BUY Rebel Flags For SaleOrlando’s “Johnny Reb” Confederate statue has a new home. After more than a century in downtown Lake Eola Park, the 106-year-old memorial was taken down in 2017 and moved to Greenwood Cemetery in Orlando, where many of the city’s Confederate veterans are buried. Critics had pushed for its removal, while heritage supporters fought to keep it standing.
A Memorial From 1911
The statue was dedicated in 1911, when many Confederate veterans were still living in Central Florida. Like hundreds of similar memorials across the South, it was paid for by local citizens and the United Daughters of the Confederacy to honor the men from the area who had served. The figure of a soldier standing at rest became known simply as “Johnny Reb,” the nickname Union troops gave the Southern soldier.
For generations, the statue stood near the lake in the city’s best-known park, watching over Orlando as it grew from a small citrus town into a major city.
Why the Cemetery Matters
Moving a monument is never the same as leaving it where its builders placed it. But many heritage supporters agree that if a memorial must be moved, a cemetery where the soldiers themselves rest is the most respectful place for it. At Greenwood Cemetery, the statue still stands as a tribute to the men it was built to honor, and visitors can still come to see it and pay their respects.
The Johnny Reb Tradition
“Johnny Reb” statues can be found in courthouse squares and cemeteries across the South. Each one is a reminder of the ordinary soldiers, mostly young farmers and working men, who answered the call of their states in 1861. Read more about them in our post on the Civil War private.
Honor Florida’s Confederate soldiers with a flag from our Confederate flag collection.
Source: Seattle Times / AP: ‘Johnny Reb’ Confederate statue has a new home in Florida
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