By Shannon McFarlin WENK/WTPR News Director
Paris, Tenn.—Sharp-eyed visitors to the Henry County Courthouse may have noticed that the soldier on the front lawn once again has a rifle to lean on, thanks to the handiwork of County Maintenance Supervisor Jeff Charles.
The saga of the Confederate soldier’s rifle goes all the way back to 1943, when it was broken by overly enthusiastic students from the former Grove High, when they were decorating the monument for its football Homecoming celebration.
The monument was erected on the courthouse lawn in 1900. It is called “Private of ‘61” and was dedicated by former Governor James Porter of Paris during a ceremony. For many years, the statue was the gathering place for the reunions of local Civil War veterans.
What remained of the rifle steadily deteriorated over the years. “We pulled the old gun down, probably 10 years ago,” Charles said. “The original gun had just rotted in two after that accident.”
Without the gun, the statue has had a somewhat odd appearance in recent years, looking as if the soldier was leaning on nothing.
Charles and his father, Kenneth, who formerly was Maintenance Supervisor, had planned to restore it and replace it for years, he said. “But there was just no time to do it. Every time we wanted to get to it, something else would happen that needed our attention,” he said.
“We pulled the old gun down, probably 10 years ago,” Charles said. “The original gun had just rotted in two after that accident.”
Charles and his father are both local history lovers and thought it should be restored to the original condition. He finally found some extra time recently and fashioned a new gun, made of stainless steel metal, which “hopefully will not rust with time”, Charles said.
Charles used the old gun as a pattern and the new one is an exact replica of the way the old one looked originally, he said.
Photo by Shannon McFarlin.
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