The inscription The Daughters of Old Hampshire Erect This Tribute of Affection to Her Heroic Sons Who Fell in Defence of Southern Rights was selected, and the contract for the memorial's construction was awarded to the Gaddes Brothers firm of Baltimore.

The construction of the Confederate Memorial marked the beginning of an era of post-war revitalization for Hampshire County following the American Civil War.

[1] Later in the spring of 1866, a group of Hampshire County women held a public meeting to organize the Confederate Memorial Association with the mission of honoring the men who had died fighting for the Confederacy and providing financial aid to their families.

[1][7] This adornment in Indian Mound Cemetery has been called the first such public decoration of Confederate burials, but the claim is disputed by other towns in the Southern United States.

[5] Following the first decoration of the graves in 1866, momentum built for the erection of a permanent monument to the Confederate dead at Indian Mound Cemetery.

[3][8][9] Confederate veterans and others in Hampshire County undertook additional fundraising efforts, including entertainment shows and general solicitation.

[3][7][8] The first inscription finalist said the Confederate soldiers "died in defense of what they believed to be right", the second said they were "our sons and brothers, who fell as soldiers in the Confederate army", and the third, which was ultimately adopted by the committee, read in full: "The Daughters of Old Hampshire Erect This Tribute of Affection to Her Heroic Sons Who Fell in Defence of Southern Rights".

[2][7] According to United Daughters of the Confederacy historian Mary Bell Foote, the words "Southern Rights" were initially omitted from the end of the memorial's inscription during its fabrication due to the "bitter feelings at the time" following the American Civil War, and Federal statutes banning such monuments.

[2][4] The memorial's components were delivered to Indian Mound Cemetery on September 14, 1867, and it was erected at its present location by a group of Romney volunteers.

Bob Fisher was paid US$5.00 for raising the earthen mound around the monument's location and US$4.11 for providing lodging to one of the Gaddes brothers at his residence.

[2][7][12] The structure's pedestal consists of two major stylized blocks of white marble, topped by a sculpture of a cloth draped urn.

[2][10][12] Carved into the façade of the smaller top block of the memorial is a high relief that represents either Fame or an angel placing a laurel wreath upon the head of a dying soldier clasping his sword.

[2][12] Below, on the façade of the larger block, is the inscription: "The Daughters of Old Hampshire Erect This Tribute of Affection to Her Heroic Sons Who Fell in Defence of Southern Rights.

[1][2][5] On this day, participants in the ceremony march down Main Street (U.S. Route 50) through Romney with American Civil War reenactors carrying Confederate flags.

[2] The construction of the Confederate Memorial marked the beginning of an era of post-war revitalization for Hampshire County following the American Civil War.

Historian Caroline E. Janney averred that these "Ladies' Memorial Associations" used "gender in the interest of Confederate politics", which laid the groundwork for the establishment of the Lost Cause of the Confederacy belief.

[1][9][18] Romney's claim to have the first Confederate Memorial is disputed by Cheraw, South Carolina, as its monument was dedicated two months prior on July 26, 1867.