Confederate Monuments

Learn more about these monuments

Alabama Monument

This photo album is related to the NPS approval of the erection of the Alabama Memorial on the Gettysburg Battlefield.

Arkansas Monument

This photo album is related to the NPS approval of the erection of the Arkansas Memorial on the Gettysburg Battlefield.

Florida Monument

Learn more about how the origin of the Florida monument resulted in what we see and interpret today.

Georgia Monument

This photo album is related to the NPS approval of the erection of the Georgia Memorial on the Gettysburg Battlefield.

Louisiana Monument

These documents are related to the NPS approval of the erection of the Louisiana monument on the Gettysburg Battlefield.

Mississippi Monument

This photo album contains primary source documents that provide context to its origins and placement on the battlefield.

North Carolina Monument

Learn more about how the origin of the North Carolina monument resulted in what we see and interpret today.

Soldiers and Sailors Monument

These documents are related to the NPS approval of the erection of the CSA Soldiers and Sailors Monument on the Gettysburg Battlefield.

South Carolina Monument

This photo album contains primary source documents that provide context to its origins and placement on the battlefield.

Tennessee Monument

These documents are related to the NPS approval of the erection of the Tennessee monument on the Gettysburg Battlefield.

Texas Monument

These documents are related to the NPS approval of the erection of the Texas monument on the Gettysburg Battlefield.

Virginia Monument

Learn more about how the origin of the Virginia monument resulted in what we see and interpret today.

 

Confederate Monuments Statement

Gettysburg National Military Park preserves, protects, and interprets one of the best marked battlefields in the world. There are 1,328 monuments, memorials, markers, and plaques on the battlefield that commemorate and memorialize the men who fought and died during the Battle of Gettysburg and continue to reflect how that battle has been remembered by different generations of Americans.

Roughly a quarter of these memorials honor southern states whose men served in the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. These memorials, erected predominantly in the early and mid-20th century, are an important part of the cultural landscape.

Across the country, the National Park Service maintains and interprets monuments, markers, and plaques that commemorate and memorialize those who fought during the Civil War. These memorials represent an important, if controversial, chapter in our Nation’s history. The National Park Service is committed to preserving these memorials while simultaneously educating visitors holistically about the actions, motivations, and causes of the soldiers and states they commemorate. A hallmark of American progress is our ability to learn from our history.

Many commemorative works, including monuments and markers, were specifically authorized by Congress. In other cases, a monument may have preceded the establishment of a park, and thus could be considered a protected park resource and value. In either of these situations, legislation could be required to remove the monument, and the NPS may need to comply with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and the National Environmental Policy Act before removing a statue/memorial.

Still other monuments, while lacking legislative authorization, may have existed in parks long enough to qualify as historic features. A key aspect of their historical interest is that they reflect the knowledge, attitudes, and tastes of the people who designed and placed them. Unless directed by legislation, it is the policy of the National Park Service that these works and their inscriptions will not be altered, relocated, obscured, or removed, even when they are deemed inaccurate or incompatible with prevailing present-day values. The Director of the National Park Service may make an exception to this policy.

The NPS will continue to provide historical context and interpretation for all of our sites and monuments in order to reflect a fuller view of past events and the values under which they occurred.

 

Confederate Flags Statement

In a June 25, 2015 statement, then National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis said, “We strive to tell the complete story of America. All sales items in parks are evaluated based on educational value and their connection to the park. Any stand-alone depictions of Confederate flags have no place in park stores.”

Jarvis said the murders of nine church members at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, which is near Fort Sumter National Monument, galvanized a national discussion that includes symbols and relics from our nation’s past such as the Confederate Battle Flag.

“As that discussion spread across the country,” Jarvis said, “one of our largest cooperating associations, Eastern National, began to voluntarily remove from the park stores that it manages any items that depict a Confederate flag as its primary feature. I’ve asked other cooperating associations, partners and concession providers to withdraw from sale items that solely depict a Confederate flag.”

This affected 11 out of 2,600 items in the bookstore at Gettysburg National Military Park’s Museum and Visitor Center.

In the telling of the historical story, Confederate flags have a place in books, exhibits, reenactments, and interpretive programs. Books, DVDs, and other educational and interpretive media where the Confederate flag image is depicted in its historical context may remain as sales items as long as the image cannot be physically detached. Confederate flags include the Stainless Banner, the Third National Confederate Flag, and the Confederate Battle Flag.