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By Jim Gannon
Special '< the Rappahannock News
The Confederate monument on the Rappahannock Court House grounds in Washington is in “overall poor condition,” urgently needing restoration and cleaning, a professional conservation firm has found.
Conservation Solutions, Inc. of Washington, D.C., a historic monuments specialist, reported to the county that the marble column commemorating Rappahannock’s soldiers in the Civil War is not “beyond repair,” but it is “at a crossroads and should receive a full conservation treatment at the earliest opportunity”
Time, weather, air pollution, biological growths and other factors have taken their toll on the historic monument, the consultants found. If no conservation steps are taken, they reported, “all of the conditions observed during our survey will only continue to worsen over time.”
More than 100 years old, the monument was erected in the late 19th Century by the Daughters of the Confederacy as a “tribute of honor and affectionate regard” for the courage and patriotism of Rappahannock’s Confederate soldiers, according to one carved tablet on the column. The names of more than 100 county men who served in the Confederate military are etched on marble tablets at the monument’s base—and those names are slowly eroding away.
Conservation Solutions was hired by the Rappahannock League for Environmental Protection to study the condition of the monument and to recommend steps to preserve the historic structure. The county, as owner of the monument, shared in the cost of the study, which resulted in an illustrated, written report now in the hands of the county administrator, John McCarthy.
The monument is a 24-foottall column of marble on a red sandstone base, decorated with recessed marble panels that show the profiles of Gen. Robert E. Lee, the Confederate Army commander, Col. Robert S. Mosby, a famous cavaliy commander, and other decor including a drum and trumpet. Names of local Confederate regiments are carved into the stone, along with soldier’s names.
“The Confederate Monument is in overall poor condition,” the consulting firm concluded. Its appearance is marred by black stains and growths resulting from acid rain, air pollution and biological growths such as fungus. Cracks in the mortar and the stones are
92.5%