Three days after the statue was splashed with discoloring chemicals1, the “Memorial to Company A, Capitol Guards” was placed on May 15, 1911 by “Friends And Relatives Of The Capital Guards And By The Citizens Of Little Rock Under The Auspices Of The Robert C. Newton Camp, United Sons of Confederate Veterans”2.
The memorial consists of a bronze statue by Rudolf Schwarz, of a soldier dressed in his Confederate uniform holding his bayoneted rifle to his front in both hands, with the Company’s roster of 70 names appearing on the back of the memorial2.
The Capital Guards were a local militia unit which particpated in the seizure of the arsenal in Little Rock in February 18612. The unit was designated Co. A of the 6th Arkansas Infantry during the Civil War and served in the Arkansas Brigade of Gen. Patrick Cleburne’s Division2. The unit fought with the Confederate Army of Tennesse in battles east of the Mississippi River including Shiloh, Perryville, Murfreesboro, Liberty Gap, Chickamauga, Tunnel Hill, the Atlanta Campaign, Spring Hill, Franklin, Nashville and Bentonville2.
Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr. stated the following plans on June 16, 2020, 9:30PM the evening of the statue’s removal: “The statue will be stored until it can be determined where it will be transported. The base is covered and will also be removed soon. The City will work with the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage, and Tourism to find a suitable place for the statue to be viewed in a comprehensive historical context."3
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