HARPERS FERRY, West Virginia, USA – das Shepherd Monument befindet sich im Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, West Virginia. Das Denkmal ist Heyward Shepherd gewidmet, einem freien Afroamerikaner, der 1859 während John Browns Razzia getötet wurde, und wurde 1931 von konföderierten Kulturgruppen errichtet. Seine Inschrift und Geschichte haben es zu einem Gegenstand der fortwährenden historischen Debatte und Interpretation gemacht.
4451 x 6669 px | 37,7 x 56,5 cm | 14,8 x 22,2 inches | 300dpi
Aufnahmedatum:
16. Juni 2013
Ort:
Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, United States
Weitere Informationen:
Photograph by David Coleman. The Shepherd Monument in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, is a controversial historical marker that embodies complex narratives of race, memory, and the Civil War era. Erected in 1931 by the United Daughters of the Confederacy and the Sons of Confederate Veterans, the monument commemorates Heyward Shepherd, a free African-American man who was the first casualty of John Brown's famous raid on October 16, 1859. Shepherd, employed as a baggage master for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, was fatally shot during the early stages of Brown's attempt to seize the federal armory and initiate a slave uprising. The monument's inscription characterizes Shepherd as an "industrious and respected colored freeman" and portrays his death as an example of African-American loyalty to the existing social order, despite the raid's intention to end slavery. The monument's text and the circumstances of its erection have been subjects of historical controversy. Critics argue that it represents a "Lost Cause" ideology, which sought to romanticize the Confederate cause and downplay slavery's role in the Civil War. The timing of the monument's dedication in 1931, during the Jim Crow era, adds another layer to debates about its intended message and contemporary significance. Located within Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, the Shepherd Monument is now part of a broader historical landscape that includes sites related to John Brown's raid, the Civil War, and African-American history. The National Park Service provides context for the monument, encouraging visitors to consider multiple perspectives on this complex period of American history.
