Monuments are often described as neutral markers of history, but they never have been. From the earliest days of the Civil War, monuments were raised not just to remember the dead, but to shape public memory, signal power, and define who belonged in the story of America. In this segment, we trace the political origins of Civil War monuments, beginning with the first Confederate memorial erected in 1861 and the deliberate choices that followed. We examine how monuments on courthouse lawns and public squares reflected ideology, not just remembrance, and how those choices echoed for generations. Understanding this history matters. Not to erase the past, but to see it clearly. Because when we recognize that monuments were political from the beginning, we can finally ask the right question: whose history was being honored, and whose was left unmarked?

For generations, a Confederate monument has stood outside the Franklin County Courthouse.

This video looks at that monument not to judge it, but to understand what it represents and how it fits into a larger conversation about memory and history.

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Franklin County, Virginia | USCT Monument Series Franklin County, Virginia is a community steeped in tradition, memory, and quiet persistence. Like many Southern towns, its public spaces have long reflected only part of the Civil War story. This opening segment sets the place. It explores Franklin County's landscape, its courthouse lawn, its streets, and the history that shaped what has been remembered and what has been left unsaid. As Franklin County prepares to unveil the first monument in Virginia honoring the United States Colored Troops, this series begins by asking a simple but necessary question: What does it mean to tell the full story, and why does place matter when we do? This introduction grounds the series in community, history, and the importance of public memory. ABOUT THIS SERIES This six-part series traces the journey toward recognizing the United States Colored Troops in Franklin County, Virginia. It examines history, memory, resistance, and reconciliation through local voices and national context.