A confederate time capsule buried in 1895 was discovered Monday during the dismantling of the Confederate monument near the University of Louisville.
Although the contents of the capsule were covered in mud and unrecognizable, reports from the Courier-Journal at the time of its burying said it originally contained a cigar lit by Confederate President Jefferson Davis, a scarf one of his secretaries wore, and several thousand dollars in Confederate currency, among other items.
“It’s hard to say at this point whether the box was sealed at all,” Louisville public art administrator Sarah Lindgren said, the Courier-Journal reported. “It certainly isn’t now and pieces are falling apart.”
Lindgren said the city’s archives staff will dry and clean the items to see if any can be recovered. If so, they will be donated to the Filson Historical Society to be displayed to the public as part of an exhibit, the Courier-Journal reported.
The items in the box were reflective of what people thought was important at the time, Lindgren said. The Courier-Journal wrote the materials were related to “the South’s great men and her lost cause.”
Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer ordered the 70-foot-tall memorial statue to be moved amid debate about how best to preserve the history of the Confederacy. An injunction to block the removal was unsuccessful, and removal began Saturday.
The monument was donated by the Kentucky Women’s Confederate Monument Association. It will be moved more than 40 miles to Brandenburg, Kentucky, where it will be used during Civil War re-enactments.
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