Who would guess that the world’s largest black granite Confederate States memorial (Are there other smaller black granite ones?) could be found way off the beaten path in Calhoun County, Alabama? But there it was, right next to the furnace chimney, looking a little like a smaller version of the Vietnam War memorial in Washington, DC., which was dedicated in 1993. This memorial was completed ten years later, but the idea dates back to 1994 when Charles Brown and other members of Tige Anderson Camp #453 of the Sons of Confederate Veterans visited Shiloh National Battlefield Park in Hardin County, Tennessee, and viewed the final resting place of Confederate States soldiers killed during the horrific Battle of Shiloh in April 1862. Most were buried in mass graves with no identification, so the Calhoun County visitors decided to go home and develop a memorial to ALL men from their county who served during the Civil War. Their memorial was finally dedicated in June 2003.
Those of you who know me know I have a Facebook page called Grammar Glitch Central and that I take a somewhat sadistic pleasure in catching people who should know better committing bad grammar mistakes. If I hadn’t spotted a Grammar Glitch right there on that memorial, TOR might never have had the opportunity to visit the inside of the Confederate and Native American Museum, located just across the parking area. Seems like an odd juxtaposition of topics to me, but this museum contains not only cannonballs and uniforms but also Native American artifacts dating back to the Iron Age.
Perhaps engravers of a Civil War memorial should not be expected to know better, but the Glitch was right there in the second line of the dedication, which reads: THESE MEN WHO’S NAMES ADORN THIS WALL. If you’re not sure why that’s a Grammar Glitch, please visit Grammar Glitch Central for an explanation. (ALERT: Shameless self promotion #1 here!)
ROAD TRIPS! 