At the beginning of searching through these archives, my primary interest was in discovering the behind-the-scenes machinations of putting up the statue of Dick Dowling. Much like Jocelyn, my interest became drawn instead to the newspaper articles and their representations of Dowling’s statue. However, I would like to posit that perhaps the reason for the representation of the Irish as the primary caretakers of the statue was not because of a flagging interest of Confederate groups, but this representation is instead the result of a shift in acceptance of the Confederacy as a part of Houston’s past. The Houston press may have wished to distance itself from such connections, and as such the Irish focus of the statue became more pronounced than when the statue was first created.
In 1959, Neta V. Taylor felt the need to compile a scrapbook of records pertaining to Dick Dowling and the construction of the statue in his honor that strove to place the United Confederate Veterans in the forefront of care and creation of Dowling’s statue. Despite this care of someone connected to the UCV placing so much effort into constructing a history of the statue, the newspaper articles of just one year before in the scrapbook focus almost entirely on the Irish Hibernians and downplayed the importance of his role as a Confederate soldier. A 1940 article discussed a memorial service for Dowling held by the UCV and the Daughters of the Confederacy. The article, while mentioning his Irish connection, focuses on the Confederate groups as being instrumental in the memorial and care of the statue. Eighteen years later, a newspaper article discussing the possibility of yet again moving the statue discusses the importance of the Irish nature of the Davis Guards under the header “Defeated Yankees.” This 1958 articles and others show a shift in the constructed memory of Dowling by the Houston press, one more focused on his Irish heritage than his military prowess.
Perhaps a leading motivation for Mrs. Taylor, her scrapbook creates an opposing constructed history of Dick Dowling’s statue to the press’ Irish-focused one of 1958. On one article that states that the statue “was financed by the Ancient Order of the Hibernians” she affixed a note stating categorically that this was just not true at all, that it was instead the veterans, who just happened to be Irish, who funded the statue. It is unclear who she anticipated would read this scrapbook, but clearly she wished to redress representation that she felt was incorrect. Another 1958 article discussing the theft of Dowling’s sword place a humorous light on the statue, but once again, the title, “Horrors! St. Patrick’s Day ‘Bout Here– and No Sword for Dick,” places a prominent focus on his Irish heritage. A much smaller adjacent article discusses the UCV observing Dowling’s Civil War victory twenty-five years earlier. Whether or not the UCV continued this event is unclear, but the press was certainly not shy of Irish care for the statue in future years.
By the time around the 1990s, press focus on the statue had shifted almost entirely to focus on Dowling’s Irish heritage. One possible source for this shows up in an article discussing the attempts to restore the statue. A state representative, Garnet Coleman, referred to Confederate statues in general as a “part of history [that] serve as a reminder of where we don’t want to be.” The article cites his representing a “predominantly black” portion of Houston as his certification for being able to discuss this topic. The selection of Coleman for a quote on this article which otherwise focuses strongly on city history seems to demonstrate an acknowledgement of dismissal of these statues due to their connection to the institution of slavery. By discussing Dowling as an Irishman rather than a Confederate soldier, the press was able to make Dowling “acceptable” to the public. Are there other motivations for this shift? Did the UCV continue to commemorate Dowling’s statue, or did the Irish truly completely take over in care for this landmark?