Silent Sam

Silent Sam is a statue of a Confederate soldier by John Wilson on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It is located on McCorkle Place, the university's upper quad; facing Franklin Street on the northern edge of campus.

The statue was funded by the University Alumni and the United Daughters of the Confederacy. It was erected in 1913 as a memorial to the 321 alumni who lost their lives in the American Civil War and all students who joined the Confederate States Army. More than one thousand members of the university fought in the American Civil War in either the Northern or Southern armies, comprising at least 40% of the student body, a statistic that was unequaled by any other school. Through the entirety of the Civil War, the University remained open. This was due to President Swain's policy of dependency on men unfit for combat. A bronze image on the front of the memorial depicts a young student dropping his books as he looks up to answer a call to duty. Under the student, a woman meant to signify North Carolina is depicted advising students to fight for an important cause even if it means leaving their studies. The statue was made to commemorate 50 years since the beginning of the war (1911).