John Hunt Morgan Memorial
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Morgan, John Hunt, Memorial | |
|---|---|
| U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
 |
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| Location: | Lexington, Kentucky |
| Coordinates: | Coordinates: |
| Built/Founded: | 1911 |
| Architect: | Pompeo Coppini |
| Architectural style(s): | No Style Listed |
| Added to NRHP: | July 17, 1997 |
| NRHP Reference#: | 97000704 [1] |
| MPS: | Civil War Monuments of Kentucky MPS |
| Governing body: | Local |
The John Hunt Morgan Memorial in Lexington, Kentucky, is a tribute to Confederate General John Hunt Morgan, who was from Lexington and is buried in nearby Lexington Cemetery.
With the help of the state government of Kentucky, the United Daughters of the Confederacy erected the monument on October 18, 1911 on what was then the courthouse lawn. The bronze statue was cast in Brooklyn, New York, at a cost of $15,000. The pedestal was of granite It was dedicated by Morgan's brother-in-law Basil W. Duke. Of the monuments of the American Civil War in Kentucky, it is the only one with a soldier on horseback.[2]
Morgan's horse, Black Bess, was a mare, but the sculptor, Pompeo Coppini, thought a stallion was more appropriate. Coppini said, "No hero should bestride a mare!". Therefore, Coppini added the necessary testicles. Undergraduates from nearby University of Kentucky have been known to paint the testicles of the horse in the school colors of blue and white. An anonymous author wrote the "Ballad of Black Bess", which ended with:
- So darkness comes to Bluegrass men -
- Like darkness o'er them falls -
- For well we know gentlemen should show
- Respect for a lady's balls.[3]
The Memorial was one of 60 different Civil War items in Kentucky placed on the National Register of Historic Places on the same day, July 17, 1997. Three of them were also in Lexington: the John C. Breckinridge Memorial, which is on the other side of the same block as the Morgan Memorial, and the Confederate Soldier Monument in Lexington and the Ladies' Confederate Memorial, both in nearby Lexington Cemetery.[4]
[edit] Gallery
 close-up of the mare's testicles |
 Historical marker at the site |
 Historical marker, reverse side, at the site |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ National Register Information System. National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service (2007-01-23).
- ^ Civil War in Kentucky
- ^ Loewen, James.Lies Across America pg 164-165
- ^ National Register of Historic Places Listings -July 25, 1997
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