Legacies: A History Journal for Dallas and North Central Texas, Volume 12, Number 1, Spring, 2000 Page: 7
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Trans-Mississippi Department of the United
Confederate Veterans in I894, it was a natural
development for Currie to organize a similar
group for women."
As her father's hostess, Currie traveled widely
to various Confederate reunions and celebrations
in the years prior to I894. In I893 she and her
father were invited to Birmingham, Alabama, to
unveil a bronze statue of a Confederate private.
The piece was to be the crowning cap to a monument
in Chicago for the 6,ooo Confederates
who died at Camp Douglas, a Union prisoner-ofwar
camp. Afraid that southerners would not
make the trip to Chicago, the group sponsoring
the monument unveiled the bronze private in
Birmingham.12
Currie wanted to see its final resting place, so
in the fall of 1893, she traveled to Chicago. In
addition to attending the monument's unveiling
at Oakwood Cemetery, Currie visited the World's
Columbian Exposition and Fair. There she
encountered a beautiful "white city," an entirely
planned industrial town, created by George
Pullman but sponsored by many organizations,
including a few that were exclusively female. She
was immediately entranced. When she returned
to Dallas, her mind was filled with plans, a
scheme that included creating a woman's club
that could agitate for the beautification and
moral uplift of her city.1 A Confederate monument
seemed the perfect choice. Women's groups
were sponsoring such memorials across the
country, and as Currie explained to The Dallas
MorningNews, "our city is sadly deficient in monuments
that would add so much to its attractiveness."14
Fundraising began in June of 1894 with a
concert at Phoenix Hall. Piano, cornet, and violin
solos entertained guests throughout the evening
until the grand finale when representatives from
each of the Confederate states entered the hall in
the order of their secession date. These women
bore flags with a single star, to represent Texas,
then formed a chorus singing the "songs of
Dixie." After refreshments and dancing, Currie
found her organization had collected the first $I25
toward their monument fund.15Katie Cabell Currie led the effort to erect a monument
honoring the Confederate dead.Over the next three years, Currie and
her fellow club members engaged themselves in
a variety of money-making enterprises. The
women served dinners each day during the state
Democratic convention held in August, netting
another $475. They arranged with State Fair officers
to hold a "Daughters of the Confederacy
Day" at the fair where they earned 15 percent of
the gate receipts in addition to a booth. By the
time of the organization's first anniversary, the
Daughters had collected $2,ooo.16
During the second year of its existence, the
Daughters of the Confederacy continued to raise7
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Dallas Historical Society. Legacies: A History Journal for Dallas and North Central Texas, Volume 12, Number 1, Spring, 2000, periodical, 2000; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth35100/m1/9/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Dallas Historical Society.