James Ryder Randall Statue, Augusta, Georgia

This statue is on Greene Street, Augusta, Georgia.

Front Inscription:

JAMES RYDER RANDALL1839 - 1908

Better the fire upon thee roll,

Better the blade, the shot, the bowl,

Than crucifixion of the soul,

Maryland, my Maryland

Back Inscription:

Erected by the

Randall Memorial Committee

of Chapter "A"

United Daughters

of the Confederacy

Augusta Georgia

May 28, 1936

James Ryder Randall, called the "Poet Laureate of the Lost Cause," is best known for writing the poem "Maryland, My Maryland," The poem was set to music by Jennie Cary, a member of a prominent Maryland and Virginia family. It became a war hymn of the Confederacy during the War Between the States. Today, "Maryland, my Maryland " is the state song of Maryland.

Although Maryland remained loyal to the Union during the War Between the States, it was only because Abraham Lincoln illegally arrested and imprisoned many members of the Maryland legislature before they could vote on secession. State Representatives and Senators from Maryland remained incarcerated throughout the duration of the war, without charges or trial. Maryland was occupied by invading Union troops and was under the military dictatorship of Abraham Lincoln during the war.

Among the state legislatures who were imprisoned was Francis Key Howard, a grandson of Francis Scott Key, author of the "Star Spangled Banner," America's national anthem. While imprisoned, Francis Key Howard wrote a book about his ordeal "to show how men who were guiltless were treated in this age, and in this country"