Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument, (sculpture).

Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument, (sculpture).

Mosman, Melzar Hunt, 1845-1926, sculptor. (attributed to)

Van Amringe Granite Company, design firm.

Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument, (sculpture).

Soldiers' Monument, (sculpture).

Civil War Memorial, (sculpture).

Dedicated June 17, 1902.

Digital Reference:

Sculpture: Vermont Barre granite; Base: granite.

Sculpture: approx. H. 44 ft. 2 in. x Diam. 4 ft.; Base: approx. H. 8 ft. 10 in. x Diam. 8 ft.

(Front of column:) TO THE MEN/OF SOUTH READING/WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES/TO KEEP/THE UNITED STATES/1861-1865 (Back of column:) GIVEN TO/THE TOWN OF/WAKEFIELD/BY/HARRIET NEWELL FLINT (Back of base:) ERECTED/1902 (Base of right front soldier:) CHARLESTON/BRANDY STATION/RESACA/APPAMATTOX/ANDERSONVILLE (Base of left front soldier:) NEW BERRE/MALVERN HILL/CHANCELLORSVILLE/WELDON RAILROAD/FORT FISHER (Base of right rear soldier:) BULL RUN/BALLS BLUFF/FREDERICKSBURG/WILDERNESS/PETERSBURG (Base of left rear soldier:) ANTIETAM/PORT HUDSON/ALDIE/GETTYSBURG/SPOTTSYLVANIA

The monument consists of four granite sculptures of Civil War soldiers, each resting atop a small block of stone that extends from the base of a tall granite column. The column is topped by a Civil War color bearer holding a flag on his proper left side. Each of the soldiers around the base of the column is dressed in a different type of uniform.

History -- United States -- Civil War

Figure group -- Male

Occupation -- Military -- Sailor

Occupation -- Military -- Soldier

Object -- Weapon -- Sword

Object -- Weapon -- Gun

Dress -- Uniform -- Military Uniform

Outdoor Sculpture -- Massachusetts -- Wakefield

Administered by Town of Wakefield, Parks and Recreation, Town Hall, Wakefield, Massachusetts 01880

Located Town Common, Main & Salem Streets, Wakefield, Massachusetts

The monument was erected through a bequest of $10,000 to the Town of Wakefield from the Mrs. Harriet N. Flint. At the 1898 town meeting, officials voted to accept Mrs. Flint's bequest and to hold the money in trust until there was a sum sufficient to erect a soldiers' memorial. On March 22, 1901, the Memorial Committee appointed by the Town Moderator chose the design of the Van Amringe Granite Company. IAS files contain newspaper articles from the Wakefield Item, June 17, 1977 and March 9, 1973. In 1973, the monument was damages when vandals knocked one of the soldiers off of his base. The sculpture shattered and the pieces were scattered over a wide area.

Carlock, Marty, "A Guide to Public Art in Greater Boston," Boston: Harvard Common Press, 1988.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Massachusetts survey, 1993.

National Park Service, American Monuments and Outdoor Sculpture Database, MA0133, 1989.

Monumental News, Feb. 1903, pg. 126.

The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.

Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

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