LIVES MATER. // THIS IS THE PROBLEM #RACISM”. http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/06/21/21/29D7C09E00000578-3133597-Confederate_monument_vandalized-a-58_1434918039434.jpg
The Post and Courier ~ Charleston, SC
- “Reactions positive to Charleston mayor’s plan to add historical context to Confederate-era monuments”
-
South Carolina lawmakers say Confederate monuments will stay in place despite calls for their removal
Related posts:
- Confederate Defenders of Charleston -Part 2 (7)
- Confederate Defenders Statue – White Point Gardens & the Battery (7)
- MacNeil Statue will not attend Secession Gala (7)
- Hermon Atkins MacNeil to be featured in “The Galley” (7)
- “Confederate Defenders” Sculpture Defaced. ~ Charleston, SC ~ June 20, 2015 (7)
- “Confederate Defenders of Charleston” Defaced AGAIN! ~ ~ ~ ~ Second Vandalism in a Month. (7)
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Related Images:
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Related posts:
- “Confederate Defenders Monument” Spray Painted on May 30, 2020. May 30, 2020; Six Weeks ago the “Confederate...
- Confederate Defenders of Charleston -Part 2 A photograph of the Confederate Defenders of Charleston sculpture autographed...
- “Confederate Defenders of Charleston” Defaced AGAIN! ~ ~ ~ ~ Second Vandalism in a Month. The “Confederate Defenders of Charleston” sculpture on Battery Point in...
- Confederate Defenders Statue – White Point Gardens & the Battery This interesting photo of a MacNeil sculpture surfaced in a recent...
- “Confederate Defenders” Sculpture Defaced. ~ Charleston, SC ~ June 20, 2015 Down the street from The Mother Emmanuel AME Church where...
- FIT News: Clashes predicted in coming weekends at Confederate Defenders ~~ Sculpture by MacNeil to be Under Siege ~~ SOURCE: FIT News: Dueling Armed Rallies Headed For Charleston South...








