Lawrence Sullivan Birthplace Marker (Bentonsport, Iowa)
Confederate
The Lawrence Sullivan Birthplace Marker remembers Civil War veteran, Lawrence Sullivan. Sullivan was born in Iowa and lived there for the first year of his life before moving with his family to Texas and eventually fighting for the Confederacy. Sullivan’s unique upbringing makes him Iowa’s only Confederate general. The marker is located along the Des Moines River in a park. It is a stone boulder, with a bronze plaque describing Sullivan’s life and accomplishments.
Monument type:
Stone – carved
Artist:
Dedication Date:
2007-09-22
Address:
Keosauqua
Van Buren
Iowa
USA
Inscription:
‘General Lawrence Sullivan ‘Sul’ Ross, CSA, was born in Bentonsport, Iowa, Van Buren County on September 27, 1838. His family moved to Texas in 1839, where he grew to manhood. In 1859, Sul Ross was commissioned a Captain in the Texas Rangers, fought Comanches, rescued Cynthia Ann Parker (Mother of Quanah Parker), and in 1861, enlisted as a Private in the 6th Texas Cavalry CSA. He rose rapidly through the ranks to become Brigadier General of the 6th Texas Cavalry and later Brigade Commander, Jackson’s Division, Forrest’s Cavalry Corps. Gen. Sul Ross took part in 135 battles, including Elkhorn Tavern, Corinth, the Atlanta and Franklin-Nashville Campaigns. He returned to Texas after the Civil War and served as Sheriff of McLennan County, Texas, Governor of Texas from 1887-1891, and President of Texas A&M University from 1891 until his death in 1898.
Frontiersman, Soldier, Statesman, Educator; A Native Son of Iowa, Adopted Son of Texas.
This plaque dedicated in 2007 by
Iowa Sons of Confederate Veterans
Texas Sons of Confederate Veterans
Marmaduke Chapter of Military
Order of Stars and Bars
Douds Stone ’
Want more Info? Click the Expand button below:
Expand
Conception Date:
Opening Date:
Material:
Bronze,stone
Size:
m x m x m
Creator:
Cost / Value:
Erected by:
Iowa and Texas Sons of Confederate Veterans
Funded by:
Iowa and Texas Sons of Confederate Veterans
Run by:
Indigenous Land
Peoria, Sauk, Fox, Kickapoo, Očhéthi Šakówiŋ
Organization/Curator:
Data Sources:
Benner, Judith Ann, ‘Ross, Lawrence Sullivan [Sul] (1838-1898)’, Texas State Historical Association, accessed 15 February 2024, https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/ross-lawrence-sullivan-sul.
Munson, Kyle, “Stupid liberals’ vs. white privilege: Iowa caught up in Confederate monuments debate’, The Des Moines Register, 25 August 2017, https://eu.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/local/columnists/kyle-munson/2017/08/25/americas-civil-war-over-confederate-monuments-takes-root-iowa/588650001/.
Patterson, Buddy, ‘A Brief History’, Sons of Confederate Veterans Texas Division, accessed 13 April 2024, https://scvtexas.org/about/.
‘Bentonsport Rose Garden’, Villages of Van Buren County, accessed 15 February 2024, https://villagesofvanburen.com/directory.html?item=1577.
‘Iowa’s Confederate General’, The Historical Marker Database, 19 November 2019, https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=2565.
‘Lawrence Sullivan Ross’, Wikipedia, accessed 15 February 2024, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Sullivan_Ross#Legacy.
‘Whose Heritage?’, Southern Poverty Law Center, accessed 12 April 2024, https://www.splcenter.org/whose-heritage.
Read below for one of our contributor’s reflections on this monument