Bentonville Confederate Monument

36°22′22″N 94°12′30″W / 36.37265°N 94.20847°W / 36.37265; -94.20847LocationBentonville, ArkansasTypeConfederate MonumentMaterialGraniteHeight20 feetOpening date1908

The Bentonville Confederate Monument was installed in Bentonville, Arkansas, United States. It was removed from the town square in September 2020 and relocated to the private James H. Berry Park in July 2023.

Description and history

Placed in the center of Square Park, the 20 feet (6.1 m) granite statue of a Confederate soldier standing at parade rest was placed by the United Daughters of the Confederacy in 1908. A later plaque honors James Henderson Berry, a Confederate soldier with the 16th Arkansas Infantry Regiment who would later become the first Arkansas Governor from Benton County. The inscription reads "They Fought For Home and Fatherland. Their Names are Borne On Honors Shield. Their Record Is With God.".

The statue was manufactured in Barre, Vermont.^[1]

Although the park was deeded to the United Daughters of the Confederacy for use as a park in perpetuity, the chapter had disbanded prior to 1996. Benton County took control of the park, and allowed the City of Bentonville to take over care and maintenance.^[2]

The monument was added to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1996.^[3]

In September 2020, after years of controversy over Confederate monuments nationwide, the monument was removed from the Bentonville Square.^[4]

In February 2022, the Bentonville city planning commission announced a plan for the statue to be placed at a new park. The privately owned and operated park, named after James H. Berry, will feature the Statue and original base as the centerpiece, with the park located next to the Bentonville Cemetery. ^[5] The new park opened in July 2023 and the statue is now back in public view.^[6]

Inscriptions

North face:^[7]

THEIR NAMES ARE BORNE ON HONOR'S SHIELD. THEIR RECORD IS WITH GOD.
CONFEDERATE

East face:

THEY FOUGHT FOR HOME AND FATHERLAND
CONFEDERATE

South face:

1861–65
CONFEDERATE

West face:

TO THE SOUTHERN SOLDIERS
ERECTED BY A.J. BATES AND THE JAMES H. BERRY CHAPTER UNITED DAUGHTERS OF THE CONFEDERACY
AUG. 8, 1908
CONFEDERATE

Metal plate added to west face on January 30, 1914:

JAMES H. BERRY
1841–1913
SOLDIER AND STATESMAN
BELOVED OF ARKANSAS
2ND LIEUTENANT
CO. E 16TH ARK. INFANTRY, C.S.A
LEGISLATOR – JURIST
GOVERNOR OF ARKANSAS
UNITED STATES SENATOR
HE PERFORMED EVERY DUTY
WITH AN EYE
SINGLE TO THE PUBLIC WELFARE
AND HIS OWN UNBLEMISHED HONOR
THIS TABLET IS PLACED HERE
BY THE JAMES H. BERRY CHAPTER
UNITED DAUGHTERS OF
THE CONFEDERACY
THE PAT CLEBURNE CAMP
SONS OF CONFEDERATE VETERANS
AND OTHER FRIENDS
IN LOVING REMEMBRANCE
AND APPRECIATION
OF HIS NOBLE LIFE AND CHARACTER.

References

^ Roberts, A. (2017, October 11). The Bentonville Confederate Monument's history. Retrieved November 11, 2019, from https://www.4029tv.com/article/the-bentonville-confederate-statues-history/12036596.
^ Roberts, A. (2017, October 11). The Bentonville Confederate Monument's history. Retrieved November 11, 2019, from https://www.4029tv.com/article/the-bentonville-confederate-statues-history/12036596.
^ "National Register Information System – (#96000459)". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
^ "Crews remove Bentonville's Confederate monument". 4029tv.com. Retrieved 2020-09-02.
^ Jones, Mike (2 February 2022). "Bentonville planners OK Berry Park plan; Confederate statue to be centerpiece of site". Arkansas Democrat Gazette. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
^ "Confederate statue returns to public view as James H. Berry Park gets set to open in Bentonville | Arkansas Democrat Gazette". www.arkansasonline.com. 2023-07-29. Retrieved 2024-04-26.
^ "Confederate Veterans of Benton County Memorial, (sculpture)". Smithsonian Institution Research Information System. Retrieved June 19, 2020.

External links

Media related to Bentonville Confederate Monument at Wikimedia Commons

Monuments and memorials removed during the George Floyd protests

United States

Alabama	Birmingham – Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Monument; Charles Linn Huntsville – Confederate Soldier Memorial ✻ Mobile – Raphael Semmes
Arkansas	Bentonville – Confederate Monument ✻ Little Rock – Company A, Capitol Guards Pine Bluff – Confederate Monument
California	Carmel-by-the-Sea – Junípero Serra Chula Vista – Christopher Columbus Los Angeles – Junípero Serra Sacramento – Columbus' Last Appeal to Queen Isabella ✻; Junípero Serra; John Sutter San Francisco – Christopher Columbus; Ulysses S. Grant; Francis Scott Key; Junípero Serra Ventura – Junípero Serra ✻
Connecticut	Bridgeport – Christopher Columbus Hartford – Christopher Columbus ✻ Middletown – Christopher Columbus New Haven – Christopher Columbus ✻ New London – Christopher Columbus ✻ Norwalk – Christopher Columbus
Delaware	Dover – Delaware Law Enforcement Memorial Wilmington – Christopher Columbus; Caesar Rodney
District of Columbia	Washington – Albert Pike
Florida	Jacksonville – Confederate Memorial; Florida's Tribute to the Women of the Confederacy ✻ Palatka – Putnam County Confederate Memorial ✻ Quincy – Gadsden Confederate Memorial
Georgia	Athens – Confederate Monument Decatur – DeKalb County Confederate Monument
Indiana	Indianapolis – Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Monument
Kentucky	Frankfort – Jefferson Davis Louisville – John B. Castleman; Louis XVI
Louisiana	New Orleans – John McDonogh
Massachusetts	Boston – Christopher Columbus; Emancipation Memorial
Michigan	Dearborn – Orville L. Hubbard Detroit – Christopher Columbus
Minnesota	Minneapolis – Calvin Griffith Saint Paul – Christopher Columbus
Missouri	St. Louis – Christopher Columbus
Nevada	Las Vegas – Hey Reb!
New Jersey	Camden – Christopher Columbus Newark – Christopher Columbus West Orange – Christopher Columbus ✻
New Mexico	Albuquerque – Juan de Oñate Alcalde – Juan de Oñate Santa Fe – Diego de Vargas
New York	Albany – Philip Schuyler ✻ Buffalo – Christopher Columbus Hempstead – Thomas Jefferson New York City – Theodore Roosevelt Rochester – Frederick Douglass
North Carolina	Asheville – Vance Monument ✻ Charlotte – Jerry Richardson Raleigh – North Carolina Women of the Confederacy; Josephus Daniels; Henry Lawson Wyatt Rocky Mount – Nash County Confederate Monument ✻ Salisbury – Gloria Victis ✻ Wilmington – Confederate Memorial; George Davis
Ohio	Columbus – Christopher Columbus (City Hall); Christopher Columbus (Columbus State Community College)
Oregon	Eugene – The Pioneer; The Pioneer Mother Portland – Captain William Clark Monument; Thompson Elk Fountain; Thomas Jefferson; Abraham Lincoln; Theodore Roosevelt; Harvey W. Scott; George Washington
Pennsylvania	Philadelphia – Christopher Columbus ✻; Frank Rizzo; George Whitefield
Rhode Island	Providence – Christopher Columbus
South Carolina	Columbia – Christopher Columbus Charleston – John C. Calhoun
Tennessee	Nashville – Edward W. Carmack; Sam Davis ✻
Texas	Beaumont – Our Confederate Soldiers Dallas – Confederate War Memorial; One Riot, One Ranger Denton – Confederate Soldier Monument ✻ Fort Worth – Confederate Monument Houston – Christopher Columbus; Richard W. Dowling ✻; Spirit of the Confederacy
Virginia	Alexandria – Appomattox Fredericksburg – Slave Auction Block Norfolk – Confederate Monument Portsmouth – Confederate Monument Roanoke – Robert E. Lee Richmond – Christopher Columbus; Jefferson Davis; Howitzer Monument ✻; Stonewall Jackson; Robert E. Lee; Matthew Fontaine Maury; Richmond Police Memorial; J. E. B. Stuart; Williams Carter Wickham
Wisconsin	Madison – Forward; Hans Christian Heg

Other countries

Belgium	Antwerp – Leopold II Ghent – Leopold II
New Zealand	Hamilton – John Fane Charles Hamilton
United Kingdom	Bristol – Edward Colston Cambridge – Sir Ronald Fisher window Greater Manchester – Dunham Massey Hall sundial London – John Cass; Robert Clayton ✻; Thomas Guy ✻; Robert Milligan