Confederate Memorial (Arlington National Cemetery)
former monument at Arlington National Cemetery
The Confederate Memorial was a memorial at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, United States. It commemorated members of the armed forces of the Confederate States of America who died during the American Civil War. Authorized in March 1906, former Confederate soldier and sculptor Moses Jacob Ezekiel was commissioned by the United Daughters of the Confederacy in November 1910 to design the memorial. It was unveiled by President Woodrow Wilson on June 4, 1914, the 106th anniversary of the birth of Jefferson Davis, the President of the Confederate States of America, and removed on December 20, 2023.
During the memorial's presence at Arlington, the grounds changed slightly due to burials and alterations. Some major changes to the memorial were proposed over the years, but none had been implemented until December 2023. Since the memorial's unveiling, most United States presidents have sent a funeral wreath to be laid at the memorial every Memorial Day. Some presidents have declined to do so.
In 2022, the Naming Commission recommended that the Confederate Memorial be removed. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin agreed to implement the suggestion, and Arlington National Cemetery made plans for removing and relocating the Confederate Memorial by the start of 2024 at the latest.
The public source identifies “Confederate Memorial (Arlington National Cemetery)” as former monument at Arlington National Cemetery. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Confederate, Memorial and Arlington.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Confederate Memorial (Arlington National Cemetery)”, the useful work is to connect “former monument at Arlington National Cemetery” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 10, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q16950890. Authority coordinates are 38.876, -77.077. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1906, 1910, 1914 and 2023.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Confederate Memorial (Arlington National Cemetery)”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Confederate Memorial (Arlington National Cemetery) primary sources, Confederate Memorial (Arlington National Cemetery) archive and Confederate research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Confederate Memorial (Arlington National Cemetery)”?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Confederate Memorial (Arlington National Cemetery)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.