Captain John W. Broughton, of Rodney, wrote, in 1892, that there was no Confederate cemetery and no monument in his county, but that he and his friends were making an earnest effort to raise funds for the erection of a handsome monument. He said if they could do no more, they would have inscribed the names of. Confederate soldiers on mural tablets in the handsome new Court House. The following clipping from the Memphis Commercial Appeal tells the gratifying story of their success: Fayette, Miss., Jan. 14th. “The movement to erect a Confederate monument to the memory of the Jefferson County Confederate soldiers was started in 1901 by Capt. John W. Broughton of Rodney, this county (himself an ex-soldier of the Confederacy), and P. K. Whitney, then editor of the Faith Chronicle, now living at Raymond, Miss. The process of collecting funds for this monument has been slow, owing to the fact that the contributions, except in a few instances, have been small. At the last meeting of the State Legislature a bill was introduced by Representative J. S. Hicks, of this county, and passed, empowering the Board of Supervisors to make a donation to the monument fund. The board, composed of Hon. J. J. Embryo, President, and W. B. Scott, B. H. Wade, W. M. Geohegan and R. O. Hornsby, promptly did the generous thing and appropriated the sum of $1,000 to the cause. This sum has been added to until the amount of $2,027 was raised, and the contract let to George Panke, of Vicksburg, for the erection of both the monument and a neat iron fence, which will enclose the public square on which the monument was set up. This square will be converted into a park by the planting of numerous shade trees, flowers, etc., and the erection of a fountain. The monument is twenty-two feet high, and is surmounted by the life-size statue of a private soldier of the Confederacy, which was made in Italy this purpose. Members of J. J. Whitney Camp No. 22, U. C. V., who took an active interest in the work of securing funds for the erection of the monument are Capt. D. S. Farrar, Capt. R. V. McDonald, Adjt. T. B. Hammett, Col. Z R. Jones, Capt. W. H. Spencer and several others. “The date for the unveiling ceremonies has not yet been decided upon but will probably be in the early spring.” natchezbelle.org/ahgp-ms/conf-cem/grenada.htm
Posted on: Thu, 20 Nov 2014 03:19:55 +0000