In my own blog post about the Dowling statue, I wondered who the people behind the statue were, and how they managed to collect enough funding to erect the statue in the first place. At the time I was somewhat skeptical that I’d ever know the answers to those questions, but looking through the Houston Public Library archives I’ve actually found quite a few instances of documentation detailing just who those people were.
For example, the “Historical Souvenir Book” located in the archives, even as a document outlining the “Constitution and By-Laws” of Dick Dowling Camp 197 (pg. 1), does seem to offer some insight as to the motivations and workings of the people behind the statue. To combat the “wave of Lincoln propaganda” that the writers of this constitution claim is spreading “like the dangerous influenza” seems to be one of the main interests of the group. (pg. 10); particularly, with a focus on the “names of men of the South who have achieved great things.” (pg.11) The book even goes so far as to give a brief history of the Confederacy and the Civil War through the eyes of these men. But perhaps most exciting to read were the details on the statue itself: actual information about the fundraising efforts behind the monument. From a fund that “amounted to only $40” to a donation of several hundred dollars from the Hibernian Society of Houston, and even with details like the $250 donation of John H. Kirby, the book chronicles the birth of the statue. (pg. 18) Apparently, “entertainments were given by the Daughters of the Confederacy” as well, further implying some fund raising efforts beyond collecting money from members and other Camps.
In fact, another, more recent document in the archive goes into further description of the process. The “Houston Municipal Art Commissions Records” describes the fund raising as beginning in the late 1800s through the Camp and a committee “composed of Houston’s leading citizens”. (RGA33-b2f23-01) Even more historical Houston names show up in this document, with George Hermann, John T. Browne, and William P. Hobby each participating in the fund raising. (RGA33-b2f23-01) The document marks the price of the monument at $1909.25, and points out specifically that “most of the funds ($1,171) were raised at a St. Patrick’s Day entertainment,” in keeping with the history provided by the Souvenir Book. (RGA33-b2f23-01) Apparently, there was also a “Fourth of July party” to raise funds, beyond those collected by individuals and the Camp.
Learning about the fund raising process behind the monument has mostly answered my question from before, especially in coming to the realization that major Houstonians did lend a hand in the statue’s creation. However, the Historical Souvenir Book in particular has given me a few more things to think about; namely, just how radical were the people behind the Dowling statue, and other Confederate monuments? The Dick Dowling Camp makes it pretty clear that they do not think Lincoln deserves monuments of his own, and the book even goes so far as to disregard slavery as a minor issue before the war. This all seems like rather strange information to feature in an organization’s constitution, so I can’t help but wonder how much of the group was based solely on a need to keep a part of the Confederacy alive.
In response to your question, “Just how radical were the people behind the Dowling statue, and other Confederate monuments?” two particular authors stand out in their depiction of the need to commemorate the fallen Confederate dead, David W. Blight in his Race and Reunion and John R. Neff in Honoring the Civil War Dead. Both authors spend considerable time in their books looking at the centrality of memorialization, like that of the Dowling Statue to the cause of veterans and memorial groups following the Civil War. These groups according to both authors were not radical by any means. While groups such as the UCV, which played a very active role in the funding and building of the Dick Dowling statue, had originally started small with the intentions of providing aid to veterans and their families, by the time of the building of Dowling’s statue, “The best estimate of membership in the UCV seems to be 80,000 to 85,000 in 1903, a peak year.”(Blight, 276) By these numbers, the groups by themselves were not radical by any means n the nature of their gatherings. Nor was the Dowling statue in the greater context of the massive monument movements at the time, which we discussed in blog post 1. Overall these individuals were not radical at all in their interpretation of Dowling, as they instead continue to cling to this ideal representation of the “Lost Cause,” by simply applying it to the heroic and just interpretations of Dowling–a type of commemoration well within the social expectations of veterans groups at the time.