Shaping History: The UDC and Edward Valentine’s Collaboration on the Jefferson Davis Monument

Jefferson Davis (1808–1889) was an American politician and military officer who served as the only president of the Confederate States of America from 1861 to 1865. Born in Kentucky, raised in Mississippi, and educated at West Point, he served in the U.S. military, was a U.S. senator, and Secretary of War before the Civil War. When Southern states seceded, Davis became president of the Confederacy. After the war, he was imprisoned for two years but continued to defend the Confederacy through his writing. 

On December 21, 1889, a few weeks after his death, a group of citizens came together with the goal of building a monument to the former Confederate president. This group, named the Jefferson Davis Monument Association (JDMA), was made up of powerful men, including Richmond Mayor, James Taylor Ellyson. 

FUNDRAISING FOR A MONUMENT 

In 1892, the United Confederate Veterans (UCV) decided the monument should be placed in Richmond, as it was the former capital of the Confederacy and the city that Varina Davis, Jefferson Davis’s wife, had selected as his burial place. However, the UCV had to convince the Jefferson Davis Monument Association to support this location. The JDMA planned for the monument to be built in Richmond’s Monroe Park and planned to raise $250,000 for its construction. On July 2, 1896, a ceremony was organized by local Freemasons and the JDMA in Monroe Park to lay the cornerstone. Richmond newspapers published the proposed design: a temple-like structure created by New York architect Percy Griffiths. However, by 1899, the veterans had raised just over $20,000—far from their initial goal. 

Ellyson suggested enlisting the help of the newly established United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) to make up the shortfall. The UDC accepted the request at their 1899 national convention in Richmond. Founded in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1894, the UDC was an American women’s organization composed of descendants of individuals who fought for or supported the Confederacy. Dedicated to memorializing and justifying the Confederacy and their Confederate ancestors, the UDC’s influence grew rapidly.

By the early 20th century, they had multiple local levels in southern states and the organization was responsible for over half of the Confederate monuments in the United States, most of which were unveiled between 1903 and 1912. 

During this period, an alternative history was gaining power – “The “Lost Cause” myth is a reinterpretation of the Civil War claims states’ rights, not slavery, caused the war, that slavery benefited the enslaved, and that secession was legal. It gained traction in the South after the war, preserving the memory of the Antebellum South and idealizing Confederate leaders, while downplaying slavery’s role in the conflict.” While the United Confederate Veterans spread this narrative widely, the UDC was instrumental in promoting it through its monument-building efforts and fundraising events. 

When members of the national UDC leadership took over the monument project, many United Confederate Veterans members were skeptical. Some believed the task was too large for the women to handle, an ironic criticism considering the UCV’s failures to raise enough money. The Richmond Times-Dispatch even described the Veteran’s efforts as embarrassing. Nonetheless, the UDC was given the funds initially raised by the UCV and the freedom to select a new site, adopt new plans and proceed without restraint from previous decisions. The Jefferson Davis Monument Association became an official offshoot of the national UDC organization; however, local chapters (especially the Richmond chapter) of the UDC assisted in fundraising efforts. Each state and the local chapters contributed to fundraising efforts for the monument, making it a national undertaking.   

A competition was soon held to select a new design for the Jefferson Davis monument, with a design for a memorial arch created by Sculptor Louis Gudebrod selected. In 1902, the JDMA—now headed by the UDC members—decided via committee roll call to relocate the monument from the first location – Monroe Park – to 12th and Broad Streets, near the Confederate Museum (today, The White House of The Confederacy). However, Varina Davis objected to both the location and the design. Members of the UDC persuaded her to approve the memorial arch design but had to compromise by moving the monument back to Monroe Park. This period of negotiation, occurring around 1902, caused significant stress for the UDC and tension between the JDMA and Varina Davis, leading to the resignation of JDMA central committee officer Janet Randolph, which was denied by her fellow JDMA members.  

In 1903, the Confederate Memorial Literary Society (CMLS) held a Bazaar, with the help of the UDC, JDMA and UCV, to raise funds for the Jefferson Davis monument. Confederate Memorial societies were some of the first monument building organizations in the South, they were typically led by women and provided a significant steppingstone for the Daughter’s of the Confederacy, many women were involved in both groups.  In addition to bake sales and concerts, the UDC sold Confederate relics at the Bazaar. The event was successful, raising $10,500 for the Davis Monument—far surpassing expectations and the funds the JDMA had raised over several years. 

DESIGNING A MONUMENT 

As fundraising continued, the UDC decided to select a new design for the project and, in 1903, hired Richmond sculptor Edward V. Valentine and architect William C. Nolan. The UDC chose a new location at the intersection of Cedar Street (later renamed Davis Avenue) and Monument Avenue.  

Valentine, a prominent Richmond sculptor known for his work memorializing Confederate leaders and his dedication to the Lost Cause, had already begun work on the project before being officially commissioned. Jefferson Davis had even visited Valentine’s studio in 1873 to have his features measured. Edward Valentine was deeply involved in the design and creation of the Jefferson Davis Monument. Beyond sculpting, he communicated extensively with the United Daughters of the Confederacy, actively participating in the monument’s development. This is represented in letters between UDC and JDMA members and Valentine himself.  Valentine’s commitment to the Lost Cause narrative made him an appealing choice for the UDC and UCV.  

The new design featured a broad semicircular colonnade with a central column approximately 60 feet tall. On top of the column stood “Vindicatrix,” a female figure intended to represent the vindication of the Confederacy and the role of Southern women in that cause. Beneath the column, an eight-foot bronze figure of Davis stood on a pedestal inscribed with: “Jefferson Davis, Exponent of Constitutional Principles, Defender of States’ Rights.” Additional inscriptions surrounding the monument praised Davis’s contributions and the South’s “struggle.” The 13 columns in the semicircular colonnade represented the 11 states that seceded from the Union and the two states that sent delegates to the Confederate Congress.   

Journalist Evan R. Chesterman described Valentine as “almost a rhapsodist” for his pride in Southern achievements, noting that Valentine believed the word “vindication” should be shouted on high in relation to the Lost Cause.   

In a letter to a UDC member, Valentine himself expressed his commitment to spreading the Lost Cause narrative stating, “I am striving (to bring to light) after historic truth first. Then artistic beauty. I may not have been as eminently successful in the latter as I would like, but I insist that that monument, that design, shall be an object lesson without a historic flaw—trustworthy in its inscriptions and symbolism. Any departure from actual fact would render it as (useless) as a memorial, pitifully worthless…If statues are to be erected, they must be a defense of the Southern cause as much as histories and schoolbooks.” 

Valentine’s sculptures and art were intentionally created to stand as enduring symbols of the Lost Cause and reflect his dedication to preserving and promoting the Southern perspective of the Civil War. 

Members of the Maryland division of the UDC sparked significant controversy regarding the monument’s design. They objected to the fact that Maryland, as a Confederate-supporting state, was not represented on the same footing as other Confederate States. The Maryland division demanded that the organization commit to including all Confederate states’ coats of arms, not just columns, to ensure equal representation. In a letter to one of the UDC members, Valentine shared his own strong opinions on this subject, stating “to add any other column or columns than those to represent the 13 states which were really represented in the Confederate Congress and on its flag would be to destroy the historical features of the Monument. These gentlemen think this would be a grave mistake since the great idea of the monument is to portray and to perpetuate history…”  

The design of the Jefferson Davis figure also became a point of contention. While some UDC members believed Davis should be seated, the majority felt that a figure like Davis should be shown standing. The national JDMA voted by committee, and, Valentine ultimately sculpted Davis as a “standing statesman,” in a classic orator pose. 

Another design conflict centered on the monument’s inscriptions. Valentine, who considered Davis a figure of the “highest intellectual type,” believed the monument should include wording detailing the South’s contributions to the Union prior to the Civil War. However, JDMA secretary Mrs. Blenner stated that “a resolution has been adopted that there appear on the Davis monument only Confederate History.” 

UNVEILING

Prior to unveiling the monument, the UDC used children to haul the statue into place– visible evidence of their strategy of involving younger generations in preserving the Lost Cause. The Jefferson Davis Monument was unveiled on June 3, 1907, during the 17th annual Confederate reunion, on the date of the 99th anniversary of Davis’s birth. The weeklong event began with the unveiling of the J.E.B Stuart Monument and featured parades, ceremonies and speeches, culminating in the monument’s unveiling by Davis’s daughter, Margaret Davis Hayes.

LEGACY 

The UDC continued to return to the Jefferson Davis monument in the years following its unveiling. Notably, it was used for the annual Massing of The Flags ceremony, a celebration of Jefferson Davis’s birthday. Sponsored by the UDC, the ceremony featured Confederate dress and rituals in commemoration of the Confederate dead.

The Jefferson Davis monument remained a prominent feature in Richmond until its removal in 2020. It stood as a lasting reminder of the city’s Confederate history and the persistence of the Lost Cause myth. 

Sources

Cox, Karen L. Dixie’s Daughters: The United Daughters of the Confederacy and the Preservation of Confederate Culture. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2003. 

Edward V. Valentine Papers. Valentine Museum Archives, Richmond, VA. 

“Daughters To Build Davis Monument.” Jefferson Davis Monument, Vertical File Collection, The Valentine. 

“Erect The Monument: Daughters of Confederacy to Build Davis Memorial.” 1899. Jefferson Davis Monument, Vertical File Collection, The Valentine. 

The Confederate Veteran. May 1907, Volume XV. 

Letter from Evan R. Chesterman, April 28, 1907. Edward V. Valentine Papers. 

Coski, John M. “A Memorial to a Man and a Cause: The Tortuous Tale of the Jefferson Davis Monument.” American Civil War Museum Newsletter (Spring 2017). https://static1.squarespace.com/static/597a220f579fb3cca0ab3454/t/597ba45d725e25118d0e1fc1/1501275247471/Coski-Davis+Monument+Article.pdf. 

The News Leader (Richmond, VA). March 14, 1936. 

The Times Dispatch (Richmond, VA). June 4, 1976. 

Massing of the Flags Invitation. 1976. Organizations – Daughters of the Confederacy, Vertical File Collection, The Valentine. 

The Confederate Bazaar Association Report. 1903. Organizations – Daughters of the Confederacy, Vertical File Collection, The Valentine. 

Valentine Museum Staff. “Edward V. Valentine.” The Valentine Museum. Last modified November 16, 2023. https://thevalentine.org.