A privately funded monument in Madison’s West Cemetery honors veterans of the Civil War as well as the nation’s earlier conflicts.
The 1896 monument, featuring a bronze infantry soldier atop a granite base, was sponsored by Vincent Meigs Wilcox, a Madison native who served as a colonel in the 132nd Pennsylvania volunteer infantry regiment.
A dedication on the front (south) face of the monument reads, “To the memory of the soldiers of Madison, presented by Vincent Meigs Wilcox, New York City, Col. 132d Regt. Pa. Vols., born in Madison, October 17, 1828.”
The south face also includes a bronze shield with crossed rifles symbolizing infantry units, and the battle of Antietam is inscribed on the monument’s shaft.
The east face lists the battle of Fredericksburg on its upper die, and, under the inscription 1861-1865, honors eight officers (including Meigs) by name as well as the inscription “and 158 others.”
The north face combines the Civil War and the War of 1812 by listing the battle of Chancellorsville, as well as the years 1812-1814. The names of two officers are inscribed above the catch-all “and 32 others.”
The west face honors the battle of Gettysburg and the American Revolution. Under the years 1775-1783 are listed the names of three officers, and the inscription “and 65 others.”
The monument, sculpted by Henrich Manger, was sponsored by Meigs after a dispute among Madison’s citizens about the proper way to honor its Civil War veterans. Like several towns in Connecticut, Madison decided a memorial hall was a more practical tribute than a monument, so Meigs, who had advocated the construction of a monument, decided to build one.
Meigs, grew up in Madison and served in the Connecticut militia in 1856 before moving to Scranton, Penn. He joined the 132nd infantry regiment as a lieutenant colonel, and assumed command of the unit during the Battle of Antietam when the unit’s colonel was killed.
During its nine months of service, the regiment also fought in the Second Battle of Bull Run, as well as the battles of South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville.
After the war, Meigs was an executive in two New York photography businesses. Unfortunately, he died a few months before the monument’s dedication on July 4, 1896.
Source: Connecticut Historical Society: Civil War Monuments of Connecticut
Tags: Madison
A tall granite obelisk topped by an infantry soldier honors the service of Meriden’s Civil War heroes.
The monument, outside City Hall at the triangular intersection of East Main Street (Rte. 66) and Liberty Street, was dedicated in 1873.
A dedication at the base of the front (west) face reads, “To the memory of our fellow citizens who died in defence (sic) of the government 1861-1865. Dedicated 1873.”
The front face, like the other three, also bears a bronze plaque that honors about 40 residents killed in the war by listing their name, rank, company, regiment, place of death and date of death. The names are arranged by their company affiliation, which in several instances groups soldiers killed in the same battles.
The memorial plaques are uncommon in that the letters are incised into the plaque, instead of being raised. The Soldiers’ Monument in Norwich also uses this technique.
The front face of the obelisk also features the U.S. and Connecticut shields, and lists the battles of Antietam and Gettysburg. The south face honors the battles of Vicksburg and Fort Fisher (N.C.); the east Atlanta and Appomattox; and the north lists New Berne and Roanoke Island (both in N.C.)
The monument was created by Batterson, Canfield & Co., a Hartford firm that supplied a fair portion of the state’s Civil War monuments.
A 1948 granite marker on the south side of the main stairs to City Hall commemorates an 1860 political speech by Abraham Lincoln. A marker on the north side of the stairs, made from metal salvaged from the USS Maine, honors Spanish-American War veterans (identical plaques are displayed in Naugatuck, Bridgeport, Norwich, and several other Connecticut cities).
City Hall, a 1907 replacement for a building that burned down, stands atop a small hill, which adds to the prominence of City Hall and the monument in front of it.
The site was once surrounded by a fence, but the fence and four cannons were donated to World War II scrap drives. Small pillars decorated with shields stand at the four corners of the monument’s base.
Source: Connecticut Historical Society: Civil War Monuments of Connecticut
Tags: Meriden
A brownstone obelisk in the Kensington section of Berlin may be the first Civil War monument erected in the United States.
The monument was dedicated July 28, 1863 –- less than a month after the Battle of Gettysburg and 20 months before Lee’s army surrendered at Appomattox Court House, Virginia.
The front (northeast) face of the monument bears the dedication “Erected to commemorate the death of those who perished in suppressing the Southern rebellion,” as well as a poem “How sleep the brave who sink to rest, by all their country’s wishes blest” and the year 1863.
The word “Soldiers” appears in large inscribed letters at the monument’s base, and the front of the obelisk also bears a state of Connecticut seal.
The northwest and southeast faces of the monument both bear the names, and the location and date of death, of four residents. The southwest face bears the same information for eight residents killed in the conflict. The names were added after the war ended.
The monument, at the intersection of Percival Avenue (Rte. 71) and Sheldon Street, was designed by Kensington resident, Nelson Augustus Moore, a noted landscape artist and photographer. The Kensington monument may have been the model for a nearly identical obelisk in East Berlin.
The monument is surrounded by an ornate fence, to which two plaques have been affixed. One plaque lays claim to the Kensington obelisk being the “First monument in the United States dedicated to the soldiers of the Civil War – erected 1863”. The second plaque was added on Memorial Day of 1961 by a local political party to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the start of the Civil War.
Whether the Kensington monument actually is the first in the United States is difficult to prove either way. The Connecticut Historical Society believes it is the first in New England. A monument in Lancaster, Wisconsin, claims to be the first Civil War monument erected through public subscription. Fundraising began in 1862 but the monument was dedicated in 1867, a date by which several monuments had been dedicated in Connecticut alone.
A cannon was added to the site in 1913 as part of 50th anniversary ceremonies. The cannon may soon be in danger of being swallowed by surrounding shrubbery.
Source: Connecticut Historical Society: Civil War Monuments of Connecticut
Tags: Kensington
Port Chester, N.Y.’s 1900 Civil War Monument underwent a significant restoration in late 2008.
The monument, in a triangular park at the intersection of the Boston Post Road (Route 1) and Pearl Street, features a bronze statue of a Civil War officer and an eagle atop an ornate granite obelisk. The eagle is a 2008 replacement for the original, which had been stolen (as was a smaller replacement for the first stolen eagle).
The front (southwest) face of the monument features a bronze statue of Lt. Col. Nelson B. Bartram, a Port Chester native who commanded the 17th New York Infantry Regiment before commanding the 20th Regiment of the United States Colored Troops. Bartram’s units saw action at Antietam as well as both Battles of Bull Run and the New Orleans region.
The front face also features a bronze representation of a Grand Army of the Republic medallion.
A plaque on the southeast face of the monument’s base is dedicated “To the Union Defence (sic) Committee of the Town of Rye who pledged their honor to sustain the government and ensure a successful outcome of the war of the rebellion.”
Ornate scrollwork near the top of the monument features the U.S. seal, and the other faces are decorated with stone wreaths that surround Union Army corps symbols.
The monument was designed by John Massey Rhind, whose Connecticut commissions include the statue of Samuel Colt and the Corning Fountain in Hartford, as well as statues outside the New Haven County Courthouse. Rhind also designed four monuments on the Gettysburg battlefield and numerous other public monuments and statues.
Rhind’s statue of Bartram was cast three years before the monument’s formal dedication, which was delayed by objections from some local veterans that the monument was honoring an officer, instead of an enlisted man.
During the 2008 restoration, a new eagle was created to match the size of the original, and the statue was restored to its original dark brown color.
Tags: New York
The town of Harrison, N.Y., honors World War I veterans with a monument topped by a famous Doughboy statue.
The monument, dedicated in 1939, features a version of a Doughboy statue by sculptor E.M. Viquesney that is known formally as the “Spirit of the American Doughboy.” At least 138 other versions of this statue are displayed in the United States, including monuments in North Canaan and Bethel, CT, three monuments in New York and eight in New Jersey.
The Harrison monument stands at the intersection of Harrison Avenue and Heineman Place, in the southwest corner of a park. A plaque on its front (southwest) face reads, “Dedicated to the men and women of the Town of Harrison, New York, who served in the World War.” The plaque also credits the efforts of the local VFW post in erecting the monument.
The northeast side of the monument has three plaques. The left plaque lists seven residents who were killed in action and 11 who otherwise died in service. The center plaque has five columns of names listing residents who served in the conflict, and the right plaque has three columns of names.
The monument is a later version of its cousin in North Canaan. In 1934, Viquesney switched from the pressed copper or bronze used in the 1920 design to zinc, which was copper-plated to resemble bronze. The tree stumps at the soldier’s feet are shorter, and the “Spirit of the American Doughboy” title is stamped on the front base of the later versions.
The Harrison monument has been cleaned and restored a couple of times in recent years. A bayonet on the soldier’s rifle has been lost over the years.
The park also features a gazebo that hosted a wedding during our visit, and an elaborate monument at the eastern end honoring local veterans who served in the nation’s wars.
Source: Spirit of the American Doughboy Database
The village of Sleepy Hollow, N.Y., honors local Civil War veterans with a granite-and-bronze monument in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery.
The monument, near southwestern corner of the cemetery, was dedicated in 1890 by the local GAR post. Inscriptions on the front (west) face include a Latin dedication, along with “Our Union Soldiers” and the following poem: “While Freedom’s name is understood, they shall delight the wise and good; They dared to set their country free and gave her laws equality 1861-1865”
The monument’s south, east and north faces feature bronze plaques honoring local veterans. The references to Greenburgh and Mount Pleasant reflect the fact that the Village of Sleepy Hollow lies within Mount Pleasant, which is just north of Greenburgh.
The monument is surrounded by a plot containing graves of Civil War veterans.
The infantry soldier was sculpted by Johnson Marchant Mundy, who was legally blind when he created the figure.
Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, along Route 9, is the final resting place for a range of notables including author Washington Irving (The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Rip van Winkle), Andrew Carnegie, Walter Chrysler, Elizabeth Arden and others. The cemetery also includes an American Revolution monument (that we didn’t photograph because we hadn’t read about before our visit), and a thriving deer population.
Source:
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Art Inventories Catalog
Tags: New York
New Britain honors its Civil War veterans with an elaborate monument in the heart of downtown.
The domed monument, at the north end of the city’s Central Park, features a gilded allegorical figure representing Victory as well as gilded torches and a variety of Classical architectural decorative elements including columns, seashells and lots of swirls.
Inscriptions on the front (south) face include “With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right” from the conclusion of Lincoln’s second Inaugural address and “Oh rare and royal was the sacrifice.”
Inscriptions on the east face include a “Let us have peace,” quote from U.S. Grant as well as a dedication reading “This monument is built in grateful remembrance of the soldiers and sailors who in the war to maintain the Union offered their lives in the cause of mankind that coming generations, taught by their example, may cherish the fruits of their valor and devotion, and make their memory immortal.”
The north face bears a quote from U.S. Sen. Daniel Webster, “Liberty and Union, now and forever, one inseparable.”
An inscription on the west face lists the years of the Civil War in Roman numerals, as well as “Erected by the Citizens of New Britain 1899” (also in Roman numerals).
The east and west faces are also decorated with U.S. shields with eagles and crossed swords, and well as large lion heads above fountains that were later converted into planters.
Four stone pillars around the base bear the names of Civil War battles and support light fixtures.
The monument’s interior is inscribed with the names of local residents who fought in the war.
The allegorical Winged Victory figure holds an olive branch to symbolize the reconciliation of the Union and Confederate states. The figure was replaced in 2000 as part of a restoration performed for the monument’s 100th anniversary.
The monument’s architect, Ernest Flagg, was also responsible for the Singer Building and St. Luke’s Hospital in New York, buildings for the U.S. Naval Academy, and several buildings in Hartford.
At the south end of the park, three monuments honor New Britain’s veterans from World War II, Korea and Vietnam.
The vintage postcard at the bottom of this post was mailed on July 3, 1908 from New Britain to East Hartford, CT. The building behind the monument, a hotel at the time, survives today as New Britain’s City Hall.
Source: Connecticut Historical Society: Civil War Monuments of Connecticut
Tags: New Britain
An 1871 brownstone obelisk in East Berlin honors the service of local Civil War veterans.
The understated monument stands in a traffic island at the T-shaped intersection of Main Street and Berlin Street. An inscription at the base of the front (south) face reads “Soldiers.” The south face also lists the names and unit affiliations of 14 local Civil War veterans as well as the battles of Antietam and Gettysburg, and is also decorated with a Connecticut seal.
The east face lists nine names and the battles of Petersburg (Va.) and Port Hudson (La.). The north face lists the Confederate prison camp in Florence, S.C. (an uncommon reference on CT Civil War monuments) and Andersonville, Ga., as well as 14 names. The west face lists 15 names and the battles of the Wilderness and Fredericksburg, both in Virginia.
The shaft is topped by funerary decorative elements, but otherwise is fairly plain. Obelisks were customary for Civil War monuments built in the 1860s and early-to-mid 1870s, with the soldier-on-a-pedestal designs becoming popular a bit later.
The Berlin monument was erected by the local Grand Army of the Republic post. Overall, it remains in good condition, and only has a small amount of lichen growth. The traffic signs are an unfortunate but probably necessary addition to the traffic island surrounding the monument.
Tags: Berlin
Brattleboro, Vt., honors local Civil War heroes with a monument featuring a bronze infantry soldier atop a two-staged granite pillar.
The monument, near the intersection of Route 30 (Linden Street) and Park Place, was dedicated in 1887.
A plaque on the front (south) face reads “This monument commemorates the loyalty of the men or Brattleboro who fought for liberty and the Union in the great rebellion of 1861-1865. Enlisted 381. Died in service 31. Erected by a grateful town AD 1887.”
The east side has a plaque that combines the U.S. and Vermont seals, displaying stars and stripes along with agricultural symbols including wheat sheaves and a cow.
A plaque on the north side reads, “Never forget what they did here” above a list of 17 Civil War battles.
The west side of the monument features a plaque with a bas-relief scene depicting a Union and a Confederate officer (who kind of resembles Robert E. Lee) shaking hands in front of an allegorical figure representing the United States. A kneeling African American is being presented with a scroll representing emancipation.
The west plaque’s scene features the inscription from Lincoln’s second inaugural address “With malice towards none, with charity for all,” as well as symbols honoring the cavalry (swords), Navy, (anchor), artillery (cannons) and infantry (rifles).
The infantry figure and plaques were cast by sculptor Melzar H. Mossman of Chicopee, Mass., who was also responsible for bronze figures in Middletown, Danielson, Bridgeport’s Seaside Park, and New Haven’s East Rock Park.
Not far from the Civil War monument stands a granite tribute to local residents who were killed in the World Wars, Korea and Vietnam. The monument, which features a decorative eagle atop its central pillar, is inscribed with approximately 30 names from World War I; 51 names from World War II; three names from the Korean War and six names from Vietnam.
Also not far from the war monuments is a memorial tree planted by the Woman’s Relief Corps, the auxiliary organization to the Grand Army of the Republic (the post-Civil War veterans’ organization). The WRC was also responsible for previously highlighted Civil War monuments in Clinton and Putnam, CT.
Thanks, Dad, for the pictures
Source:
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Art Inventories Catalog
Tags: Vermont
A large cannon in the northeast corner of Guilford’s Alderbook Cemetery honors local Civil War veterans.
The cannon, a 100-pounder Parrott rifle manufactured in 1863, was dedicated in 1902 to honor veterans buried in a section near the cannon. The cannon points southeast, and has been mounted on a stone platform inscribed with the initials G-A-R to honor the Grand Army of the Republic, the Civil War veterans’ organization.
A plaque on the southwest face bears the dedication “To the memory of those who fought for the preservation of the Union 1861-1865”
Concrete footings near the cannon indicate the monument once had two displays of cannonball pyramids, but those have been removed (possibly for a World War II scrap drive).
The Connecticut Historical Society description identifies the cannon incorrectly as a Rodman gun, one of the few errors we’ve noticed in their invaluable compilation of the state’s Civil War monuments. The cannon, probably used by the Navy, bears a distinctive band near the breech, and the markings include the initials of the designer, Robert Parker Parrott.
