Signers Monument is a

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

obelisk An obelisk (; , diminutive of (') ' spit, nail, pointed pillar') is a tall, slender, tapered monument with four sides and a pyramidal or pyramidion top. Originally constructed by Ancient Egyptians and called ''tekhenu'', the Greeks used th ...

located on

Greene Street This is a list of notable streets in the city of Baltimore, Maryland, United States. A B D E F G K M P R Numbered streets See also *List of roads in Baltimore County, Maryland References {{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Stree ...

in Augusta,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

recognizing the state's three signatories of the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another state or failed state, or are breaka ...

George Walton George Walton ( – February 2, 1804) was a Founding Father of the United States who signed the United States Declaration of Independence while representing Georgia in the Continental Congress. Walton also served briefly as the second chief ex ...

Lyman Hall Lyman Hall (April 12, 1724 – October 19, 1790) was an American Founding Father, physician, clergyman, and statesman who signed the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of Georgia. Hall County is named after him. He ...

, and

Button Gwinnett Button Gwinnett ( ; March 3, 1735 – May 19, 1777) was a British-born American Founding Father who, as a representative of Georgia to the Continental Congress, was one of the signers (first signature on the left) of the United States Declaration ...

, all of whom are considered

Founding Fathers of the United States The Founding Fathers of the United States, often simply referred to as the Founding Fathers or the Founders, were a group of late-18th-century American Revolution, American revolutionary leaders who United Colonies, united the Thirteen Colon ...

. The remains of Walton and Hall lay beneath the monument, while Gwinnett's have not been located for certain.

Description

The

monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, historical ...

, dedicated in 1848, is located at Greene and Monument Streets in front of today's Augusta Municipal Center, which at the time was the location of City Hall. It is a granite obelisk, twelve feet square at the base and tapering to a height of fifty feet. A

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...

slab in its southern face is

engraved Engraving is the practice of incising a design on a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an inta ...

alto-relievo Relief is a sculpture, sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''wikt:relief, relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give ...

with the

coat of arms of Georgia The coat of arms of Georgia is one of the national symbols of Georgia. The coat of arms is partially based on the medieval arms of the Georgian royal house and features Saint George, the traditional patron saint of Georgia. In addition to St. ...

and the names of Gwinnett, Hall, and Walton. The edifice was designed by Robert French and was originally surrounded by a substantial iron railing.

Re-burial of signers Walton and Hall

The initial plan for the monument was to bury the remains of the three

Founding Fathers The Founding Fathers of the United States, often simply referred to as the Founding Fathers or the Founders, were a group of late-18th-century American revolutionary leaders who united the Thirteen Colonies, oversaw the War of Independence ...

beneath its foundation stones. A committee was appointed to open the graves and superintend the removal and reburial of the men’s bones. In the case of Lyman Hall, his tomb on his plantation in Burke County was well marked, and his remains were easily identified. Locating George Walton's remains proved only somewhat more difficult. His family's burial ground was at Rosney plantation, about nine miles from Augusta, and while Walton's grave was unmarked, they were able to unearth his skeleton after a careful search of the site. The committee was able to identify the bones as Walton's based on damage to the right femur from a musket shot he had suffered during the British Army’s capture of Savannah in late 1778. The bones of Button Gwinnett could not be located. Gwinnett died in Savannah in 1777 following a duel with a political rival. While it was generally believed he had been buried in the old cemetery on Savannah's South Broad Street, now known as

Colonial Park Cemetery Colonial Park Cemetery (locally and informally known as Colonial Cemetery; historically known as the Old CemeteryGeorgia Historical Commission The Georgia Historical Commission was an organization created by the U.S. state of Georgia for purposes of historic preservation. The Georgia legislature created it in February 1951 to promote and increase knowledge and understanding of the his ...

to excavate a grave site in the Colonial Park Cemetery he suspected might be Gwinnett's. The dig turned up a badly-preserved skeleton but with an encouraging sign: its left femur was damaged in the area above the knee where Gwinnett had been shot in his duel. To authenticate the bones as Gwinnett's, the femur was sent to the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

for analysis. The institute's findings were that the skeleton was too short to be Gwinnett, that the femur was most likely a woman's, and the origin of its damage was ruled post-mortem. The analysis ignited a fierce political battle. After a review by a ballistics expert, who indicated the femur's damage was caused by a pistol ball, the controversy was referred to the city's historic commission, which issued a 34-page report declaring that "beyond a reasonable doubt" the remains were Gwinnett's. Following the commission report, the skeleton was re-interred at the Savannah cemetery in 1964 and a memorial was erected on the burial site in Gwinnett's honor. The mystery, however, remains unresolved. Based on a newspaper report published the week of the signer's death, most likely Gwinnett was buried at Colonial Park Cemetery, but nobody knows exactly where.

Dedication

When completed, the obelisk was dedicated with a ceremony, which took place on July 4, 1848. Judge William T. Gould pronounced the oration, and the

Masonic Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

ceremonies were conducted by the Honorable William C. Dawson, Grand Master of the Georgia lodge.

References

External links

Augusta Downtown Historic District
from

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

{{coord, 33.47164, N, 81.961546, W, display=title 1848 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) 1848 sculptures American Revolutionary War monuments and memorials Buildings and structures completed in 1848 Buildings and structures in Augusta, Georgia Granite sculptures in Georgia (U.S. state) Monuments and memorials in Georgia (U.S. state) Obelisks in the United States Tourist attractions in Augusta, Georgia Monuments and memorials to United States Founding Fathers