8 October 2015

DRAFT – October 1, 2015 Helena/Lewis & Clark County Heritage Council

The Confederate Fountain in Hill Park Proposed Interpretive Signage & Disclaimer Options for the Helena City Commission

This granite fountain, designed by Helena architect George Carsley, son of a Union Civil War veteran from Wisconsin. Carsley was inspired in his design by the Butt-Millett fountain in Washington, D.C., a memorial to Titanic victims, and that may explain why it resembles a lighthouse. The brass cap interior was originally illuminated. The Fountain was dedicated by the Winnie Davis Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) on September 5, 1916. The Confederate Fountain’s inscription reads, “A Loving Tribute to Our Confederate Soldiers” on one side, and “By the Daughters of the Confederacy in Montana, A.D. 1916” on the other. The fountain was commissioned at a cost of $2,000 by members of the UDC who moved to Helena after the Civil War. Southerners came to Montana for the gold (discovered in Helena in 1864), to avoid service in the War, or after serving their duty, as well as to begin new lives, and Montana place names such as Confederate Gulch and Virginia City reflect their presence.

Three Helena women from the local Winnie Davis Chapter of the Daughters of the Confederacy, whose organization had been involved with the Women’s Park Association in landscaping Hill Park, took part in the fountain’s dedication. Miss Georgia C. Young, in her dedication speech, “lauded the present-day American spirit, a spirit of union with no feeling between the old North and South that caused such bitterness and sorrow years ago.” The motive in planning the gift of the fountain, as noted in periodicals of the time, was to “... beautify Hill Park.” Miss Young was born in Georgia and came to Helena in 1885 at the age of 28 after completing nurse training in Connecticut, her mother’s home state. She was Superintendent of St. Peter’s Hospital for 22 years as well as one of its founders.

The United Daughters of the Confederacy, founded in 1894 by an elite group of white women, and limited in membership to the same, has its roots in local Ladies Memorial Associations that were formed in numerous municipalities in the South shortly after the Civil War to bury Confederate dead, as Confederate soldiers were not allowed to be buried with Union soldiers in national cemeteries established by the Federal government. Initially, they organized volunteers and raised funds to bury dead, and erect grave markers and memorials in cemeteries. Once this was completed, their work shifted to caring for Confederate veterans, as well as their widows, and eventually aid to their families.

As Confederate veterans aged and died, the UDC’s mission evolved to encompass memorials to Confederate soldiers in public spaces, such as city squares and other prominent public spaces. These monuments served as much more than just memorials to the dead. They were a crucial component in the UDC’s campaign to restore honor to defeated Confederate veterans and in the South’s quest for vindication after the Civil War that their cause was just, their defeat was not in vain, and that their soldiers were not traitors or rebels. The UDC also openly supported the early Ku Klux Klan in its mission of white supremacy.

The UDC also shifted its focus by placing pro-Southern history textbooks in schools throughout the South. They were proponents of the Lost Cause doctrine after the Civil War, whose primary tenets included: that the South’s superior military skill and valor was outnumbered and outgunned by Northern soldiers and industry; that the war was fought solely over the constitutional issue of states’ rights, rather than slavery; that slavery was a benevolent institution of chivalrous planters caring for faithful and subservient slaves; and that the Confederacy’s cause was noble and defended the South’s honor. Contemporary scholars posit that the Lost Cause belief helped facilitate the post-war reunion between white Southerners and Northerners at the expense of the nation’s black populace. The traditions of the Lost Cause, which focused on prescribed gender and race roles, appealed to a nation experiencing racial, political, and industrial turmoil.

The UDC’s mission of restoring honor and vindication of Confederate soldiers, and gaining Northern respect for the South, lasted up until World War I, when Southern soldiers’ contributions in the Spanish-American War and WWI established their heroism and honor in the eyes of the nation.

Disclaimer Option No. 1 Pam Attardo

The City of Helena has provided this sign for educational and interpretive purposes of a memorial placed here after a difficult war. The City in no way endorses any of the former or current beliefs of the UDC or any of its chapters.

Disclaimer Option No. 2 Donna Torgerson

Several members of the HTC have presented options for additional language to serve as a disclaimer on signage for the DOC fountain in Hill Park. These options are being forwarded for your review as a result of the HTC recognizing that the decision of adding such language will be that of the City commission, not the HTC. As a member of the HTC, I felt that I should also verbalize the option of not including a disclaimer at all.

I would advocate not adding a disclaimer to the narrative describing the fountain’s history. I feel it is unnecessary and simply providing the facts about the object best acts in the spirit of the signage program for listings on the National Register. I believe a disclaimer would also set an unfortunate precedent potentially causing us to revisit other sites’ signage to distance ourselves from acts that may have been committed in the past or mentalities once held in bygone times. I agree with my fellow council members that 2015 Helena does not condone the acts of or share the mentality of the Daughters of the Confederacy or the antebellum south. With few exceptions, I believe we are an accepting, tolerant and forward-thinking community and that holds true regardless of words placed on a sign. I respectfully submit this as an additional option to be considered with disclaimer language.

Disclaimer No. 3 Hal Jacobson

As Helena marks the 100th anniversary of the Confederate Fountain, the event is viewed with somber reflection.

There is not a darker period in the history of the United States than that of the feudal antebellum southern states; or as it came to known in it’s waning days — The Confederacy. The enslavement, egregious mistreatment and blatant discrimination of African Americans will forever be a tragic hallmark of this period. Therefore we denounce all that this part of our history was, and in turn embrace a climate of acceptance toward all people regardless of race, religion or sexual orientation.

Disclaimer No. 4 Hal Jacobson

Although this fountain was dedicated as a memorial to Confederate soldiers, 21st century Helenans realize the basic principles of the Confederacy were grounded in egregious racial and human injustices. Accordingly, the City of Helena strives to achieve tolerance toward all people regardless of race, religion or sexual orientation.

Disclaimer No. 5 Mary Jane Bradbury

In 2015, the creation of this interpretive sign has been prompted by controversies resulting from recent violence against black Americans. It is intended to provide insight to the legacy of the UDC and to the unsettled, often violent aftermath of the Civil War that still existed in the early 1900s. One hundred years after the dedication of this fountain in 1916, this nation still struggles with racial prejudice and injustice. The past cannot be changed. Understanding it, however, provides opportunities to address the fears and concerns that confronted previous generations, that confront us today, and to heal as a result. One hundred years from now, what will be said about our efforts to create a lasting legacy for the future?