Stone Mountain is located just outside of Atlanta and is the largest exposed granite mountain (Stone Mountain facts). Stone Mountain park is also contains numerous memorials to the Civil War. The most obvious is the carving on the side of the mountain which rivals, in size, Mount Rushmore. The lawn that looks onto the carving has stations for each state of the Confederacy, when it succeeded and when it returned to the Union.
Tucked under the shadow of the face of the mountain are two memorial gardens that not many people notice or visit. The Valor and Sacrifice Memorial Gardens contain statuary and numerous quotes.
There are discussions about removing all of the memorials including the carving on the front of the mountain. In my opinion, that just feels like you are trying to erase history. Granted I can’t fathom something like the Civil War to occur again in the United States but maybe remembering where we came from will help us ensure that aspects of our history will never be repeated again. I would be interested in the thoughts on the subject from the European participants.
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It’s been many years since we have been to Stone Mountain. I wasn’t really into photography at the time. I need to make time to get back there soon. I’m from Tennessee and my wife is a historian. More specifically she is an African American and Civil War historian. When I heard about the idea of removing the memorials, I thought to myself that the Political Correct crowd will stop at nothing to spread their agenda. No matter how ugly certain parts of history might be, we all should study and understand what happened before us. Removing memorials does not remove the past. With a wife as a Civil War historian, I have also learned that there are a lot of things that are not taught in school regarding this subject. Bias is not always what you are told, but most of the time, it is what you are NOT told. Thus, a lot of issues like this are fueled with ignorance. I could go on, but I will stop here. Nice shots by the way!
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Thank you for your response. I am originally from Michigan and the sum total of our Civil War education was maybe a week in high school US history. Without places like this to help us question, how do we foster learning?
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Good question. If the schools don’t cover it, how do you get the word out? Either we complain enough that the schools make a change or we just have to teach our kids the full truth. Unfortunately it’s the latter. That is one reason why we home school. Furthermore, getting to the truth involves work on the part of the person seeking answers. I say this because even such sites as Stone Mountain have scripts that are followed by tour guides. These scripts can also be bias one way or the other. The best thing to do is take what you’ve learned from historical sites and do your own research in books and on the internet. Try to piece together what makes sense to you and then present your questions to local experts at such sites like Stone Mountain. When you approach the same subject from different angles, eventually the truth will reveal itself.
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I like these photos a lot. Looks like a spot I would greatly enjoy visiting. I am a lover of history of all kinds. Last summer I took a trip specifically to visit the Little Bighorn battlefield where another sad episode of US history took place. The ability to stand in those places and physically feel them is so important to our ability to understand, remember and learn. I do not want to live in the world predicted by George Orwell where only the current version of history is acceptable.Your photos are a beautiful reminder that what the “wrong side” experienced was just as real and heart rending as the experience of the winners.
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