MACON, Ga. (AP) – Concealed in the base of a Confederate statue in central Georgia is a trove of historic artifacts and documents from the years soon after the battle between the states.
Among them: an 1878 letter from Confederate President Jefferson Davis, ahead of the monument’s dedication in Macon.
Examples of coins from the era and other artifacts are contained in a copper box – a time capsule of sorts – inside the statue in downtown Macon.
The statue was erected a decade after the Civil War, The Telegraph of Macon reports.
It’s one of several Confederate monuments at the heart of a nationwide debate about whether they should be removed.