Monuments Inscriptions on Union Monuments

CMWinkler

Colonel
Retired Moderator
Joined
Oct 17, 2012
Location
Middle Tennessee
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The Civil War monument in the Oswego County village of Pulaski is in front of the Barclay Courthouse. It was unveiled July 5, 1920 by the Sons of Union Veterans. The inscription reads: "In honor of the soldiers and sailors of the town of Richland who nobly defended the Union." On three sides of this monument are panels that list the names of soldiers killed during the Civil War. The names are organized by regiment.
 
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This Civil War Statue stands in Lakeside Cemetery in Pekin, IL. We are trying to gather more information regarding the Statue. Please contact the Tazewell County Museum with anything you may know about the Statue. On the back of the photo there is this inscription: The Soldiers Monument in Lakeside Cemetery was dedicated May 30, 1905. The inscription reads, "In memory of our soldiers of Pekin, Illinois. Erected by W.R.C. #236." The Woman's Relief Corps #236 met the second and fourth Friday afternoons each month at the G.A.R. Hall, 616 Court Street. The memorial statue honoring local Civil War soldiers still stands in good repair. This is one of a series of souvenir cards distributed by Ferd C. Pauley.
 
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1939

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Today, Portland Maine
Town/County: Portland/Cumberland Name: Our Lady of Victories
Location: Monument Square, Congress Street
Type: Sculpture Materials: Granite, bronze
Date Erected: 1889-91 Date Dedicated: October 28, 1891
Maker/Sculptor: Granite base designed by Richard Morris Hunt of New York; bronze sculpture by Franklin Simmons Source of Funding: Portland Soldiers and Sailors Monument Association
Principal inscriptions: Portland/To Her Sons Who Died/For The Union
References: William B. Jordan, Jr., Our Lady of Victories, A History of the Portland Soldiers and Sailors Monument, Portland, 1998
 
Thanks for starting these threads CMWinkler. I do love monuments to the Civil War soldier of BOTH sides. I really appreciate you striking a balance by honoring both.
Amen to that...beautiful constructions with so much significance in their construction, artwork and wording!!!
 
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SOLDIERS' MONUMENT
West end of the Green
156 West Main Street
Waterbury, CT
Dedicated: October 23, 1884
Type: Elaborate granite pedestal supporting bronze figures and bronze bas-reliefs
Sculptor, designer, supplier: George E. Bissell
Foundries: J. Gruet, Jr., Paris–figures except Emancipation, lamp posts,
and bas-reliefs; F. Barbedienne, Paris–Emancipation
Builder and stoneworker: Mitchell Granite Works
Other collaborators: A.I. & G.S. Chatfield, Waterbury,
laid foundation; Charles Jackson, Waterbury, laid circular retaining wall
Height: 48'
Historical Significance
SOLDIERS' MONUMENT, Waterbury, is significant historically because it represents the culmination of long-term effort on the part of citizens to honor Waterbury men who served in the Civil War.
First public mention of the need for a monument appeared in the Waterbury American on November 26, 1870, but no action was taken until the matter was addressed in the summer of 1880 by Wadhams Post, No. 49, of the Grand Army of the Republic. A fountain, hospital, school, and memorial hall were considered as alternatives to a monument, but in due course a monument was decided upon and the monument committee held a competition which drew 14 entries. Fourteen of the 16 members of the committee chose Bissell's entry. Names of others who participated in the competition are not known.
Bissell's design consisted of a granite column with bronze statues at the die and Liberty on top, the whole to be 60' high. This design was thought to be appropriate for the proposed location among tall trees in the center of the Green. After much debate, in 1883 the location was moved to the west end of the Green near Saint John's Church. The design thereupon was changed, to avoid comparison of its height with the height of the church steeple. The monument faces west, away from the Green.
The initial budget called for expenditure of $15,000, which was soon determined to be inadequate. Subsequent fund raising brought the amount to $23,252, realized from 1,150 individual contributions. Thereupon, a contract was entered into on April 24, 1882, with Bissell in the amount of $25,000. He was the general contractor responsible for all aspects of the project, not including the foundation, as well as the designer and sculptor. The period from February 1883 to September 1884 was devoted by Bissell, in Paris, to the monument. He let the contract for the stonework to Mitchell Granite Works of Quincy, Massachusetts, on February 11, 1884.
The inscriptions were selected and prepared by the Reverend Dr. Joseph Anderson. The fact that he addressed one poetical inscription to the postwar years 1865-1885 is unusual, perhaps unique, in Connecticut.
Erection of the monument was accomplished at the last minute. Against the scheduled dedication date of October 23, not a stone had been laid by October 9. Work went forward by night as well as by day. Night work was made possible by use of electric lights, a novelty that drew crowds of spectators. The dedication deadline was substantially met, although the bas-reliefs were not put in place until the following year, and the inscription on the north face was lettered in April 1886.
The dedication ceremony was a typical Civil War monument major civic event, arranged by a multitude of committees. It drew a huge crowd, which included the governors of three New England states and the two United States senators from Connecticut (Joseph R. Hawley and Orville H. Platt). The 2nd Regiment, Connecticut National Guard, was prominent in the line of march, along with G.A.R. posts from two dozen towns, bands, fire departments, and fraternal organizations such as the Ancient Order of Hibernians.
Artistic Significance
SOLDIERS' MONUMENT, Waterbury, is significant artistically because it is a major work of sculpture and stonecutting, planned and executed by and under the supervision of George E. Bissell. The size and expense of the monument in themselves make it noteworthy in Connecticut. The quantity of sculpture is large, two bas-relief panels, and five figures. The unity of the parts is also exceptional; even the light standards and globes were designed and executed as part of the whole. The stonework, as well, was Bissell's responsibility.
The allegorical symbolism beloved in the 19th century is fully affirmed. Each panel and figure speaks to values of duty, patriotism, and religion dear to moralists of the day, and to society as a whole. At the same time, the figures around the die articulate the American interest is realistic sculpture as an alternative to allegory. The fact that Bissell grasped the opportunity to address emancipation and education of African Americans in this work as early as 1884 indicates progressive thinking on his part.
George Edwin Bissell (1839-1920) was born in New Preston, Connecticut, the son of a quarryman and marble worker. At 14, G.E. Bissell became a clerk in a Waterbury store, then attended Gunnery School at Washington, Connecticut. Soon he served as a private in the 23rd Regiment, Connecticut Volunteers. After the war he resumed work in stonecutting with his family in Poughkeepsie, New York, and at age 32 received his first commission as a sculptor. Thereafter, he studied in Paris, Florence, and Rome. For the Waterbury SOLDIERS' MONUMENT commission he returned to Europe both to do the modeling and to have the bronze pieces cast. The classical character of the sculpture, the allegories that it articulates, and the locale for the modelling and casting all express the 19th-century classical European tradition in art and aesthetics.
Other Connecticut Civil War monuments by Bissell include CHATFIELD MONUMENT, Waterbury; COLUMBIA/UNION/FREEDOM, Salisbury; WINCHESTER SOLDIERS' MONUMENT, Crown Street, Winsted in Winchester; and UNION MONUMENT, Colchester. He sculpted the monument for Scottish-American soldiers who fought in the Civil War, dedicated in 1893 in Edinburgh, Scotland. In non-Civil War work, Bissell produced the Elton Vase and private grave markers in Riverside Cemetery, Waterbury; busts and portrait sculpture at various locations; the Robert Burns monument at Ayr, Scotland; a statue of Abraham Lincoln at Edinburgh; General Horatio Gates at Saratoga; the naval group on the Admiral George Dewey arch; and many others. He received numerous honors and awards.
Description
SOLDIERS' MONUMENT, Waterbury, is a large elaborate memorial in granite and bronze facing west, away from the Green, at the western end of the Waterbury Green. Due to changes in the street pattern to accommodate one-way traffic, the monument is now an island surrounded by roadways which separate it from the Green. Bas-relief bronze panels fill the east and west faces of the pedestal base, four bronze figures stand in front of niches in the dado, and an allegorical bronze female figure of Victory crowns the composition. It is dedicated to all from Waterbury who served in the Civil War.
The monument stands in the center of an 18"-high circular retaining wall of Quincy granite, which is 40' in diameter. The circular outline is broken at points corresponding with the four corners of the monument by projecting pedestals, which rise 2' above the coping to serve as supports for bronze lamp posts 9' high. Each lamp post consists of a cannon standing erect upon a cannonball, with four guns resting against it. Festoons of oak leaves and laurel encircle the base of the post, while a laurel wreath hangs across the trunnions of the cannon. The octagonal iron-and-glass globe at the top increases in dimension as it tapers upward. The posts are marked with names of the sculptor and the foundry, G.E. BISSELL 1884 and GRUET Jnr FONDEUR.
The monument is supported by a 20'-square rubble-stone foundation set 10' deep; the bluestone coping of the foundation serves as a sub-base for the monument. Three risers of speckled gray granite support a 12'-square die, which is 4' high. The panels on its east and west faces are 9 1/2' wide by 2 1/2' high. They are defined at the ends by erect Roman fasces. The subject of the bas-relief in the west panel is the charge of 40 Federal troops upon a Confederate battery. The east panel is a scene of the battle at sea between the iron-clads Monitor and Merrimac. Medallions in the upper corners depict President Abraham Lincoln, John Ericsson, the inventor of Monitor, and a naval officer who is skeptical of the ship (Anderson, p. 46).
The die above the panels is 16 1/2' high on a base 8 1/2' square. Its shaft is 6 1/2' square by 9' high, with Ionic corner pilasters at the corners flanking rounded niches on each side. The capitals of the pilasters are connected by swags.
The four figures in front of the niches, while realistically sculpted, have symbolic meanings for both the pre-war and postwar eras. On the east, and representing the pre-war industrial East of the United States, is a mechanic who holds in one hand a drawn sword. He has heard the call to arms and has sprung to his feet. Representing the agricultural West, a weather-beaten farmer has seized his gun as he moves forward to join the ranks. Postwar, on the north, a veteran rests besides a comrade's grave. At his feet are the emblems of victory and reconciliation--the laurel wreath and palm branch.
On the south face of the pedestal a sculptured trio symbolizes opportunities arising consequent to the war. The central female figure, holding a book in her lap, is seated in front of an eagle whose beak supports the word Emancipation, the theme of this sculpture. Her right foot rests on a cannon beside which is a broken shackle, symbolizing the war's success in freeing the slaves. A well-dressed school boy stands at her left knee, while a ragged African American child sits at her left on a bale of cotton in the act of reaching for the book on her knee.
In contrast to the four pedestal figures which are only slightly more than life size, Victory, on top, is 10 1/2' high. Her right arm is partly raised, supporting the right hand which grasps a laurel wreath; her extended left hand holds an olive branch; and at her feet is a cornucopia overflowing with rich fruits of the land--symbolizing victory of the North, peace extended to the South, and, by the horn of plenty, prosperity in the future.
Lettering
Front (west) face of third riser of base, left, incised caps:
G.E. BISSELL
Same, rear:
MITCHELL GR. WORKS/BUILDERS
North face base of pedestal, incised caps on polished field:
BRAVE MEN, WHO, RALLYING AT YOUR COUNTRY'S CALL,
WENT FORTH TO FIGHT, - IF HEAVEN WILLED, TO FALL!
RETURNED, YE WALK WITH US THROUGH SUMMER YEARS,
AND HEAR A NATION SAY, GOD BLESS YOU ALL!
BRAVE MEN, WHO YET A HEAVIER BURDEN BORE,
AND CAME NOT HOME TO HEARTS BY GRIEF MADE SORE!
THEY CALL YOU DEAD; BUT LO! YE GRANDLY LOVE,
SHRINED IN THE NATION'S LOVE FOREVER MORE!
1865-1885

Sources
Anderson, Joseph, History of the Soldiers' Monument in Waterbury, Conn. (Waterbury: Printed for the Monument Committee, 1886).
Baruch, p. 17.
Laredo Taft, The History of American Sculpture (New York: Macmillan Company, 1924), pp. 245-247.
Waterbury American, November 26, 1870.
Waterbury Republican, October 21, 1884.
http://www.chs.org/finding_aides/ransom/127.htm
 
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Archive for the ‘Civil War’ Category

“Your Classmate and Friend”

Posted in College History, Amherst College Alumni, Amherst College Faculty, Civil War, Henry Reuben Pierce, Frazar Stearns, Battle of New Bern, tagged Amherst College Alumni, Henry Reuben Pierce, Frazar Stearns, Battle of New Bern on March 4, 2013 | Leave a Comment »
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“The work of life is earnest and requires earnest men. That success may crown your efforts is the wish of your Classmate and Friend, H. R. Pierce. Natus Jan. 2nd, 1828, Coventry Vt.”
When popular Amherst College student Frazar Stearns died shortly before noon on March 14, 1862, in the Battle of New Bern, North Carolina, another Amherst man lay dead nearby.
They probably did not know each other. Frazar was young and handsome and still in school (Class of 1863), while the other man had graduated with the Class of 1853 and was a teacher, a husband, and a father. He was also not the son of William Augustus Stearns, the sitting president of Amherst College. The college and town were overwhelmed by Frazar’s death, and those Amherst people who in 1862 still remembered the other student nine years after his graduation would not have felt his loss as they did Frazar’s. Much was written about Frazar Stearns at the time, and much has been written since—his death continues to resonate. A cannon and a poet’s verses still testify to his loss. The other Amherst man’s service was noted and recorded in quieter ways, during his class reunion and in the biographical records of his class. His story is not as well known as Frazar’s, and yet they died within an hour of each other on the same day, in the same battle, and apparently in the effort to take the same small but critical part of the battlefield.
The other student’s name was Henry Reuben Pierce. And when he was at Amherst College, he too was young and handsome, with a promising future.
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Henry Reuben Pierce. Crystalotype for the albums of the Class of 1853.
Pierce was a native of Coventry, Vermont, the son of Warren and Sally (McManus) Pierce. His biographical file in the Archives and Special Collections suggests a modest beginning, with a struggle toward an education made possible by determination and perseverance. He left home at 16, found work in Northampton and was able to enter Williston Seminary, from which he graduated in 1849. He then entered Amherst College, graduating at the age of 25 (older than today’s average graduate but about the same age as many of his classmates). After leaving Amherst, he had several teaching jobs and a brief stint studying law. The law was not for him, though, and he returned to teaching. His final position –the position he held when he joined the war – was as principal of the high school in Woonsocket, Rhode Island.

For the rest: http://consecratedeminence.wordpress.com/category/civil-war/
 
This is from Buffalo NY

The first public meeting to discuss a Civil War monument for Lafayette Square was held on April 14, 1866, but nothing much got accomplished until the Ladies Union Monument Association was organized on July 2, 1874. The women soon raised $12,000 in subscriptions and approved the design submitted by architect George Kellar of Hartford CT. Compelled to take action during 1881 in view of the progress made by the ladies, the city government appropriated $45,000 for the project and awarded a construction contract to the Mount Waldo Granite Company of Bangor, Maine. Proposals for bronze sculptures (and the stone lady who topped the column) by Caspar Buberl were eventually approved. The corner stone was laid July 2, 1882 during a grand celebration which was attended by Buffalo mayor Grover Cleveland.

The completed monument was standing in Lafayette Square before the last day of 1883, but dedication ceremonies had been set for the following year. The features of the monument still appear today as they did in 1883: A nameless stone lady, "emblematic of Buffalo," sits atop the 85-foot column. Eight-foot statues representing members of the infantry, cavalry, artillery, and navy surround the shaft, which itself is decorated with bronze symbols of the nation and state, the seal of Buffalo, and a "drum" showing over thirty bas-relief figures. The final half of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address appears below the "drum" on the back of the monument and the message "in front," facing Main Street, dedicates it to those who laid down their lives "in the war to maintain the union for the cause of their country and of mankind." Chief among the bas-relief scenes on the "drum" is a view of Lincoln with his original cabinet. Also part of the bas-relief are soldiers marching in reply to Lincoln's call.

Grover Cleveland, now governor of New York, came back two years later to dedicate the monument.
Date Installed or Dedicated: 07/04/1884

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And they still have cermonies.
 
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SOLDIERS' MONUMENT
The Green
24 Church Street
North Haven, CT
Dedicated: October 1905
Type: 32-pounder Rodman rifled gun
Supplier: Base: S.W. Lucas
Height: 12'
Historical Significance
SOLDIERS' MONUMENT, North Haven, is significant historically because it provides a case study of the dichotomy in a community between those who wished their Civil War tribute to be a monument and those who preferred a building. It is also significant for the use of the term Civil War in its inscription.
A proposal for a monument was launched in 1884 by the Veteran Soldiers' Association. Its proposal was adopted, some funds raised by taxation, and more by private contribution. Others in the community called attention to the need for a town hall and the opportunity while filling that need simultaneously to create a Civil War memorial. At a special town meeting, it was voted to proceed with the town hall. MEMORIAL TOWN HALL, 1886, was the result.
Veterans continued to campaign for a monument, considering the tablet in the town hall to be a superficial token, which was not acceptable. Opportunity to pursue their objective came after the Spanish-American War, when a battery of four Rodman guns that had been mounted on the shore at Lighthouse Point near New Haven as a symbolic measure of defense, needed "to quiet the fears of women and children," became surplus. After negotiations, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers turned over one gun to North Haven on December 30, 1904, without charge. It arrived on February 15, 1905, by sled. The gun carriage, due to regulations, had to be purchased. The purchase was made by the New Haven superintendent of parks, on behalf of North Haven. Necessary funds were raised by the Veteran Soldiers' Association. A third and final step was acquisition of the shells. In October 1905 the veterans finally had their long-sought monument.
The site selection was clouded by the claim on Town Green held by the First Ecclesiastical Society, although the society had, on March 29, 1886, specifically granted permission to raise a monument there. The society later deeded any interest it may have had in the land to the town.
Grand Army of the Republic units were prominent in the dedication ceremonies in October 1905. The exact day in October is the one detail that is missing in the otherwise unusually complete record of the history of the monument. The Dedication Day parade included a band, an Italian-American society, the 2nd Infantry, and Troop A (not otherwise identified) in the line of march. Luncheon was served in Memorial Hall.
The term Civil War is used in the inscription, a departure from the usual practice with Connecticut Civil War monuments. Customarily, the war is referred to as the War of the Rebellion. The late date of 1905 may have something to do with the choice of words, since the term Civil War came into wider use as decades passed. Here the term is combined with use of the standard phrase "preserve the Union."
Principal orator for the dedication ceremony was the Reverend William F. Hilton, chaplain of the Grand Army of the Republic, Department of Connecticut, who had spent 5 1/2 years in the service. He extolled the superb record of the volunteer soldiers and their "willingness to die." Some years later he delivered much the same message when speaking at the dedication of SOLDIERS MONUMENT, Unionville in Farmington, on July 15, 1916.
Records related to the monument at the North Haven Historical Society are unusually complete and detailed. They include such items as a summary of bids for the stone, under the heading "Proposals Summarized," and the original list of pledges, three pages long, with names crossed out and marked "PD" as the money came in. The man responsible for organizing and keeping the records was Sheldon Thorpe (1838-1924), a North Haven veteran, who wrote and collected North Haven history for decades.
The cannon's duplicate is the principal component of SOLDIERS' MEMORIAL, East Haven. A third gun was sent to Milford; it was contributed to the scrap drive of World War II. What happened to the fourth of the Lighthouse Point guns is unknown.
Artistic Significance
SOLDIERS' MONUMENT, North Haven, is without artistic significance, but is an example, relatively rare in Connecticut, of a Civil War monument having as its chief feature a gun. (See also SOLDIERS' MONUMENT, Sharon, and MOTHERS' SOLDIER'S MONUMENT, Union.)
The base was designed by an unnamed North Haven veteran, who specified dark gray Quincy granite, the die to be of light shade. Five firms quoted on supplying the stone and lettering. Vermont granite was priced as well; Westerly granite was not. Fox-Becker Granite Company (see SOLDIERS' MONUMENT, Seymour), Stephen Maslen Corporation, and Thomas Phillips & Son Company (see SOLDIERS MONUMENT, Wallingford) are among the familiar firms that quoted. The order went to the local man, S.W. Lucas, even though his price was not the lowest. The granite was set on September 6, 7, and 8, 1905, by Charles N. David of I.L. Stiles & Sons, the company which earlier had supplied the brick for MEMORIAL TOWN HALL. The base was set on a piece of marble from the Connecticut Statehouse that formerly stood on New Haven Green.
Description
SOLDIERS' MONUMENT, North Haven, consists of a 32-pounder Rodman rifled gun mounted on a base of quarry-finished Quincy granite blocks. The cannon faces south in the southwestern corner of Town Green. The memorial is dedicated to all who served in the Civil War.
A flagpole and gazebo are nearby. Also, a stack of 30 facsimile cannonballs is to the northeast of the monument on a 4' x 4' x 1" granite slab. The present 30 round black balls, cemented together, replace the original 20 actual shells, which suffered from vandalism over time. The monument is surrounded by several low evergreen shrubs.
With the three stones at the rear, to provide access to the loading area, the base has a total of 12 blocks of granite. The marble slab rests on a foundation of brick and concrete. The piece is an S.B. Rodman Gun with 10" bore, weighing 10 tons. Muzzle diameter is 16". The top of the gun is 12' above grade.
A copper box containing appropriate documents was placed in the cornerstone when it was laid on May 30, 1905.
Lettering
East side of base, left front near grade, recessed panel, raised numbers:
1905
Recessed polished granite tablet, incised caps:
CEDAR MOUNTAIN
FORT WAGNER
FREDERICKSBURG
CHANCELLORSVILE
FORT GREGG, VA
PETERSBURG

Capstone, recessed central panel, raised numbers:
1861-1865
West side of base, recessed polished granite tablet, incised caps:
ERECTED
BY THE TOWN OF
NORTH HAVEN
AS A TRIBUTE TO THE
VALOR OF HER SONS
WHO ON LAND AND SEA
FOUGHT IN THE
CIVIL WAR
TO PRESERVE THE UNION

Capstone, recessed central panel, raised numbers:
1861-1865
Sources
Clifford Nitchke, "Where Did All the Cannons Go?" typescript, 1994. East Haven Historical Society.
Extensive records and files. North Haven Historical Society.
"Souvenir North Haven Memorial, Dedication of the Soldiers' Monument, North Haven, Conn.," (Veteran Soldiers' Association, 1905).

http://www.chs.org/finding_aides/ransom/091.htm
 
Hackettstown Civil War Monument


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By Bill Coughlin, March 10, 2012
1. Front Marker on Hackettstown Civil War Monument

Inscription.
< Front of Monument : >
“Remember you are Jerseymen”

General Nathan Kimball, Dec 12, 1862

Eastern Campaigns
Bull Run
Peninsula
Second Bull Run
Antietam
Fredricksburg
Chancellorsville
Gettysburg
Wildnerness
Spotsylvania
Cold Harbor
Petersburg
Five Forks
Appomattox

Western Campaigns
Shiloh
Vicksburg
Chickamauga
Lookout Mountain
Missionary Ridge
Atlanta
March to the Sea
Franklin
Nashville

< Right Side of Monument : >
Rededicated May 28, 2001 to the men and families of the Hackettstown area who served to preserve the Union in the War Between The States 1861-1865

Ballad of the Monument
As I stand alone here, do the people remember
were the lives that were lost all in vain?
We fought hard for our country, we fought hard for our honor,
but now just our memories remain.

We stand for our country, we stand for our future
We are proud of the price that we paid.
And we know that our children embrace all their freedoms
and we know that they would all do the same.

What do we tell our children, and each generation
just what the fighting was for?
What a price they must suffer, the fathers and mothers,
who send their


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By Alan Edelson, July 19, 2010
2. Right Marker on Hackettstown Civil War Monument Inscription

own sons off to war.

We stand for our country, we stand for our future
We are proud of the price that we paid.
And we know that our children embrace all their freedoms
and we know that they would all do the same.

Kevin A. McCann
June 4, 1998

< Back of Monument : >
The Old Monument Speaks

Here I have stood for many years.
Placed here by patriots mid lusty cheers.

Millions of people have passed me by,
Millions of hearts have heaved a sigh.

I am a memory of living and dead,
who struggled for the Union as Lincoln said.

The struggle was bitter and the toll was great.
Brother killed brother, love turned to hate.

I must give way to the automobile.
That is the way I was made to feel.

Surely some spot can be found.
The ideals I stand for I still can profound.

But alas, here comes the junkman with stout rope.
He has pulled me to the concrete and my back is broke.

Where are the citizens of yesteryear,
who placed me here with lusty cheers?

I think the citizens of Hackettstown
could at least have gently taken me down.

I was a memorial to the boys of Sixty-Five,
but few of them are now alive.

Who remembers the famous day and year
when the patriots of Hackettstown placed me here?

The boys it seems are not forgotten,
as


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By Bill Coughlin, Marker
3. Rear Marker of Hackettstown Civil War Monument

I lie in the junk pile to rust and rotten.

Charles Augustus Stewart Gulick
January 14, 1927

< Left Side of Monument : >
Remember you are Jerseymen


I stand before you calm and serene.
My expression belies the horrors I’ve seen.

My coat of blue, now bronze bereaved,
a patina of age I never achieved.

We find in life tempests to brave,
swords to clash and ideals to save.

I saw my duty to follow such light,
no matter the fury or how dark the night.

I stand as a guidon for Jerseymen fair,
protecting our Union from threats we share.

Though I stand a statue, a Jerseyman Blue,
I was once a young man made of flesh like you.

No more verdant hills or streams will I roam.
To you I bequeath this land as your home.

Protect her and the children from tyrants and fools
and “Remember you are Jerseymen” where freedom rules.

Gerard A. Geiger
May 22, 2000


Location. 40° 50.945′ N, 74° 49.442′ W. Marker is in Hackettstown, New Jersey, in Warren County. Marker is at the intersection of Main Street (New Jersey Route 46) and Willow Grove Street, on the right when traveling north on Main Street. Click for map. Marker is in this post office area: Hackettstown NJ 07840, United States of America.

http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=33257
 
THE SPHINX: A CIVIL WAR MEMORIAL IN MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY, CAMBRIDGE MA

After passing through the Egyptian style gate on the Cambridge side of MountAuburnCemetery, a quick walk down Central Avenue leads you to another piece of nineteenth century American public sculpture influenced by ancient civilizations; Martin Milmore’s Sphinx rests atop a small hill, proudly facing the entrance to Bigelow Chapel. Jacob Bigelow, the founder and second president of the cemetery, commissioned Irish-born Milmore to create the Sphinx in commemoration of the fallen soldiers of the American Civil War and the end of slavery.{1}
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When approaching the human-headed lion from the side, you begin to notice the inscription on the large, rectangular base in either Latin or English: America Conservata/ Africa Liberata/ Populo Magno Assurgente/ Heroum Sanguine Fuso—on one side—or American Union Reserved/ African Slavery Destroyed/ By the Uprising of a Great People/ By the Blood of Fallen Heroes—on the other. These words cue you in to the commemorative purpose of the monument before attempting to digest the visual symbolism set forth by the artist. Bigelow first proposed that the cemetery commission a public sculpture to pay tribute to the Union soldiers in March of 1865, but he wanted something with more significance than the ubiquitous obelisk.{2} An enthusiast of Egyptology,{3} the cemetery’s president settled on the mythological sphinx, an ancient creature with the body of a lion and the head of a man, believed to be omniscient and, thus, a symbol for wisdom.{4} Milmore’s Sphinx, in the Greek style of the image, has a female face instead of a male one,{5} demonstrating that the artist was not adhering to a specifically Egyptian vocabulary but rather to a more eclectic fusion of multiple ancient civilizations—a common approach for American artists interested in connecting the growing nation with prosperous societies from the past. The allegorical statue contains further symbolism that you may notice upon confronting the Sphinx face to face, including the odd feature of an eagle’s head protruding from the forehead. By this time the majestic bird was well known as a symbol of American nationalism, thus creating a unique contemporary adaptation of the ancient imagery. Additionally, Milmore includes lotuses on the base of the sculpture; this Egyptian flower symbolizes the primeval waters from which life began.{6} In this instance, the lotus expresses a fresh start for the United States following the Civil War—a metaphorical beginning of the Democracy, starting anew without the underpinnings of slavery.
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Though the creature’s face would traditionally be considered the front, inscriptions on both sides and symbolism on the front as well as the back indicate that Milmore would have intended the Sphinx to be viewed from all angles. The current landscaping directs you to face the creature by standing in front of the chapel, while the paths that lead there take you along either of the sides, ensuring your view of either the Latin or English engraving. Fifteen feet long and about eight feet tall,{7} the imposing sculpture was carved from a single block of granite from the quarry at Hallowell, Maine {8} and remains unpainted, in the classical style of stone statuary; its size, solidity, and uniformity of color impart a sense of grandeur yet also a commonality with the acres of surrounding grave markers. Placed within an opening in the trees, the Sphinx receives a continuous stream of sunlight that acts like a spotlight in the shaded groves of the cemetery. The freestanding figure has an overall smooth appearance enhanced by textural details, such as patches of fur, that display the sculptor’s dexterity. Repetitive lines in the headdress, base, and engraved letters create an orderly rhythm around the Sphinx’s face and highlight the important features on the base. Despite the rectangular ground, the overall geometry of the sculpture is—appropriately for a revival of Egyptian imagery—pyramidal. The Sphinx has a closed silhouette and, thus, gives an air of strength and permanence. Milmore’s monument remains in generally good condition with some minor water damage—and possible algae growth—where the rain most frequently drips, specifically on the base and around the lotuses; the effect is minimal and does little to detract from the piece.
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Bigelow & Milmore’s choices of subject matter and symbolic imagery for the public monument reflect democratic ideals that Americans wanted to emphasize in the aftermath of the country’s internal struggles during the Civil War. Bigelow initially chose the sphinx because of its “personification of intellect and physical force, and its pairing of beauty and strength, considered the perfect emblem of new America.”{9} A creature that combines the ferocity and power of a lion with the softness of a woman’s face effectively captures the dual nature of peace and fortitude that the United States wanted to portray after the tumultuous war. Moreover, the imagery has the aforementioned connotation of wisdom—a quality that Americans were eager to portray as a fledgling nation. Because of this desire, and to demonstrate a common reliance on democratic ideals, artists of eighteenth and nineteenth century America looked to the classical past for influence. When MountAuburnCemetery unveiled the Sphinx, Bigelow published a booklet describing the creature: “The same ideal form which has looked backward on unmeasured antiquity now looks forward to unlimited progress.”{10} The commissioner believed the duality of the sphinx’s symbolism to be “ideal” in communicating the future progress of a powerful but peaceful nation. In fact, the Sphinx does not sit “brooding on death”{11} but looks upon the cemetery grounds with stoicism.
The words inscribed by Milmore on the base of the sculpture insist on the democratic nature of the actions of the Union soldiers in the Civil War. Only because of the “uprising of a great people” was “African slavery destroyed” and the “American Union preserved.” These words not only venerate the fallen Union soldiers but also the democratic mindset that fostered the people to put an end to the practice of slavery in the United States. As an Irish-born artist, Milmore might seem to be an odd choice to create a public memorial of an American struggle; however, since the Revolutionary War, the Irish “had a long tradition of patriotism toward their adopted homeland, and many were eager to espouse the democratic ideals of equality and justice which were at the heart of the Civil War conflict.”{12} Through his adoption and adaptation of the classical sphinx as well as his clear and concise words, Milmore effectively communicates the democratic views that he shares with his appropriated compatriots; the monument thus takes on a didactic purpose: to teach future Americans and immigrants about patriotism within a democracy.
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The effectiveness of Martin and Bigelow’s intended message can be read in contemporary poetic responses. In “The Sphinx at Mount Auburn,” Charlotte Fiske Bates wrote:
Sphinx! Life and Death in thee their type have found
For so are they in mystic oneness bound;
Fruitful as woman, beautiful as she,
Dread as the lion in his majesty. {13}
In her opening lines, Bates discusses the singular ability of the Sphinx to both commemorate the dead while simultaneously celebrating the future life of a nation. Additionally, the poet understands the appropriate duality of beauty and power previously noted as a means for communicating American ideals. The poem indicates that the Sphinx befits the Civil War; its beauty embodies the triumph of abolition, while its majestic stoicism expresses the dreadful war that was necessary to do so.
Four years after the Sphinx was erected in 1872, an anonymous writer for the Harvard Crimson wrote:
Thou look’st, with sorrowful and anxious gaze
Across the graves that hold the sacred bones
Of many fallen in the strife to raise
The curse of slavery from their land. No tones
Come from those sweet yet steadfast lips, no word
Of blame to those who erred yet are forgiven. {14}
The poem illustrates that emotions from the war remained strong, and the Sphinx had the ability to activate them. While the poet clearly understands the commemorative aspect of the sculpture, he or she also hints at a deeper message that resonates to this day; the monument does not condone judgment of the Confederate soldiers nor does it speak directly of the atrocities of the war. Instead, the Sphinx stands in silent contemplation just as visitors to the cemetery would and still do when confronting the soldiers’ graves.


{1} The Sphinx, Mount Auburn Cemetery, 2011, http://www.mountauburn.org/2011/sphinx/, 6 August 2012.

{2} Sphinx Donated by Dr. Jacob Bigelow, Mount Auburn Cemetery, 2011, http://www.mountauburn.org/2011/sphinx-donated/, 6 August 2012.

{3} Michael P. Quinlan, Irish Sculptors Led the Way in Celebrating Civil War Heroes, Irish America, 2012, http://irishamerica.com/2011/12/civil-war-memorials/, 6 August 2012.

{4} Sphinx, Encyclopædia Britannica. 2012, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/559722/sphinx, 6 August 2012.

{5} Sphinx, Britannica.

{6} The Flowers of Ancient Egypt and Today, Tour Egypt, 2011. http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/flowers.htm, 6 August 2012.

{7} Sphinx Donated, Mount Auburn.

{8} The Sphinx, Mount Auburn.

{9} Ibid.

{10} Ibid.

{11} Moses King, MountAuburnCemetery (Cambridge: Moses King, Publisher, Harvard Square, 1883), pp. 96.

{12} Quinlan, Irish Sculptors Led the Way.

{13} Charlotte Fiske Bates, “The Sphinx at Mount Auburn,” in Poems of America, ed. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and Co., 1878), p. 145.

{14} The Sphinx at Mount Auburn, The Harvard Crimson, 1876, http://www.thecrimson.com/article/1876/4/7/the-sphinx-at-mount-auburn-thou/, 6 August 2012.

Works Cited
Bates, Charlotte Fiske. “The Sphinx at MountAuburn,” in Poems of America, ed. HenryWadsworth Longfellow.Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and Co., 1878, p. 145.
The Flowers of Ancient Egypt and Today. Tour Egypt, 2011. http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/flowers.htm,6 August 2012.
King, Moses.MountAuburnCemetery.Cambridge: Moses King, Publisher,Harvard Square, 1883, pp. 96-97.
Quinlan, Michael P. Irish Sculptors Led the Way in Celebrating Civil War Heroes. Irish America, 2012. http://irishamerica.com/2011/12/civil-war-memorials/,6 August 2012.
Sphinx. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2012. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/559722/sphinx,6 August 2012.
The Sphinx. Mount Auburn Cemetery, 2011. http://www.mountauburn.org/2011/sphinx/,6 August 2012.
The Sphinx at MountAuburn. The Harvard Crimson, 1876. http://www.thecrimson.com/article/1876/4/7/the-sphinx-at-mount-auburn-thou/,6 August 2012.
Sphinx Donated by Dr. Jacob Bigelow.Mount Auburn Cemetery, 2011. http://www.mountauburn.org/2011/sphinx-donated/,6 August 2012.

http://alltheseplaces.tumblr.com/milmore
 
Decatur County Civil War Memorial


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By Courtesy:: Marilyn S. Wolf, July 17, 2011
1. Decatur County Civil War Memorial Marker

Inscription.
( Front Plaque )

In Honor
of the Civil War Soldiers
of Decatur County.


“This monument cannot disclose.
Nor can the skill of mortal make
a record of the countless woes
they suffered for their Country’s sake.”

( Obverse Plaque )

- - - + ( “Relief” - of the Rifle ) + - - -

Spencer Repeating Rifle

Decatur County provided more than 2,500 officers and men for the Union Armies during the Civil War. These soldiers served in many Regiments, including: 7th (Gavin - Grover - Welsh), 17th (Wilder), 37th, 52nd, 68th (Scobey), 76th (Gavin), 83rd, 104th (Gavin), 123 (McQuiston), 134th (Gavin), 146th (Welsh), and 156th Indiana Infantry Regiments, 5th Indiana Cavalry Regiment (Butler), and 26th Indiana Light Artillery Battery (Rigby).

Their devotion to duty, initiative and sacrifice and exemplified by the 7th Indiana Infantry, commanded by Colonel Ira G. Grover, then Major Merit C. Welsh, which served in the Iron Brigade, Army of the Potomac; and the 17th Indiana Mounted Infantry which served in the Lightning Brigade Commanded by General John T. Wilder, Army of the Cumerland.

‘Let us all more deeply resolve that our children shall be taught to forever


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By Courtesy:: Marilyn S. Wolf, July 17, 2011
2. Obverse Side - - Decatur County Civil War Memorial Marker

maintain what we preserve in our day, a Great, free and United Country.’

General John T. Wilder


Their Works do follow them.

Rev. 14:13

Erected 1922 by "Pap" Thomas Woman's Relief Corps, No. 113.

Location. 39° 20.206′ N, 85° 29.005′ W. Marker is in Greensburg, Indiana, in Decatur County. Marker is on East Main Street (U.S. 421) west of North Franklin Street, on the right when traveling west. Click for map. Located on the South Side-walk in front of the Decatur County Courthouse in Greensburg, Indiana. Marker is in this post office area: Greensburg IN 47240, United States of America.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, as the crow flies. Spanish American War Veterans (here, next to this marker); Decatur County All Wars Memorial (a few steps from this marker); Decatur County Court House (within shouting distance of this marker); Colonel Thomas Hendricks / Elizabeth Trimble Hendricks (within shouting distance of this marker); The Naegel Building (within shouting distance of this marker); Donnell -V.- State, 1852 (about 300 feet away, in a direct line); Civil War General John T. Wilder (approx. 0.3 miles away); Decatur County (Indiana) Bridge 140 (approx. 1.8 miles away). Click for a list of all markers in Greensburg.


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By Courtesy:: Marilyn S. Wolf, July 17, 2011
3. Wide View - - Decatur County Civil War Memorial Marker



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By Courtesy:: Marilyn S. Wolf, July 17, 2011
4. Wide - Obverse View - - Decatur County Civil War Memorial Marker



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By Courtesy:: Marilyn S. Wolf, July 17, 2011
5. Long View - - Decatur County Civil War Memorial Marker



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By Courtesy:: Marilyn S. Wolf, July 17, 2011
6. The Decatur County Court House - "Tree". . .



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By Courtesy:: Marilyn S. Wolf, July 17, 2011
7. Decatur County Courthouse - Greensburg, Indiana
This marker is (out of view) to the extreme right of this photo.



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By Courtesy:: Marilyn S. Wolf, July 17, 2011
8. South/West Corner - - Decatur County Courthouse - Greensburg, Indiana

Credits. This page originally submitted on July 24, 2011, by Al Wolf of Veedersburg, Indiana. This page has been viewed 487 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. submitted on July 24, 2011, by Al Wolf of Veedersburg, Indiana. • Craig Swain was the editor who published this page.

http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=44943
 
Naugatuck
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SOLDIERS' MONUMENT
Town Green
229 Church Street
Naugatuck, CT
Dedicated: May 30, 1885
Type: Granite pedestal, shaft, and figure
Designer, fabricator, supplier: Ryegate Granite Company
Height: Approximately 35'
Historical Significance
SOLDIERS' MONUMENT, Naugatuck, is significant historically because it is a symbol of the honor and respect tendered by the citizens of Naugatuck to those who served in the conflict of 1861-1865. The Isbell Post of the Grand Army of the Republic began a campaign to erect a monument in autumn 1879. On February 3, 1880, the town voted to spend not more than $3,500 for the purpose. The site selected was School Green. The post raised $1,460 for the project, and asked the town to provide the balance of $2,000 by taxation. At a special town meeting in November 1882, it was voted to do so. Contract was let to Ryegate Granite Company, South Ryegate, Vermont, in October 1884.
Prominent citizens associated themselves with the effort. Chief among the supporters was Bronson B. Tuttle, chairman of the committee, and John H. Whittemore, who were the owners of the Eastern Malleable Iron Company, Naugatuck's principal industry. Receipts of the Soldiers' Monument Fund were $4,523.41. Disbursements were $3,500 for the monument, $385 for the curbing, and $577 for the celebration. $61 was unexpended.
The dedication on Memorial Day 1885 was a major civic event. The day began with a "national salute," fired at dawn. Throughout the day thousands participated; refreshments were served. The main oration was delivered by the Reverend Edwin S. Lines, rector of Saint Paul's Church, New Haven, who was a Naugatuck native. At the end, "Evening trains carried away the guests of the day."
Artistic Significance
SOLDIERS' MONUMENT, Naugatuck, is significant artistically because it is an example of the pedestal, shaft, and figure design with unusual emphasis on quarry-finished surfaces. This technique may be associated with the supplier, Ryegate Granite Company, South Ryegate, Vermont. So far as is known, the Naugatuck monument is the only one in Connecticut produced by Ryegate. How Ryegate happened to be selected for the commission is not known.
The high-relief quarry finish of most of the planes in the monument is distinctive, setting it apart from others. The nicely tooled smooth borders are effective in contrast. The risers of the base, the arched frames of the dado faces, the sections of the shaft, the face of the cornice, and the face of the statue base all conform to the plan, giving an effective sense of unity to the monument. Such extensive use of quarry-finished surfaces is seldom found elsewhere. The figure appears to be conventional. Information about the design and execution of SOLDIERS' MONUMENT, Naugatuck, is regrettably limited.
Description
SOLDIERS' MONUMENT, Naugatuck, is sited in the center of a public space known in 1885 as School Green, now Town Green. The Green is surrounded by a school, the (new) City Hall, and two churches. An 1895 fountain designed by McKim, Mead & White is a few feet west of the monument, while a World War I memorial flagpole by Evelyn Beatrice Batchelder Longman is across the street to the west. The site has been developed extensively since the monument was erected.
The gray granite memorial consists of a base, pedestal, shaft, and surmounting soldier's figure. It honors all men from Naugatuck who served in the Union forces. The dados of the pedestal carry inscriptions, while battle names are lettered in three horizontal bands on each face of the shaft, as listed below.
A circle of granite curbing 9" high by 14" deep with rounded top surrounds a bed of flowers at the foot of the monument. The faces of the base's three risers, and the balance of the monument as well, are quarry-finished in high-relief set off by smoothly tooled margins. The inscriptions on the faces of the dado are within raised borders, slightly peaked at the top. Bold moldings assist the transition from pedestal to shaft, which again is heavily quarry-finished with the bands for battle names robustly carved. The coved capital of the shaft is supported by two carved foliate brackets on each face. Its crown molding is quarry-finished.
The capital supports a two-tier base for the figure, the first level quarry-finished, the second smooth. The figure stands with his right foot forward. The butt of his rifle is in front of his left foot, at right angles to the right foot. His uniform overcoat, with cape, is knee-length. A cartridge box is attached to his belt at right hip, bayonet at left. Right hand is on the rifle muzzle, left at mid-barrel. The face, turned a few degrees to the right, has moustache and goatee, under visored cap.
Lettering
Front (east) face of pedestal, raised caps:
ERECTED BY THE CITIZENS OF
NAUGATUCK
A.D. 1885
IN MEMORY OF HER SONS
WHO FOUGHT TO MAINTAIN
THE UNION
1861-1865.

Above:
CEDAR MOUNTAIN / WILDERNESS / FT. WAGNER
North:
THE DEEDS OF THOSE
WHO DIED IN DEFENSE
OF THE GOVERNMENT
OF THE PEOPLE
ARE IMMORTAL.

Above:
MALVERN HILL / GETTYSBURG / ATLANTA
West:
THE CITIZEN SOLDIER,
FEARLESS IN WAR,
INDUSTRIOUS IN PEACE.

Above:
CHANCELLORSVILLE / PETERSBURG / ANTIETAM
South:
MAY THE GOD OF NATIONS
PRESERVE
OUR COUNTRY IN THE
BOND OF PEACE
NOW ESTABLISHED

Sources
"The Soldiers' Monument, Naugatuck, Conn., Decoration Day, 1885," dedication booklet. Naugatuck Public Library.

http://www.chs.org/finding_aides/ransom/071.htm
 
Hilldale Cemetery is located in Martinsville, Indiana within Washington Township of Morgan County. This cemetery is one of the oldest in the area and contains graves dating prior to 1868.


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Of particular note is a large monument dedicated "In Memory of the Unknown Dead of Morgan County" at the bottom are the initials G. A. R. This monument to the Morgan County Civil War soldiers of the "Grand Army of the Republic", is located just southeast of a large grouping of Civil War graves. This area has about 20 Civil War markers and likely had many more at the time this area was established.


http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/...orn?guid=6f672622-b4d0-4d55-b0c5-b6c17bf94c82
 
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