Civil War Memorial in Forsyth Park, Savannah GA
For my final project, I decided to look into a few historical sites that are located
around Savannah. Researching the confederate monument located in Forsyth Park, I
learned that roughly two years ago on February 14th, our mayor, Eddie DeLoach,
renamed it the Civil War Memorial. This change was a response to the deadly clashes
at a rally by white nationalists in Charlottesville Virginia that stoked calls to remove
confederate statues across the South. Historians and local experts recommended
changing the monument after Mayor Eddie DeLoach proposed finding a way “to
expand the story this monument tells to be inclusive of all”.
While he was unable to have the statue taken down due to a Georgia law that
prohibits the removal of any Confederate monument, he settled for subtle changes
instead. It was renamed so that it commemorated everyone who sacrificed their lives
during the war rather than just honoring the confederate men who died. A new plaque
was added to one side of the monument that reads: “This memorial was originally
erected in 1875 to the confederate dead, redesigned in 1879, and rededicated in 2018
to all the dead of the American civil war”.
I believe that the unanimous vote to rename and modify this
monument was a big step in bettering our society. Slavery is the greatest
stain in our nation’s history and by altering what this monument represents,
we hope to make the world a better place for younger generations. Mayor
Eddie DeLoach said that the monument is now, “more representative of
Savannah’s community while also preserving Savannah’s unique history”.
Many Savannians argued that the monument should have been removed
completely but I believe that its continued standing allows for us to continue
to learn from our history in order to never repeat it.