The Monuments to John Pelham
There are thirteen monuments to John Pelham throughout the South. Most of them are in Virginia and Alabama, but two are in Maryland. Some are highway markers, and a few are quite impressive. What follows is a description and history of each monument, broken down by state and location.
ALABAMA
Anniston - 2 monuments:
The first is located on Quintard Avenue and is a stone obelisk. At the bottom
it reads, in capital letters, "PELHAM. " Above that it reads:
MAJOR |
One side of the monument paraphrases rather liberally General Stuart's orders
announcing the death of Pelham: 'The noble, the chivalric Pelham is no more.
How much he was beloved, appreciated and admired, let the tears of agony we
have shed and the gloom of mourning throughout every command bear witness.
His loss to the country is irreparable. --J.E.B. Stuart, Maj. General."
Behind this project to erect the monument was Dr. Clarence J. Owens, president of the Anniston College for Young ladies and Commander of the 5th Brigade, U. S. C. V. (United Sons of Confederate Veterans). The progress in raising the funds can be followed in the pages of the Confederate Veteran. In the April, 1905 issue we are told that, 'For the benefit of the fund for this monument the Camp has for sale gavels made from the wood of the room in which Pelham was born. The price is $2.50, and a certificate is furnished guaranteeing that the gavel is made as claimed."
The ploy must have worked for the monument was unveiled on June 3, 1905. (We did see one of the gavels, unmarked, at the Forney Museum in Jacksonville during our 1984 convention.)
The city of Anniston maintains the monument, which is spotlighted at night.
The second monument in Anniston is a highway marker which reads:
MAJOR JOHN PELHAM |
This monument was erected by the Alabama Historical Association, and is located
on Highway 431. Its paint is badly chipped, but it is still readable.
Jacksonville - 3 monuments:
As you enter the town of Jacksonville on Highway 21 (which becomes "Pelham Road" in Jacksonville), you see this highway marker:
MAJ. JOHN PELHAM |
Pelham would blush at being called the commander of the artillery of the Army
of Northern Virginia, but the marker is at a prominent place in town. Unfortunately,
in 1984 it was about ready to fall off its post. The Alabama Historical Association
erected the marker.
At the marker, make a right turn on James Street which ends at the Jacksonville City Cemetery. Pelham is buried here with his parents, his brother Sam, and some members of the McGehee family. His monument is quite prominent, right up against the wall of the cemetery. This is a marble monunent, with a statue of Pelham on top. It reads:
MAJ. JOHN PELHAM |
The left side reads: "Erected by the General John H. Forney Chapter U.D.C. Jacksonville, Alabama 1905." One side has the crossed swords of cavalry , and the other reads: 'How shall we rank thee upon glory's page, Thou more than soldier. " At the base of the monument, in capital letters, is "PELHAM." Pelham's hat is upturned, with crossed cannon insignia on it, he carries a sword and field glasses, and leans against an oak. This was the first project of the General John H. Forney Chapter, U.D.C., which is still active. Unfortunately, this monunent is in bad condition. A black fungus is on it, and the eyes and hat have been chipped away, probably by vandals.
A monument off of a side road off of Highway 431 marks the actual site of Pelham's birth. It is a bronze plaque on a boulder, which reads:
THE BIRTHPLACE OF THE GALLANT PELHAM |
A plaque giving details about Pelham's funeral service once was on the building
of the Bapitst Church, but since that church was razed, it now belongs to
the Forney Chapter, U.D.C.
MARYLAND
Antietam - 2 monuments:
The first monument is U.S. Route 40, a series of highway markers depicting the events leading up to the Battle of Antietam. The marker is T. P. 3 in the series, and the part referring to Pelham reads: "Early on the morning of the 14th [of September, 1862] Col. T. L. Rosser, with the 5th Virginia Cavalry, and Pelham's Battery occupied Fox's Gap one mile south of this, traversed by the old Sharpsburg Road."
The second marker used to be on the battlefield of Antietam, not far from
Nicodemus Heights. The marker had a drawing of an officer on horseback pointing.
The marker read: "NICODEMUS HEIGHTS --
Strategically placed on the far, rounded hill , Jeb Stuart's Horse Artillery
guarded the Confederate left and severely harrassed the attacking Union forces
with flanking fire." This monument has been removed, with no explanation,
by the National Park Service, which administers the battlefield.
VIRGINIA
Culpeper - 1 monument:
This marker is on the site of the Shackelford home, on the corner of Main and Cameron Streets. It reads:
THE GALlANT PELHAM |
Fredericksburg - 1 monument:
This is the oldest Pelham monument, erected August 6, 1903. A small stone marker, it was part of the series erected by James Power Smith, who had served on Jackson's staff, on the Virginia battlefields. Mr. T. F. Ryan of New York City donated most of the funds. It was recently moved slightly from its original position (intersection of Va. State Route 608 and U.S. Rt. 17/2) by the Virginia Highway Department to widen the intersection. Unfortunately, a fire hydrant is in front of it and a sewer line is behind it. The National Park Service does not own the monument. It simply reads:
STUART AND PELHAM |
Kelly' s Ford area - 3 monuments:
The first was erected in 1926 and used to be on Route 674 in Culpeper County. It was moved in 1927 to the old Douglas home in Elkwood, overlooking U.S. Route 15/29. Mr. George Douglas and his wife were admirers of the gallant Pelham. The Douglas home sat at the site where the ambulance supposedly overtook Pelham's body. A ceremony was held dedicating it on October 29, 1927. The monument is a marble obelisk; its base stone was taken from the battlefield of Kelly's Ford. It reads:
IN MEMORY One side reads: LIKE MARSHAL NEY The stone also reads: "BASE STONE FROM KELLEY'S FORD BATTLEFIELD NEAR SPOT WHERE PELHAM FELL. ERECTED BY GEO. E. AND HIS WIFE LENORA DOUGLAS 1926." |
Across from the Douglas monument is a Virginia highway marker which reads:
WHERE PELHAM FELL FOUR MILES SOUTHEAST, AT |
This marker is right at the road leading to Kelly's Ford. Make a right and go about four miles. On the left is a gravel parking lot for the Chester F. Phelps Region of the' Game Commission (be careful during hunting season). The battle of Kelly's Ford occurred on this site. In August 1979, I came upon an old wooden marker. It was riddled with bullet holes, but you could just read it. It said that this was the actual site where Pelham fell. I had little doubt, as the remnants of the stone wall follow the dirt trail and it was in a gap of the stone wall. I raised the funds and the monument was erected on April 11, 1981 and dedicated in a ceremony on May 24th. It has the artillery insignia of crossed cannon on top and reads:
MAJOR JOHN PELHAM, C.S.A. ERECTED 1981 |
Manassas - 1 marker:
This marker shows Pelham's battery position during the Battle of Second Manassas, August 28, 1862. It is on "Battery Heights," the Union artillery position. Recently, the Park Service acquired the Brawner Farm, where John actually fought his guns. Perhaps in time a monument can be placed there.
Few generals have been so lucky to have as many memorials. All this for a comparatively 'minor' figure of the Civil War! When you include the towns that have been named for him -- Pelham, Alabama; Pelham, Georgia; Pelham, North Carolina -- and the babies who have been named (and continue to be named) for him it might seem a bit much. Yet there is much to be done in preserving and maintaining those monuments which already exist, and opportunity exists to erect monuments when appropriate. Even without monuments, ''The gallant Pelham cannot pass from the heart or the merrory of the people of the South, " as John Esten Cooke once wrote; but to preserve those monuments is to maintain a part of our heritage.
This article first appeared in Volume 6, No. 5 of The Cannoneer.
