The Tar Heel Monday, August 18, 198621
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Tar HeelDan Charison
Silent Sam
Located between the Old Well and East
Franklin Street at the University's north entrance
is a well-known civil war monument nicknamed
Silent Sam.
Sam was erected in 1913 by the N.C. Division
of the United Daughters of the Confederacy to
memorialize the 321 alumni of the University who
died in the Civil War, as well as the 1,062 who
entered the Confederate Army. Canadian
sculptor John Wilson created him for $7,500
using Harold V. Langlois of Boston as a model.
The legend surrounding Sam says that his gun
is supposed to fire every time a virgin walks by.
Sam's gun, however, has been silent for as long
as anyone can remember.
On the base of the monument, a young woman
touches the shoulder of a young gentleman to
call him from letters to arms.
On April 22, Sam was taken to Cincinnati,
Ohio, for an $8,200 restoration to remove the
effects of the weather and the tannic acid from
trees and car exhaust from Franklin Street. His
original bronze color had turned to green.
If Sam can survive his ordeal in the land of
Yankees, he should return to his post in October
or November.
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The Old Well
At the heart of the campus stands the white
columned Old WelL the visual symbol of UNC.
For many years the Old Well served as the
sole water supply for Old East and Old West
dormitories, which gave rise to the campus joke
that the only place in Chapel Hill you could get
a bath was in jail.
Another well-known campus legend is that if
you take a sip of water from the Old Well on
Tar Heel John deViile
the first day of classes, you will do well
throughout the semester.
- The Old Well is pictured frequently on
University literature, Christmas cards and student
souvenirs.
It was given its present form in 1897 at the
suggestion of President Alderman, who said he
derived the idea largely from the Temple of Love
in the Garden of Versailles. The well was built
by a local lumberyard for $200.