John Hunt Morgan Memorial

Infobox_nrhp | name =Morgan, John Hunt, Memorial
nrhp_type =

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caption =
location= Lexington, Kentucky
lat_degrees = 38 | lat_minutes = 2 | lat_seconds = 51.4 | lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 84 | long_minutes = 29 | long_seconds = 54.82 | long_direction = W
area =
built =1911
architect= Pompeo Coppini
architecture= No Style Listed
added = July 17, 1997
governing_body = Local
mpsub=Civil War Monuments of Kentucky MPS
refnum=97000704 cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2007-01-23|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service] The John Hunt Morgan Memorial in Lexington, Kentucky, is a tribute to Confederate General John Hunt Morgan, who was from Lexington and is buried in nearby Lexington Cemetery.

With the help of the state government of Kentucky, the United Daughters of the Confederacy erected the monument on October 18, 1911 on what was then the courthouse lawn. The bronze statue was cast in Brooklyn, New York, at a cost of $15,000, $7,500 coming from the state of Kentucky due to the UDC not being able to achieve all the funds promised. The ceremony included a aprade of 400 former veterans. The pedestal was of granite It was dedicated by Morgan's brother-in-law Basil W. Duke, master of ceremonies, and keynote speaker Dr. Guy Carleton Lee, a third cousin of Robert E. Lee. Also in attendance was Morgan's brothers Charlton and Dick, and John Castleman. Of the monuments of the American Civil War in Kentucky, it is the only one with a soldier on horseback. [ [http://www.trailsrus.com/monuments/reg4/lexington.html Civil War in Kentucky ] ] [Matthews, Gary. "Basil Wilson Duke, CSA: The Right Man in the Right Place" (University Press of Kentucky, 2005) pg.302,303]

Morgan's horse, Black Bess, was a mare, but the sculptor, Pompeo Coppini, thought a stallion was more appropriate. Coppini said, "No hero should bestride a mare!". Therefore, Coppini added the necessary testicles. Undergraduates from nearby University of Kentucky have been known to paint the testicles of the horse in the school colors of blue and white. An anonymous author wrote the "Ballad of Black Bess", which ended with:

:"So darkness comes to Bluegrass men -":"Like darkness o'er them falls -":"For well we know gentlemen should show":"Respect for a lady's balls." [Loewen, James."Lies Across America" pg 164-165]

The Memorial was one of 60 different Civil War items in Kentucky placed on the National Register of Historic Places on the same day, July 17, 1997. Three of them were also in Lexington: the John C. Breckinridge Memorial, which is on the other side of the same block as the Morgan Memorial, and the Confederate Soldier Monument in Lexington and the Ladies' Confederate Memorial, both in nearby Lexington Cemetery. [ [http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/listings/970725.htm National Register of Historic Places Listings -July 25, 1997 ] ]

Gallery

ee also

*Hunt-Morgan House

References