Lee and Jackson Monument Dedicated as 3,000 Look On

With mementos of bygone days, parades and martial music enlivening a gray afternoon, J. Henry Ferguson’s bronze double equestrian tribute to Generals Robert E.

Lee and Stonewall Jackson was presented to the city and dedicated yesterday.

More than 3,000 persons gathered for the ceremonies in Wyman Park at the base of the $100,000 memorial adjacent to the Museum of Art, a site, according to the sculptor, Mrs. Laura Gardin Fraser, reminiscent of the place depicted in the bronze group. Mr. Ferguson provided the money for the statue in his will.

Their Grandchildren Present

Lee and Jackson, considered by Mr. Ferguson as heroes Americans should emulate, are shown at the moment they said their last farewell on the eve of the Battle of Chancellorsville, which took place! 85 years ago yesterday. Jackson was mortally wounded in the engagement.

Linking that historic event with the present were the grandchildren of the two famous warriors of the Confederate Army. At a luncheon before the exercises in the Museum of Art these grandchildren sat on a divan and recalled the exploits of their distinguished ancestors.

The grandsons are Dr. George Bolling Lee, of New York, and Col. Thomas J. J. Christian, U.S.A. With Dr. Lee was his wife, a daughter, Miss Mary Walker Lee, and a son— the General’s great-grandson – Robert E. Lee 4th, who is the last Lee in direct line.

With Colonel Christian was his sister, Mrs. Edmund Randolph Preston, of Washington, who has two sons and three daughters. Colonel Christian has a sister, Mrs. Peggy Fitzpatrick, wife of Lieut. Col. Francis Fitzpatrick, U.S.A. Colonel Christian’s son, Col. Thomas J. J. Christian, Jr., was killed in World War II. He was in the Air Corps. They make up the last of the direct line of General Jackson.

Also linking General Jackson with the present were more than 300 students of Virginia Military Academy, who, with their band were given places of honor in the proceedings. Stonewall Jackson was a teacher at V.M.I. at the outbreak of the Civil War.

Dandy Fifth Represented

For the first time since 1938 members of the old 5th Regiment, now the 175th Infantry, Maryland National Guard, appeared in their full-dress uniforms, first adopted in 1875, a reminder of the time when the Dandy 5th was one of the chief social as well as military organizations of the State.

Moreover, the color guard that marched at the head of parade-members of the 175th, wore the red-coated uniforms that prevailed when the 5th was in its infancy.

Giving the program a modern touch were a contingent of 75 WACs from Fort George G. Meade, commanded by Lieut. Ruth R. Gordon; Company B, 51st Signal Battalion from Fort Meade and the Armv Ground Forces Band, commanded by Capt. Chester E. Whit-ing, also from Fort Meade.

Special Guests Listed

Among the special guests were Maj. Gen. Richard J. Marshall, USA (retired), superintendent of V.M.I., representing Governor Tuck, of Virginia; Rear Admiral Charles W. Fox, USN, Chief of the Bureau of Supplies and Accounts, representing the Navy; Col. Paul D. Harkins, representing the United States Military Academy at West Point where General Lee served as superintendent, and Group Captain R. C. Jonas, of the British Air Force, representing the British Army which has studied at Aldershot the Lee-Jackson tactics at Chancellorsville.

Other guests included Governor Lane, Mayor D’Alesandro and their wives; Dr. Douglas Southall Freeman, editor of the Richmond News-Leader and a biographer of Lee; the Rev. James E. Moore, pastor of Mount Washington Presbyterian Church, and the Rt. Rev. Noble C. Powell, Protestant Episcopal Bishop of Maryland.

The guests gathered in the Museum of Art at 1 P.M. for a buffet luncheon.

As Dr. Lee and Col. Christian chatted, the former explained “our families are bound together by the admiration.”

Confederate Flags

Outdoors, hawkers peddled Confederate flags, sales being fairly good at $1 a flag. Chairs were lined up in front and on either side of the monument. A grandstand was opposite the memorial.

The cadets from V.M.I. were en route from Fort Meade where they were guests of the Army over Friday night. They doffed their regular uniforms for dress gear, shakos with patent leather chin straps, gray coats, maroon sashes and white linen trousers.

They joined the regular troops and National Guard shortly before 2 P.M. at Charles and Twenty-second streets.  The regulars were in their usual khaki with “tin” hats. The Ground Forces Band was resplendent in light khaki uniforms brightened with colors at the shoulder and on the sleeves. Officers wore white gloves.

At 2 P.M. the order to march was given. The parade proceeded up Charles street to the Museum drive and then halted in front of that building.

There was a pause while the guests were seated, the V.M.I. cadets took places on the north side of the statue, the regular Army on the south and the National Guard on the east. At 3 P.M., George L. Radcliffe, president of the Maryland Historical Society, who presided, introduced Dr. Moore, who, in military uniform, pronounced the – invocation, The V.M.I. band played the national anthem. Governor Lane was introduced.

Governor Lane Speaks

The Governor noted that “the donor of this memorial was motivated in the bequest that made it possible by the admiration for Lee and Jackson for qualities in the men which he felt worthy of emulation by the youth of Baltimore and Maryland.

“I do not know but what Mr. Ferguson may have given some thought, too, to the singular appropriateness of erecting in Maryland a monument to two men who best typify the gallantry and statesmanship of the Confederacy.”

Emphasizing that the scars of the Civil War have long since been healed, the Governor asserted “our might is the sole remaining bulwark on which the free peoples of the world rest their hopes for remaining free, and to which they look for succor against the juggernaut of oppression that is threatening to engulf them.”

The Governor explained the monument “is symbolic of our unity of purpose, as a nation, to preserve those things for which our forefathers, and those of our generations, have fought, and in the attainment of them, raised among us men of the stature of Robert E.

Lee and Stonewall Jackson.

“We honor here in this bronze, the character and the ability, the strength of conviction and the devotion to a cause, of two men who were great Americans, albeit they rose in this greatness and enshrined themselves in the hearts of their countrymen in a cause that was lost.”

Mr. Radcliffe then introduced the sculptor and the military and naval guests. They bowed. Dr. Freeman then was presented. Without notes of any kind he, in rounded phrases and picture language, described the events that led to the historic farewell meeting between Lee and Jack-son, calling them the greatest combat team in the military history.

Accepted By Mayor

Accepting the memorial, Mayor D’Alesandro said, “World wars I and II found the North and South fighting for a common cause, and the generalship and military science displayed by these two great men in the War Between the States lived on and were applied in the military plans of our nation in Europe ad the Pacific areas.

“Today, with our nation beset by subversive groups and propaganda which seeks to destroy our national unity, we can look for inspiration to the lives of Lee and Jackson to remind us to be resolute and determined in preserving our sacred institutions.

Urged To Remain Steadfast

“We must remain steadfast in our determination to preserve freedom, not only for ourselves, but for the other liberty-loving nations who are striving to preserve their national unity as free nations. In these days of uncertainty and turmoil, Americans must emulate Jackson’s example and stand like a stone wall against aggression in any form that would seek to destroy the liberty of the world.”

Mrs. John Francis Weinmann, president general of the United Daughters of the Confederacy; Mrs. Ferguson Cary, historian general, and Mrs. Thomas Imlay Corddry,

president of the Maryland division of the organization, placed a wreath at the base of the bronze. Bishop Powell pronounced the benediction and the military units reformed to pass in review.