Statue
honoring men to be unveiled
Alexander
Darnes and Kirby Smith
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Rare History
A.H.
Darnes and Kirby Smith were born at the same St. Augustine home and spent
a portion of their lives working side by side. In 1880, Darnes moved to
Jacksonville to practice medicine. A unique statue reunites the two men.
On
November 8th, the St. Augustine Historical Society dedicates a monument
to two of the city’s favorite sons, Dr. Alexander H. Darnes and General
Edmund Kirby Smith. The men were born and grew up within the same St. Augustine
household, although Darnes was approximately 16 years younger. Darnes was
son of black slave Violent Pinkney who was a servant in the Smith household.
..........
Left,
the only known photograph of Dr. A.H. Darnes. At right is Edmund Kirby
Smith. (Both photos are courtesy of the St. Augustine Historical Society.)
In
1855, Darnes left St. Augustine and headed to the western frontier to serve
as valet to Edmund Kirby Smith, then a captain in the U.S. Army, according
to Charles Tingley, Director for the St. Augustine Historical Society Research
Library. Darnes continued to serve Smith after Smith joined the army of
the Confederate States of America. Tingley says that Darnes is the only
African American private servant in either “the U.S. or Confederate Armies
to leave an autobiographical account of his experiences…”
After
the war, Darnes left the service of the Smiths to attend Lincoln University.
In 1880, he received a medical degree from Howard University and soon opened
a practice in downtown Jacksonville. He was the first Black physician in
Jacksonville —the second in Florida — and a highly respected member of
the local community. In fact, one Jacksonville newspaper account at the
time of his1894 death said more people gathered for Darnes’ funeral than
any funeral in the city’s history (see associated story next page).
The
monument to Smith and Darnes depicts the two men together in a lifesized
bronze sculpture. The sculptor is Maria Kirby-Smith who is the General’s
great granddaughter.
The
Saturday, November 8th unveiling at 10 a.m. is fittingly in the garden
of the Segui/Kirby Smith House, 6 Artillery Lane, the corner of Artillery
Lane and Aviles Street, St. Augustine.
In
the sculpture, “Dr. Darnes is portrayed with his doctor’s bag greeting
his former master and old friend Professor Edmund Kirby Smith of the University
of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, dressed in his academic gown. This
image circa 1885 shows how men of different races who grew up in the same
household were transformed by the War Between the States and became leaders
in their chosen new professions and communities,” said Tingley. Sculptor
Maria Kirby-Smith is shown at left.
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