November 11, 2012

Honored in Their Generation

This Civil War Trails marker at the Rappahannock County Courthouse honors the 115 men from the county who died during the Civil War. This is an appropriate subject for Veterans Day because these men sacrificed for the same reasons as soldiers of recent wars: a sense of patriotism, a desire for honor and value, and dedication to their community.

I like this marker because it discusses the history of the monument itself as well as listing the names of the men who were honored.
"After the war, as the years passed and the numbers of veterans dwindled, memorial efforts increased around the nation, and many communities, north and south, erected monuments. In the former Confederate states especially, by the turn of the twentieth century, most county court squares featured such monuments, which often listed local units and the names of the men who died in the conflict. 
Herbert Barbee (1848-1936), a son of noted sculptor William Randolph Barbee, crafted the monument, as well as Confederate memorials in Luray and Warrenton.

The Rappahannock County Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy commissioned the monument in 1900."
Photos on the Civil War Trails sign show a "rack of arms" that once stood on top of the monument and two former members of Mosby's Rangers standing by the monument around 1900. This sign was dedicated in April 2011.

Washington, VA near the Court House
Photoshop Note: I modified portions of this street scene to bring out the colors. A key step was creating a layer from a selection of the foreground and merging it as "Color Dodge."

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