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As one travels across the southern United States, it is not unusual to find monuments and memorials to the Confederate dead in many small towns. In fact, these sculptural pieces, often composed of the same statues and plinths from the Monumental Bronze Co. of Bridgeport, Conn., can be found as far north as Pennsylvania and New York. A study in 2016 found some 1,500 monuments still standing.<ref>David A. Graham, "The Stubborn Persistence of Confederate Monuments," <i>The Atlantic</i>, April 26, 2016, http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/04/the-stubborn-persistence-of-confederate-monuments/479751/</ref> While in recent years these monuments have become a new source of political conversation their very erection was a movement by Confederate women.

The manner in which Confederate women's groups lobbied for government funds showed one aspect of their savvy in manipulating images of traditional womanhood. Rather than present themselves in a way which could be perceived as threatening to those men who were in positions to aid their goals, they instead portrayed both their organizations and efforts as in need of male assistance.<ref>Mills, <i>Monuments</i>, 18. </ref> This is particularly evident in the planning of dedication and memorial ceremonies - where male speakers who were sympathetic with either the local Ladies Memorial Association or the later chapters of the United Daughters of the Confederacy were placed in the front with a backdrop of aesthetically pleasing female figures. These female backdrops were often the relatives of prominent Confederate leaders or community members. This helped to reinforce that their importance and significance to the proceedings came through their association with men rather through their own merits - further allowing the women to continue their mission without causing affront through what would have been perceived as non-feminine pursuits.

====Working through grief====