Confederate Mound at Oak Woods Cemetery (Woodlawn, Illinois)

Confederate

Located in Chicago's Oak Woods Cemetery, the Confederate Mound is situated on a former mass grave for Confederate prisoners of war, who died at Camp Douglas (1862-65). In 1887, the Ex-Confederate Association of Chicago received permission by the government to erect a memorial in the government lot of the cemetery. The mound is elliptically shaped and at its center a granite obelisk towers above the cemetery. At its base are three bass-reliefs depicting scenes of war, including: "The Call to Arms", "A Soldier's Death Dream", and "A Veteran's Return Home." Set atop the large shaft is a bronze sculpture of an unarmed confederate soldier, its image is based on the painting "Appomattox" by John A. Elder. The memorial was funded by the Chicago United Confederate Camp No. 8, and their commander, General John C. Underwood, provided the design. The monument was dedicated on May 30th, 1895. The commemorative space also includes four bronze plaques inscribed with the names of the dead (funded by the Commission for Marking the Graves of Confederate Dead in 1911); four artillery pieces; the graves of unknown Union guards from Camp Douglas; and trees, planted in 1953 by Louisiana and Mississippi Governors.

Inscription:

Erected/ to the Memory of the/ Six Thousand Soldiers Here Buried. Who Died in/ Camp Douglas Prison,/ 1862-5 (on the fourth face of the column)

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