230 Southern Historical Society
North Carolina Miss Eliza Arrington. Tennessee Miss Mattie Gilmer Bibb. Missouri Miss Alabama Brown. Kentucky Miss Martha E. Bibb.
Rev. Dr. Eager invoked Divine blessings for the concourse, " taps " were blown on a clarionet and the gathering dispersed.
THE MONUMENT.
History of the Movement that Resulted in its Erection.
The articles of incorporation of the Monument Committee or As- sociation, were filed on Tuesday, Sept. 30, 1885, the incorporators being E. A. O'Neal, W. S. Reese, W. L. Bragg, Josiah Morris, William B. Jones, W. W. Screws, William W. Allen, Jacob Griel, John W. A. Sanford, H. A. Herbert, J. B. Gaston, Thomas G. Jones, H. C. Tompkins, J. H. Higgins and D. S. Rice. W. S. Reese was elected chairman and T. J. Rutledge secretary of the board of incorporators.
It was under the auspices of this organization that Mr. Davis came to Montgomery in April, 1886, and laid the corner stone of the pres- ent noble and everlasting monument to the Confederate soldiers of Alabama.
The men who started the work of building the monument, and all who aided them, have cause to feel grateful for the glorious result.
It took only a short while to develop the fact that no matter how earnest or industrious they might be, they would not be able to carry out their plans.
In this emergency, the Ladies' Memorial Association, established to keep alive and perpetuate the memories of the Confederate sol- diers, stepped into the breach. They undertook the arduous task, and yesterday's work tells how nobly they have succeeded. By con- stant effort they raised a portion of the funds through their indi- vidual labors. They also obtained two appropriations from the Legislature. It was eminently fit that the State should aid to the extent that it did, for no true Alabamian or genuine American can object to the State's paying proper tribute to the Confederate sol- dier.
With the placing in their appropriate spots on the monument of
