NPS Form 10-900 (Rev. 8-86)

Qnited States Deparkment of the lnterior 3tional Park Service

. --=

NATIONAL REGfSTER OF HISTORIC PLACES REGZSTRATION FORM

NR LISTED

----------------------------=-------------------------- ............................ -------------------------- AwP============= 1. Name of Property --------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------+---------------------------------------------------------

historic name: David 0. Dodd Memorial

o t h e r narneisite number: PU4847S

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- ........................................................................... 2 . Location ........................................................................... -------------------------------------------------+-------------------------

street & number: 3 0 0 W. Markham Street ( O l d State House qrounds. south lawn, west s i d e )

not f o r publication: N/A

city/town: L i t t l e Rock vicinity: N/A

s t a t e : a county: Pulaski code : AR 119 z i p code: 72201

.......................................................................... .......................................................................... 3 . Classification ------------------------*+------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------------------------+---------------

Ownership of Property: Public-state

Category of Property: Obiect

Number of Resources withfn Property:

Contributing Noncontributing

buildings sites structures

1 objects 1 0 Total

N u m b e r of contributing resources previously l i s t ed in the National Register: NJA

Name of related multiple property listing: "Somethins So Dim It Must Be HOLY:" Civil W a r Commemorative Sculpture in Arkansas, 1886-1934

----------------------==------============================================= 4 . State/FederaL Agency Certification ----____--___------------------------------------+----------------------hd- ........................................................................... As the designated authority under the National Historic ~reservation A c t ~f 1986, as amended, I hereby certify that this X nomination zquest for determination of eligibility meets t h e documentation

-standards for registering properties in the National Register of Historic Places and meets the procedural and professional requirements set f o r t h in 36 CFR Part 6 0 . In my opinion, t h e property X meets

does not meet t h e National Register Criteria. See continuation shee

3 *LC -96 Date

Arkansas Historic Preservation Prosram State or Federal agency and bureau

In my opinion, the property X meets does not meet t h e National Register c r i t e r i a . - See continuation sheet.

Signature of commenting or other official Date

S t a t e or Federal agency and bureau

........................................................................... --------------------------------------------------+------------------------

'. National Park Service Certification ==========================================================================

I, hereby certify t h a t this property is:

- entered in t he National Register - See continuation sheet.

determined el ig ible £or t h e National Register - See continuation sheet. determined not eligible f o r the National Register removed from the National Register

other (explain) :

Signature of Keeper Date of Action

........................................................................... ........................................................................... 6 . Function or Use ........................................................................... ........................................................................... Historic: RECREATION AND CULTURE Sub: Monurnent/marker

t lrrent: RECREATION AND CWLTURE Sub: Monurnent/marker

........................................................................... ........................................................................... 7. Descriptf on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Architectural Classification:

O t h e r ~ e s c r i p t i o n : M/A

Materials: foundation G r a y marble roof NJA walls White marble other

Describe present and historic physical appearance. - Seecontinuation sheet.

The David 0. Dodd Memorial at L i t t l e Rock in Pulaski County faces east on t h e south lawn of the w e s t side of the O l d S t a t e House, located at 300 West Markham. It was ordered f r o m t h e V e r m o n t Marble Company a£ Proctor, Vermont, but the actual artist is unknown. It is a re l ie f portrait of a young male with longish hair looking straight ahead. The relief is carved within an oval shape w i t h the t i e arranged as a decorative flourish at the base of the oval. The carving, w i t h dimensions of 14"xl2"x3 ' I , is made of white rnarbf e and is placed in t h e upper portion of t h e column component of t h e base of the lonurnent. The base is made of grey marble and stands 52ux144tvx44H.

Elaboration

The David 0. Dodd Memorial at Little Rock in Pulaski County faces east on t h e sou th lawn of t h e w e s t side of t h e Old S t a t e House, located at 300 West Markham. It w a s ordered f r o m the V e r m o n t Marble Company of Proctor, Vermont, but the actual a r t i s t is unknown. It is a relief portrait of a young male w i t h longish hair looking straight ahead. The relief is carved within an oval shape with t h e tie arranged as a decorative flourish at the base of the oval. The carving, with dimensions of 1 4 M x 1 2 v x 3 M , is made of white marble and is placed in the upper portion of the column component of the base of the monument. The base is made of grey marble and stands 5 2 ~ x 1 4 4 ~ ~ 4 4 ~ ~ ,

Inscribed on t he east s ide of the center shaft is "DAVID 0 . DODD / ARKANSAS BOY MARTYR / OF THE CONFEDERACY BORN NOV. 10, 1846 / EXECUTED JAN. 8 , 1864 J ' A y e , such w a s the love of the boy fo r his Southland, / Such his endurance, h i s courage, / his pride, J That e'er he'd betray h i s own / beloved band / He sacrificed a l l , and s i l e n t l y d i e d . ' / J . T . C . "

The proper r i g h t panel of the east s ide of the base contains t h e inscription "DAVID OWEN DODD, A SOUTHERN BOY OF 17, WHEN LEAVING FOR HIS / HOME IN THE SOUTHERN PART OF THE STATE, WAS ARRESTED, TRIED / BY FEDERAL COURT MARTIAL AND HANGED IN FRONT OF OLD / ST. JOHN'S COLLEGE, LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS."

n the proper l e f t panel of the e a s t side of the base is the inscription "'"PAPERS FOUND ON DAVID'S PERSON R E W E D VALUABLE INFOFNATION / TO THE CONFEDERATE FORCES. FREEDOM WAS OFFERED IF HE WOULD / D I W L G E THE NAME OF

HIS INFORMANT, BUT HE PREFERRED DEATH / TO DISHONOR."

The top center of the base block contains the inscription "ERECTED BY THE VETERANS, j' DAUGHTERS AND SONS OF THE / CONFEDERACY OF ARKANSAS. / UhWEILED, gOVEMBER 10, 1923 .'"

Chere is considerable s t a i n and sugaring on t h i s monument, and the base components are separating. Bird guano and black crusts also are present. It is fenced off from the public.

=========================================================================== 8 . Statement 02 Significance --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --+------------------------------------------------------------------------

Certifying of f i c i a l has considered t h e significance of t h i s property in relation to other properties: Statewide

Applicable National Register Criteria: A

Criteria Considerations (Exceptions) : B . F

Areas of Significance: SOCIAL HISTORY

Period Is) of Significance : 1923

Significant Dates: 1923

Jignif i c a n t Person (s) : N/A

Cultural Affiliation: N/A

~rchitect/Buikder: Unknown Vermont Marble Company

State significance of property, and justify cr i te r ia , cr i ter ia considerations, and areas and periods of significance noted above. - See continuation s h e e t .

Summary Criterion A, statewide significance Criteria Considerations B and F

The David 0. Dodd Monument is associated w i t h the historic context "Somethinq So Dim It Must Be Holym : Civil War Commemorative Scul~ture in Arkansas, 1886- 1934 as a commemorative monument f i nanced and erected through t h e efforts of veterans' and ancestral organizations in Arkansas. As such, it is eligible under Criterion A w i t h statewide significance for its associations w i t h the efforts of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, United Confederate Veterans, and k i t e d Daughters of the Confederacy to re f lec t m e m b e r s ' perception of the a b l e character and valor of t h e i r veterans and their cause. Thus, it a l s o

n e e t s the eligibility requirements of Cr i t e r i a Consideration F: Commemorative Properties.

Elaboration

David 0. Dodd had only recently turned 17 when, on the night 05 December 29, 1863, he was stopped and questioned by Union troops as he passed through heir lines on the Military Road, 10 miles west of Little Rock. Since h i s

,crave1 pass had been confiscated by a Federal so ld ie r earlier in the day, he had no form of identification o the r than a notebook containing odd symbols. When it was discovered that these symbols were a code that revealed Union troop strength and location in L i t t l e Rock, Dodd was immediately arrested and jailed in the McHenry House on Stagecoach Road (NR 6/22/70]. After a six-day t r i a l by a military tribunal, he was found guilty and sentenced to death. On the eve of h i s execution, Union General Fredrick L. Steele visited Dodd and offered to release him if he would reveal the source of t h e encoded information. Dodd refused, allegedly saying, "1 thank you for your good wishes and kind of fe r s , bu t I must say that I will not betray a friend, and like Nathan Hale, I regret t h a t I only have but one life to give to my country. "

Dodd's hanging took place at St. John's College, near what is now 11th and McAlmont Streets, at 3 P.M. on January 8 , 1864. A crowd af 5,000 showed up to watch the proceedings, exceeding Little Rock's total populati~n 02 4 , 8 0 0 . The execution was a bungled affair from t he start, as t h e executioners forgot a bl indfo ld (Dadd himself provided a handkerchief) . Me was too l i g h t f a r t h e hanging rope to break h i s neck, and a replacement rope was so e las t ic t h a t his feet touched t he ground. After an agonizing eight minutes of dangling, Union soldiers pulled on his feet to end his pain. Federal officers refused to allow flowers or a f u n e r a l procession out of fears t h a t it would start a riot. Dodd's stoicism, loyalty to the Confederacy, and tragic death made h i m a heroic figure to many Southerners, as he became known as ' t h e Nathan Hale

' %f Arkansast1 or "the boy martyr of the Confederacy."

Dodd's legacy persisted for decades af te r t he w a r and became an integral par t of Arkansas's nostalgia for and glorification of the Confederacy. In 1913, L i t t l e Rock schoolteacher Miss Mary Fortner divided her history class into t w o groups, Dixie G i r l s and American Heroes, f o r the purpose of studying the nation's greatest citizens. Dodd was t h e favorite of t h e class, which under the leadership of Kathleen Kavanaugh, President of the Dixie G i r l s , and P. J. Price, President of the American Heroes, began a crusade to establish a permanent record of his actions. T h e i r original plan to create a $1,000,000 childrenv s hospital in his honor was set back by the onset of World War I, so they suggested building a monument. At t h i s point, the United Daughters of the Confederacy, Sons of Confederate Veterans, and United Confederate Veterans stepped in, raised the money, and organized t h e monument campaign.

On November 10, 1923, the David 0. Dodd Memorial was dedicated at the War Memorial Building, what is now the O l d S t a t e House. Featured speaker M. E. Dunaway called Dodd '@as great as any hero i n history, and explained that "he was not a matured man who knew what he was going i n t o when he undertook f o r the Confederate General t he task of collecting information concerning t h e Northern forces, yet he put honor above life . " GOY. McRae was present at the ceremony and remarked that Arkansas was the only state to have monuments to heroes from each American war. Kavanaugh and Price outlined the origins of the monument's development, and Mrs. Josie F. Cappleman of the U . D . C . read a letter from Dodd" sisters in Washington, D . C . , expressing t h e i r appreciation -or the memorial. A band played patriotic music throughout t h e program, and ,iris decorated t h e base with flower arrangements.

Historic photos show that t he monument was originally placed directly in f ron t of t h e cent ra l "temple" of t h e Greek Revival-style O l d State House; it

is now located on the southwest comer of the lawn. However, it is still on the same grounds on which it was originally installed, so c u r r e n t location s t i l l meets the integrity of setting and location requirements of Criterion Consideration B.

"he David 0. Dodd Monument i s associated with the historic context nSomethinq So Dim It Must Be Holrn: Ckvil Was Commemorative Sculpture in Arkansas, 1886- 1934 as a commemorative monument financed and erected through t h e efforts of veterans' and ancestral organizations in Arkansas. As such, it is e l ig ib le under Criterion A w i t h statewide significance for its associations w i t h the efforts of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, United Confederate Veterans, and United Daughters of the Confederacy to lretlect membersr perception of the noble character and valor of their veterans and their cause. Thus, it also meets the eligibility requirements of Criteria Consideration F: Commemorative Properties.

=========================================================================== 9 . M a S o t Bibliographical References ------------------------------------------------------------------+-------- -------+-------------------------------------------------------------------

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Jan. 5 , 1994, P. 10 B.

Pine Bluff Commercial, Ju ly 22, 1973, unpaginated clipping.

Arkansas Gazette, Nov. 11, 1923, p. 11.

Undated Arkansas Gazette clipping.

- See continuation s h e e t .

previous documentation on file FNPS1 :

- preliminary determination of individual listing ( 36 CFR 67 ) has been requested.

- previously listed in the National Register - previously determined e l i g i b l e by t he National Register - designated a National Historic Landmark - recorded by Historic American Buildings Survey # - recorded by Historic American Engineering Record #

P r i m a r y Location of Additional Data:

X State h i s t o r i c preservation off ice - O t h e r state agency b

Federal agency - Local government - University - Other - - Specify Repository: . .

____--_--_----__--------------+-------------------------------------------- _________________f_----------------d----------k-dd-----------------------d-

10. Geographical D a t a =======- - - - - - -========P=======T============================================

Acreage of Property: Less than one

UTM References: Zone Easting Northing Zone Easting Northing

- See continuation sheet.

?

Verbal Boundary ~escription: - See continuation sheet.

The monument the boundaries of which form a circle with a radius of 25 feet centered on the monument itself.

~ u n d a r y Justification: - See continuation sheet,

This boundary inc ludes a l l the property historically associated with this resource.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- ........................................................................... 11. Form Prepared By --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----d--h--dd-------------------------------4-------------------------------

Name/Title : ~ o h n later, special projects I n t e r n J M P P Staff

Organization : Arkansas Historic Preservation Proqram Date: 02/13/96

Street & N u m b e r : 323 Center Street, Suite 1500 Telephone : (501) 324-9880

City or Town: L i t t l e Rock State: a Zip: 72201