CARVED ON A MOUNTAINSIDE
A giant-sized statue of three men riding horses is carved on the side of
Stone Mountain near Atlanta, Georgia. The men were three famous Southern
leaders—Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, and “Stonewall” Jackson.
During the Civil War, Jefferson Davis was President of the Confederacy,
as the South was then known. Robert E. Lee and “Stonewall ‘ Jackson were
the two most important generals in the Confederate Army.
This statue is so huge that once a small crowd of people sat on the
shoulder of the figure of General Robert E. Lee.
At first, sculptors used hammers and chisels to carve the enormous
statue. Later, they used dynamite to blast the stone so that the statue
would be easier and quicker to carve. Then, all work on the statue
stopped.
Years later, sculptors began again to carve the statue. This time they
used fire to cut into the stone mountainside. Finally, the statue was
completed. It took about 50 years from start to finish.
