Confederate Monument

The Confederate Monument in Portsmouth, Virginia, was built between 1876 and 1881. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1997.The monument is a 35-foot obelisk of North Carolina granite. It is located at the town square of Portsmouth, on Court Street at the corner of High Street. Also facing on the town square are the Trinity Episcopal Church dating from 1828 and the Portsmouth Courthouse dating from 1846, which are also NRHP-listed.It was erected by the Ladies Memorial Aid Association of Portsmouth, Virginia, which was founded in 1866 with one purpose "being the erection of a monument to the Confederate dead of Portsmouth and Norfolk County." The design was by topographical engineer Charles E. Cassell.The cornerstone was laid in 1876. Several artifacts were placed within it, including a Confederate flag; Confederate bonds, currency, and postage stamps; rosters of officers and men in two army units; a photograph of Col. James G. Hodges, commander of the 14th Virginia Infantry; and an array of silver coins. The monument's capstone was not placed until 1881, and the monument as a whole was not completed until 1893.The four cast white bronze figures that surround the obelisk, including their heads and facial features, are largely generic. The sailor figure, for example, also appears outside the G.A.R. Memorial Hall in Wabash, Indiana.