Civil War Monument
Photograph by Nancy Kurtz

Dedicated on September 23, 1948, the Confederate Monument in Ellicott City commemorates the citizens of Howard County who served in the Confederacy. With its embellished bronze relief plaque, it is an outstanding example of a tablet style monument. The Monument stands facing southwest on the lawn in front of the Howard County Courthouse. The monument is a gray granite horizontal tablet with a bronze relief plaque on the front. The coved cornice at the upper edge of the bronze plaque is shaped in a shallow arch, as is the top of the stone. The other three edges of the plaque are embellished with a border of twining foliage. The plaque is decorated with a low relief composition of overlapping elements: laurel wreath, drum, bugle, saber, rifle with bayonet, and flag. Below the design the plaque is inscribed: BY THE HOWARD COUNTY CONFEDERATE MONUMENT ASSOCIATION IN HONOR OF THE BRAVE MEN WHO FOUGHT SO COURAGEOUSLY IN THE CONFEDERATE ARMY Beneath the inscription is a listing of 92 names. The original patina of the bronze still exists, despite some light green corrosion at the lower edge. The relief design, the borders and cornice have a golden color patina, while the body of the plaque and raised inscription are brown. The stone is smooth on front, with a rock-face finish on the rear, sides and top. It is set on a low plinth of the same stone, with a smooth top and rock-face finish on four sides. On the courthouse lawn opposite the Confederate monument stands a granite monument identical in form but without a bronze plaque, dedicated to the citizens of Howard County who served in World War I, World War II, and the Korean Conflict. On the lawn in front of the monuments is a cannon from the War of 1812 Battle of Bladensburg. In May 1994 the monuments and cannon were washed with nonionic detergent and water, and the bronze plaque was treated with several coats of wax; the bronze plaque was given a maintenance cleaning and wax treatment in September 1998.

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