The Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument is a

war memorial A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or (predominating in modern times) to commemorate those who died or were injured in a war. Symbolism Historical usage It has ...

located on the summit of

East Rock East Rock of south-central Connecticut, United States, with a high point of , is a long trap rock ridge located primarily in the neighborhood of East Rock on the north side of the city of New Haven. A prominent landscape feature and a popula ...

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134 ...

. It is visible for miles from the surrounding area and

Long Island Sound Long Island Sound is a marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York to the south. From west to east, the sound stretches from the Eas ...

. The monument was completed in 1887 and honors the residents of New Haven who gave their lives in the Revolutionary War, the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It be ...

, the Mexican War, and the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...

. It is high and 87 steps to the top.

History

Interest in the monument began as early as 1878, when the New Haven-based Admiral Hull Foote Post of the

Grand Army of the Republic The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army (United States Army), Union Navy ( U.S. Navy), and the Marines who served in the American Civil War. It was founded in 1866 in Decatur, ...

began lobbying citizens for a large war memorial in New Haven, and a site on the

New Haven Green The New Haven Green is a privately owned park and recreation area located in the downtown district of the city of New Haven, Connecticut. It comprises the central square of the nine-square settlement plan of the original Puritan colonists in New ...

was dedicated in the following year. A committee and funds for the monument were formed in an 1882 town meeting, but objections about the high number of GAR members in attendance prompted litigation that stalled the project. In 1883, the monument committee advertised a design competition for the monument. At least 15 designs were submitted, including one by

Alexander Doyle Alexander Doyle (1857–1922) was an American sculptor. Doyle was born in Steubenville, Ohio, and spent his youth in Louisville (Kentucky) and St. Louis (Missouri) before going to Italy to study sculpture in Bergamo, Rome, and Florence, studying ...

and John M. Moffit after the deadline. The committee also solicited designs from George Keller and

Augustus Saint-Gaudens Augustus Saint-Gaudens (; March 1, 1848 – August 3, 1907) was an American sculptor of the Beaux-Arts generation who embodied the ideals of the American Renaissance. From a French-Irish family, Saint-Gaudens was raised in New York City, he tra ...

, who each had designed several well-known Civil War memorials, but both declined to submit proposals. In 1884, the monument's site was moved to East Rock after the city council decided to retain the defunct Connecticut State House, causing further delays. Two years after the original solicitation, a neoclassical design by Moffit & Doyle was selected, including an observatory, bronze statuary, and red

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies un ...

shaft. Work was undertaken in 1886 by New Haven firm Smith & Sperry, with the bronze casting completed by the

Ames Manufacturing Company Ames Manufacturing Company was a manufacturer of swords, tools and cutlery in Chicopee, Massachusetts, as well as an iron and bronze foundry. They were a major provider of side arms, swords, light artillery, and heavy ordnance for the Union in the ...

and the

Decorative Bronze Company Beauty is commonly described as a feature of objects that makes these objects pleasurable to perceive. Such objects include landscapes, sunsets, humans and works of art. Beauty, together with art and taste, is the main subject of aesthetics, o ...

. The monument was dedicated on June 17, 1887, with 175,000 people in attendance at the ceremony and parade, including Generals

William Tecumseh Sherman William Tecumseh Sherman ( ; February 8, 1820February 14, 1891) was an American soldier, businessman, educator, and author. He served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861–1865), achieving recognition for his com ...

and

Philip Henry Sheridan General of the Army Philip Henry Sheridan (March 6, 1831 – August 5, 1888) was a career United States Army officer and a Union Army, Union General officers in the United_States, general in the American Civil War. His career was noted f ...

as guests of honor.

Inscriptions

The inscriptions on the Soldiers and Sailors monument are as follows: Southwest face (

battles) * Gettysburg * Port Hudson *

Fort Fisher Fort Fisher was a Confederate fort during the American Civil War. It protected the vital trading routes of the port at Wilmington, North Carolina, from 1861 until its capture by the Union in 1865. The fort was located on one of Cape Fear Rive ...

* 1861-1865 Southeast face ( Revolutionary War battles) * Bunker Hill * Bennington * Saratoga * 1775-1783 Northeast face (

battles) *

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also ha ...

Lake Champlain , native_name_lang = , image = Champlainmap.svg , caption = Lake Champlain-River Richelieu watershed , image_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = , location = New York/ Vermont in the United States; and Quebec in Canada , coords = , type ...

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

* 1812-1815 Northwest face (

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the ...

) *

Palo Alto Palo Alto (; Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. The city was es ...

* Molino Del Rey *

Chapultepec Chapultepec, more commonly called the "Bosque de Chapultepec" (Chapultepec Forest) in Mexico City, is one of the largest city parks in Mexico, measuring in total just over 686 hectares (1,695 acres). Centered on a rock formation called Chapultep ...

In addition, the northwest face bears a large plaque with the following inscription: "1861-1865 Soldiers and Sailors of New Haven who died in defense of the Union." This inscription is followed by a three-column casualty list of twelve regiments of

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...

men. The frame of the plaque depicts numbered

badges A badge is a device or accessory, often containing the insignia of an organization, which is presented or displayed to indicate some feat of service, a special accomplishment, a symbol of authority granted by taking an oath (e.g., police and fi ...

and

flag A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design empl ...

s. Some legible names along this border include: * Fort Donaldson *

Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James, Nansemond and Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's Point where the Chesapeake Bay flows into the Atlantic ...

* Newberne, N.C. *

Fort Pulaski A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

* James Island * Island No. 10 *

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

* Fair Oaks * Secessionville * Gettysburg *

Dallas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

* Bull Run

References

External links

City of New Haven map of East Rock ParkSCRCG map of East Rock ParkCity of New Haven East Rock Park page

City of New Haven
* The Connecticut Historical Society
Official program of exercised incident to dedication of the Soldiers' and sailors' monument, at East Rock park, New Haven, Conn., on Friday, June 17thA photo of the dedication of the Soldiers monument
{{coord, 41.32725, -72.90462, type:landmark_region:US-CT, display=title 1887 sculptures Buildings and structures in New Haven, Connecticut Monuments and memorials in Connecticut Tourist attractions in New Haven, Connecticut Union (American Civil War) monuments and memorials in Connecticut