New monument marks African American Civil War veteran who made Moorhead home
Dozens attend ceremony celebrating Felix Battles, who became one of Moorhead’s first barbers.
By C.S. Hagen, Inforum
MOORHEAD — Stories of community folk hero and Civil War veteran Felix Battles have been passed down through the generations.
And on Saturday, Nov. 4, those stories culminated into a monument commemorating Battles, a former slave valued at 13 years old for $600.
The metal monument stands in front of the Center for Business at Minnesota State University Moorhead, and is representative of Battles because there are no known photographs of the man.
Situated within steps of his original home near 11th Street and 8th Avenue South, the ceremony to mark the monument’s introduction drew a crowd of more than 60 people on Saturday morning.
The monument appears to be carved from steel, and was made to last more than a century, said Gracia Sanchez-Dekarske, a member of the Felix Battles Monument Committee.
“It is the perfect place for a statue of a Moorhead businessman,” said Sanchez-Dekarske, who also quoted another board member by saying the memorial “will be many things to many people, a remarkable man with a remarkable life.”
Battles was a barber in the early days of Moorhead.
The monument is also a way to honor more than 209,000 African American soldiers who fought during the Civil War, but whose bravery was later forgotten, said Sanchez-Dekarske.
The Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County was the organization behind investigating Battles’ life. The research wasn’t easy.