(there are no individual names on this Civil War Monument)
In January 1889 the Nashua City council voted "For the erection of a Soldier's Monument and appropriation not exceeding twelve thousand dollars." By March the Committee appointed chose a design present by T. M. Perry, of the Frederick & Field Quarry in Quincy, Massachusetts.
A cornerstone holding a time capsule was laid on 30 May 1889 by the Grand Master Masons of New Hampshire. It was Decoration Day (now called Memorial Day). There was a parade up Main Street to Abbott Square where the monument was to built. Several long addresses, prayers and speeches were given. You can read all about the festivities and a transcription of the speeches in the book below (pages 32 - 39). On pages 39 to 40 you can find a list of the items placed in the cornerstone, too. This was followed by more orations and speeches!
The Monument was finished and dedicated on 15 October 1889, just 10 months after the vote to build it. I'm pretty sure that a project of this magnitude would take a bit longer in Nashua today. It was built of Quincy granite with bronze statues and plaques, so I'm also sure that it would cost much more than the $12,000 today, too. There was another parade, with viewing platforms and more speeches, and you can read them, too, in the book mentioned below on pages 97 - 120.
This photo is from page 68 of the
book mentioned below.
The sword is now missing.
A TRIBUTE TO THE
MEN OF NASHUA,
WHO SERVED THEIR COUNTRY
ON LAND OR SEA DURING
THE WAR OF THE
REBELLION, AND AIDED IN
PRESERVING THE INTEGRITY
OF THE
FEDERAL UNION
A.D. 1861 - 1865
--------------------
ERECTED BY THE
CITY OF NASHUA
A.D. 1889
 |
| The City Seal for Nashua, New Hampshire |
"THE UNION OUGHT TO BE CONSIDERED AS
A MAIN PROP OF YOUR LIBERTY, AND THE
LOVE OF THE ONE OUGHT TO ENDEAR TO
YOU THE PRESERVATION OF THE OTHER"
WASHINGTON'S FAREWELL ADDRESS
"OUR FEDERAL UNION: IT MUST BE PRESERVED"
ANDREW JACKSON
"LIBERTY AND UNION, NOW AND FOREVER,
ONE AND INSEPARABLE"
DANIEL WEBSTER
"THAT FROM THESE HONORED DEAD, WE TAKE
INCREASED DEVOTION TO THAT CAUSE FOR
WHICH THEY GAVE THE LAST FULL MEASURE
OF DEVOTION- THAT WE HERE HIGHLY RE-
SOLVE THAT THESE DEAD SHALL NOT HAVE
DIED IN VAIN- AND THAT GOVERNMENT OF
THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE, FOR THE PEO-
PLE SHALL NOT PERISH FROM THE EARTH."
ABRAHAM LINCOLN
"LET US HAVE PEACE"
U.S. GRANT
SINKING OF THE ALABAMA BY THE KEARSARGE, JUNE 19, 1864
A book about this monument:
An Account of the Soldiers' and Sailor's Monument Erected by the People of the City of Nashua, Nashua, NH: James H. Barker, City Printer, 1889
You download this book from Archives.org or read it online at this link:
http://archive.org/stream/accountofsoldier00nash#page/n7/mode/2up
-----------------------
The URL for this post is
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-soldiers-and-sailors-monument.html
Copyright 2013, Heather Wilkinson Rojo
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