Greene Publishing, Inc. Photo By Rick Patrick October 21, 2016
The monument dedicated to the memory of Madison's Confederate dead stands in Four Freedoms Park.
Rick Patrick, Greene Publishing, Inc.
Standing among the stately oak trees of Four Freedoms Park is a tall monument dedicated to the soldiers from Madison County who perished as a result of the American Civil War from 1861-1865. At the base of this monument are listed the names of 196 young men. Nearly 100 of these young men died as a direct result of combat action. Another 294 died while in military service (most likely of disease, which took many more lives than combat during the Civil War).
The total population of Madison County, in 1860, was 7,820. Of that number, 4,290 were slaves. When looking at just the numbers, roughly eight percent of the free population (almost four percent of the total population) of Madison County was lost during the war. Considering Madison County's latest population figures, that would be like Madison County losing 736 young men in a four year time span. When one takes into account the fact that these were young men, mostly ages 18-30, it's easy to see just how devastating that 294 number would have been at the time. A large portion of an entire generation was lost to that tragic conflict. One reason for this is the fact that so many young men from a particular community would serve together in the same unit or regiment. For example, the “Madison Eagles” unit from the 3rd Florida Infantry Regiment was a group of 165 young men from Madison County that served under the command of Capt. Thomas Langford. The 3rd Florida Infantry Regiment saw a great deal of action during the war, especially during the fall of Atlanta. Whenever soldiers from the same community were serving in such close proximity, one rifle volley or one bit of cannon fire could easily wipe out a significant portion of the male population of a community in an instant.
The names on the Civil War monument in Four Freedoms Park are not just names on a plaque. They represent a brother, son, or perhaps a father who was taken away far too soon. Let us never forget the sorrow and pain the families must have surely felt.