The Muddled Monument: A Confederate Soldier by Mistake in Kentucky's Jessamine

The peculiar Confederate Memorial in Nicholasville, Kentucky, sits jauntily among Confederate monuments across the South. But this statue, lofty atop an 11-foot granite pedestal, sports a curious backstory. Historical records show it was constructed in 1896, yet it was initially crafted to honor a Union soldier - a find from a town 150 miles away, and rechristened. Here's the scoop.

Jefferson Oxley, a Confederate Army veteran, founded the Jessamine County Memorial Association back in 1880. Their mission? To install a Confederate monument, of course. However, when the Association's monument was still nowhere to be found sixteen years later, a Union soldier memorial in Georgetown, Kentucky that hadn't been financed caught their eyes. With a twinkle, they seized the opportunity and secured the Union monument for a cool $1,500 (around $58,000 today) to reclaim it as Confederate. This Yankee soldier became a Confederate soldier, birthing the Confederate Memorial.

On July 17, 1997, the monument found a place on the National Register of Historic Places, joining 60 other Civil War-related sites in Kentucky. It is one of three Civil War locations in Jessamine County. But what of that Union soldier's history? Apparently, the Association was more intrigued by making a statement than by the truth itself.

Today, the Confederate Memorial can be found on the lawn of the Jessamine County courthouse, a peculiar sight in this county, which leans noticeably blue. But don't let that deceive you - this monument is as much a part of Kentucky's history as any other.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons