In Spring Hill Cemetery in Harrodsburg, Kentucky, the Beriah Magoffin Monument commemorates Magoffin, who was governor of Kentucky when the Civil War started. Although sympathetic to secession, Magoffin sought to retain neutrality for Kentucky until pro-Union forces compelled him to resign from the governorship. The monument was dedicated around 1900, many years after Magoffin's death in 1885.
The monument is made of cast zinc and is typical of monuments to the War built around 1900. Atypically of such monuments, Magoffin's portrait bust is draped in a toga, recalling Neoclassical conventions intended by the builder to create a parallel with a heroic Roman. Five quotes of Magoffin's are inscribed to reflect his position on Kentucky's role in the conflict, including his desire for the state to act as a mediator and his belief that Kentucky had a right to assume a neutral position.
On July 17, 1997, the Beriah Magoffin Monument was placed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Civil War Monuments of Kentucky Multiple Property Submission. It is one of nine monuments in that submission that is a tombstone. Spring Hill Cemetery, where the monument lies, was established in 1860.
Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons
Written by Friendly Jane
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