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Historical Significance:
MOTHERS' SOLDIER'S MONUMENT, Union, is significant historically because it is tangible evidence of the honor and respect paid by the community of Union, Connecticut, to those who made contributions to the Civil War effort. The reference to the Grand Army of the Republic, D.P. Corbin Post, No. 74, is indicative of the prominent role played by the G.A.R. in the postwar community statewide, particularly with regard to raising Civil War monuments.
The town voted on October 7, 1901, to grade the site and put in the foundation for a soldier's monument. The two plaques listing names of the soldiers and post members were given by Mrs. David P. Corbin of Hartford, for whose husband the post was named. David P. Corbin enlisted August 25, 1862, in a unit which mustered into Company G, 22nd Regiment, Connecticut Volunteers. John Warren Corbin presented the monument to the town on Dedication Day, May 30, 1902.
Artistic Significance:
MOTHERS' SOLDIER'S MONUMENT is significant artistically because of the wording of the plaque which dedicates the memorial first and foremost to "the mothers who gave their sons." Such recognition is unusual.
In addition, the monument is thoughtfully designed to receive the cannon. The rounded surfaces are appropriate for the purpose.
Description:
MOTHERS' SOLDIER'S MONUMENT consists of a cannon, pointed toward the west, supported on a rough-finished dark gray Monson (Massachusetts) granite base. A pile of 20 cannonballs is adjacent to the west. The monument is dedicated to all the mothers and sons who contributed to the Civil War effort to preserve the Union.
A two-stage plinth or base leads up to the smooth die, which is rounded and shaped to receive the cannon and its bearing. The rear of the base is also rounded. The plaques on the north and south are recessed into the stone; on the west the plaque is affixed to and projects from the stone. Weight of the monument is 3,500 pounds.
Union Lands, page 229, refers to the monument as a likeness of a cannon. Whether it is a real cannon is undetermined. Initially, there were four pyramidal piles of cannonballs, one at each corner, for a total of 60. One partial pyramid remains.
Lettering:
South face of base, 22" x 32" bronze plaque, raised caps:
DEDICATED
IN GRATEFUL MEMORY,
TO THE MOTHERS WHO GAVE THEIR SONS,
TO THE SOLDIERS WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES
AND
TO THOSE WHO DARING TO DIE, SURVIVED
THE WAR OF THE REBELLION
1861- 1865
Front (west) face, 18" x 24" bronze plaque, raised caps:
CHARTER MEMBERS OF
D. P. CORBIN POST G.A.R.
No. 74. UNION. CONN.
(list of 10 names)
MEMORIAL ERECTED
1902
North, 26" X 32" plaque:
ROSTER OF MEN FROM UNION
WHO SERVED IN THE
WAR OF THE REBELLION 1861 - 1865
(2 columns of 33 names each)
South hub of cannon, incised:
J 92
Sources:
Bruce Clouette,
National Register of Historic Places Registration Form for Union Green Historic District, Union
, Connecticut (Washington, D.C.: National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, 1990).
Union Lands,
A People's History
, commemorative edition (1984), p. 229.
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