Arkansas UDC Raising Funds For Sculpture Restorations

PINE BLUFF, Ark. - The Arkansas Division, United Daughters of The Confederacy, has created the UDC-CSA Fund to restore and maintain Confederate sculptures in Arkansas.

On May 27, 1911, the Harris Flanagin Chapter #1184 of the Arkansas Division, United Daughters of the Confederacy, unveiled a magnificent monument "To the memory of the soldiers of the Southern Confederacy" in Arkadelphia. The monument was placed on the lawn of the Clark County Courthouse where it stood until a tornado struck on March 1, 1997. A year earlier the monument had been placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The tornado broke the marble shaft into two pieces, decapitated the soldier and broke him from his legs. Since then, the monument has laid in disrepair. The head was removed from the scene and more than two years passed before the posting of a reward returned the head.

This past June, representatives of the UDC Arkansas Division met with county officials to discuss the possibilities of restoring the monument and placing it on its original base on the Courthouse lawn.

The Arkansas Division has now established a monument restoration, repair and maintenance fund, The UDC-CSA Fund, for the Confederate Sculptures in Arkansas. The division has launched the largest fund- raising campaign in its 105-year history.

The group hopes that the results of the campaign will provide for the complete restoration of the Confederate Monument as well as necessary funds for the repair and maintenance of all Confederate sculptures in Arkansas. The need for this fund was amplified by the severe damage to the Confederate Monument in Fayetteville last winter when an ice storm struck Arkansas.

Tax deductible donations payable to UDC-CSA Fund may be sent to the Arkansas Division UDC, P.O. Box 7226, Pine Bluff, AR. Information is available by mail or fax to (870) 535-3576.