Commems Collection Classic: 1925 Stone Mountain Memorial - Randolph Speech Udc Convention Part I

This two-part post is a bit long, but, IMO, the speech discussed provides some interesting insights into the Stone Mountain Memorial Half Dollar at the time of its launch - I believe it's worth a few minutes to read!


On November 19, 1924, Hollins Nicolas.Randolph, President of the Stone Mountain Confederate Monumental Association, was the featured speaker at the Annual Convention of the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) in Savannah, Georgia.

In his opening remarks, Randolph referred to the group as "the repository of the traditions and sentiment of the South and its historic achievements, maintaining its reputation before the Nation and before the world as perhaps no other influence could." The UDC was organized on September 10, 1894 in Nashville, TN.

Randolph's speech provided updates regarding the activities and progress of the Monumental Association pertaining to the Memorial. The tone of the address also illustrated the hope and optimism present before the struggles of trying to profitably sell five million coins weighed the organization down.

The speech was far too long for me to reproduce here, but I think a few excerpts from it will provide a good flavor of its message.

To help "set the mood" for his address about the Stone Mountain Monument, Randolph paraphrased a statement made at the 1896 dedication of the Battle of Cowpens Monument in Spartanburg, SC:

"A land without monuments, is a land without memories."

(The original quote by SC Court of Appeals Judge Christian was: "A land without memories is a land without history; a land without monuments is a land without heroes.")

Randolph certainly connected with the sentiments of his audience when he stated:

"It is sufficient to say that of all the wars of all the ages past, that war [the US Civil War] was, in many respects, the fiercest, the deadliest and the most heroic. The cause for which the Southern men of that period fought to the death was the same cause for which our ancestors fought when they wrested this fair land from the tyranny of George III and his Ministers. They fought for the liberty of the individual, for the home and for the great principle of local self-government. It was a titanic struggle and throughout its entire course the men of our fair Southland performed deeds of heroism and valor impossible of adequate description and, when it was ended, there was scarce a household left but was a house of mourning. From the humblest private to the greatest General deeds of valor were performed which will ever be the theme of poetry and song. "

When Randolph took to describing the planned Monument, it was at a time when Gutzon Borglum was still on the job and planning a grander memorial than was created:

"Under the almost inspired genius of Gutzon Borglum, the figures in the Central Group of the Monument are also in keeping with what they should be in any monument seeking to commemorate this, in my judgment, the greatest and most heroic event in human history. As you well know, the figures of General Lee, General Jackson, and President Davis, and the other four Confederate Generals in the Central Group, will stand out on the Mountain in marvelously heroic proportions. The Stone Mountain Memorial is, therefore, unique and distinctive in two important and essential respects: The figures are the greatest and the grandest ever attempted by the hand of man, and the Monument itself will endure forever."

Before getting into details of the Association's activities, Randolph took a few minutes to recognize important figures in the monument's history. First, Helen Plane of the UDC:

",,,originally conceived in the breast of one of the great women of the South-that noble and splendid woman. Mrs. Helen C. Plane, of Atlanta - an honored and, as I am told, an original member of the Atlanta Chapter of the Daughters of the Confederacy. It furnishes no surprise and was most fitting, that the idea of this great Monument was first conceived by one of the noble women of the South.

Let us all give praise unstinted to Mrs. Helen C. Plane and to the Daughters of the Confederacy, for without her and your great organization, there would have been no Stone Mountain Memorial."

Randolph also paid tribute to the Venable family:

"I never stand before an audience like this, nor at an hour like this, without recalling to my mind the generosity of Mr. Samuel H. Venable, and his nieces Mrs. Robert Venable Roper and Mrs. Coribel Venable Orme, because it was from them that the Stone Mountain Monumental Association received the gift of the site on the side of Stone Mountain where the great Memorial is being carved. I say, and have always said, that no occasion like this should be allowed to pass without an expression of gratitude, appreciation and sense of obligation of the Southern people to Mr. Venable and his two nieces for their generous and magnificent gift, without which, in my opinion, this great enterprise would have been impossible."

1925 Stone Mountain Memorial Half Dollar



For the conclusion of my overview of Randolph's speech, see:

- 1925 Stone Mountain Memorial - Randolph Speech to UDC Convention / Part II


For other of my topics on commemorative coins and medals, including much more on the Stone Mountain half dollar, see: Commems Collection.