Class Book COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT / Cuyahoga County Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument, ^ ^ Cleveland, O., U. S. A. Viev/ from Northeast. Brief Historical Sketch OF THE CUYAHOGA COUNTY Soldiers' and Sailors Monument. COMPLETE DESCRIPTION OF THE MEMORIAL STRUCTURE DEDICATION PROGRAMME. r » • \ * PUBLISHED BY THE MONUMENT COMMISSIONERS, CLEVELAND, OHIO. 1896. AUG 19189$ Copyright, 1896, By Francis M. Van Etten, New York City. CUYAHOGA COUNTY Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument Commission. WILLIAM J. GLEASON, President. LEVI F. BAUDER, Secretary. J. B. MOLYNEAUX, J. J. ELWELL, EDWARD H. BOHM, CHARLES C. DEWSTOE, LEVI T. SCOFIELD, JAMES HAYR, EMORY W. FORCE, Dr. R. W. WALTERS, JAMES BARNETT, M. D. LEGGETT. Executive Committee. WILLIAM J. GLEASON, Chairman. LEVI F. BAUDER, Secretary. JAMES BARNETT, J. B. MOLYNEAUX, JAMES HAYR, LEVI T. SCOFIELD. The Perpetual Commission. WILLIAM J. GLEASON, President. JOSEPH B. MOLYNEAUX, Secretary. J. J. ELWELL, JAMES PICKANDS. M. D. LEGGETT, EDWARD H. BOHM, CHARLES C. DEWSTOE. LEVI T. SCOFIELD, Architect and Sculptor. (View from Northwest.) CUYAHOGA COUNTY SOLDIERS' AND SAILORS' MONUMENT, Cleveland, O., U. S. A. Brief Historical Sketch of the Monument Project. HE idea of erecting a monument to commem- orate the valor and patriotism of the Union Soldiers and Sailors of Cuyahoga County, I® State of Ohio, in the War of the Rebellion, P from 1861 to 1865, was first proposed by Com- rade William J. Gleason at a meeting of Camp Bar- nett, Soldiers' and Sailors' Society, held in Cleve- land, Ohio, on the evening of October 2 2d, 1879. The original resolution introduced was as follows : Ki Resolved : That the President of the Society be and is hereby directed to appoint a committee of three, whose duty it will be to formulate a plan for the erection of a suitable mon- ument or memorial to commemorate the Union Soldiers and Sailors of Cuyahoga County." The project was unanimously and enthusiastically approved, whereupon President Charles C. Dewstoe appointed Comrades William J. Gleason, Edward H. Bohm and Joseph B. Molyneaux as the committee. At this time arrangements were being perfected for a grand reunion of all ex-soldiers and sailors of Cuya- hoga County, to be held in Case Hall, Cleveland, O., STATUE OF LIBERTY. October 30th, 1879. The committee named were re- quested to report to this meeting the feasibility of the undertaking and a plan for carrying it out. The com- mittee discussed several modes of procedure and finally adopted the plan proposed by Comrade Gleason, as follows : "To the Union Soldiers and Sailors of Cuyahoga County ; " COMRADES : — The undersigned committee, appointed by a meeting of ex- soldiers and sailors held in the City of Cleve- land, Wednesday evening, October 22d, 1879, to take into consideration the feasibility of the erection of a Monument and a plan for carrying it out, submit the following report : " For the purpose of perpetuating the memory of the men of Cuyahoga County who responded to the call of patriotism in the War of the Rebellion, we favor the erection of a Memor- ial Monument. Believing that the people of this County ap- preciate the gallantry and heroism of the soldiers and sailors who represented them in the Union Army and Navy in the years of the Rebellion, and feeling that the record made at that time by the men who went from their midst redounds to the glory and is the common heritage of the people of this County, we favor the building of a monument by the entire people of Cuyahoga County. To accomplish this result, we recommend that our Senator and Representatives to the Gen- eral Assembly of Ohio draft a bill, and use their influence in its passage by the Legislature, authorizing the levying of a tax on all the property of the County, said money to be placed in a special fund, to be known and designated as the Cuyahoga County Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument Fund ; said fund to be applied to the erection of a suitable monument that will stand for ages as a Memorial to our County, and be a perpet- ual reminder to the present and future generations of the sen- timent entertained by all loyal people for the volunteer soldiers and sailors who risked their lives in defense of a free, united country. We further recommend that the Convention of ex- Soldiers and Sailors appoint a committee of seven ex- soldiers, who will have all plans submitted to them, and also have sole charge of the erection of the Monument. " We would earnestly recommend that the Monument be located in the center of Monumental Park, in the City of Cleve- land. Respectfully submitted, Wm. J. Gleason, [Signed.] Edward H. Bohm, J. B. Molyneaux, Committee Camp Barnett, Soldiers' and Sailors' Society. Cleveland, O., October 30th, 1879." The general convention held in Case Hall, October 30th, 1879, at which more than twelve hundred ex-sol- diers and sailors were registered as being in attend- ance, unanimously adopted the plan proposed by the foregoing committee. The convention thereupon elected Comrades Wm. J. Gleason, Edward H. Bohm, Emory W. Force, W. F. Goodspeed, E. H. Eggleston, Levi T. Scofield and Edwin Andrews a permanent committee on the erection of the Cuyahoga County Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument. This convention was presided over by Comrade James Barnett. The principal speakers on the occa- sion were Comrades James A. Garfield, James B. Steadman and William H. Gibson. Subsequently, at the request of the Monument Committee, Comrades Thomas J. Carran, A. J. Wil- liams, W. T. Clark, W. D. Pudney and J. Dwight Palmer drafted and introduced suitable bills in the Ohio Senate and House, securing all of the necessary legislation. Description of the Memorial. AT a meeting of the Cuyahoga County Soldiers' and Sailors' Union, held at Bedford, June 1 7, 1886, it was determined that the time had arrived to commence the undertaking, which had for many years been contemplated by that body, of erect- the Memorial that had been authorized by Legislative enactment ; accordingly a vote was taken as to the character and style of the structure, and the result was about an equal division as to the desirability of a shaft or a Memorial Hall. Capt. J. B. Molyneaux suggested the happy idea of combining the two plans, by having for a central feature a shaft or column and at the base a Memorial or relic room, which was afterward changed to a tablet room. This suggestion was enthusiastically adopted and the committee was instructed to proceed with the work of preparing plans and construction. Captain Molyneaux intro- duced a resolution inviting Captain Levi T. Scofield to prepare plans and designs for the Monument. Captain Scofield declined to accept employment, and, later on, the appointment of Chairman of the Com- mittee on Plans ; but finally consented to act with the Committee on Plans on condition that the entire Monument Committee would aid in preparing the II designs, he agreeing to put their ideas in shape, when furnished, providing they would accept such services without compensation. This was agreed to, and the Committee at once commenced their task. An act was passed May 5, 1888, appointing a com- mission of twelve members, to act independently of the County Commissioners. The new Board were unan- imously in favor of departing from the stereotyped Soldiers' Monument design, and instead prepared one that would be historical and educational as per- taining to events of the war for the preservation of the Union. The principal features of the exterior of the Monument are four realistic groups of bronze statuary, representing in heroic size the four principal branches of the service: Infantry, Artillery, Cavalry and the Navy; not in the stiff and inartistic attitudes of dress parade, but in fierce conflict, with worn gar- ments to accord, and the supple action of men whose muscles are trained by rushing through brush and swamps to capture breastworks. With this in view it was deemed inappropriate to have for a background to such scenes a building in classical Gothic, Rom- anesque or other popular style of architecture, but instead to substitute a style made up entirely of mil- itary and naval emblems. The foundation of the column, or shaft proper, is twelve feet square, around which is the tablet room, the four walls of which are lined with beau- tifully colored marble tablets on which are engraved the names of the ten thousand of Cuyahoga's w o < H o en O O > w I— I H < '3 brave sons who were willing to risk their all lor their country. To have an ample space from which to view these tablets necessitated the planning of a room forty feet square, and, to be properly propor- tioned, twenty feet high. The walls are three feet thick. Surrounding the building is an esplanade five feet above the grade line and approached by circular steps at the four corners. Upon the same are built four missive pedestals each nine by twenty- one feet and ten feet high. To secure a proper walking and standing space around these pedestals and the necessary railings, required the building of an esplanade one hundred feet square. To the top of the surmounting figure above the carefully pro- portioned column and building is one hundred and twenty -five feet. The steps and massive platforms composing the esplanade are of red Medina stone polished to a smooth surface. The ramps and pedestals of same are of buff Amherst stone. The building is of black Quincy granite, random coursed, with Amherst stone trimmings. The roof of this structure is made of slabs of stone twelve inches thick, ingeniously fitted together so as to be absolutely water tight. Above the roof is a connecting pedestal to the die of the column in the form of a bastioned fort with pains in barbette, the projecting bastions forming an outline that blends with the sloping gables of the building, making harmonious connections between the column and the broad base of the Monument. Q < o w u > Q w E cu D O > > J 5 The die of the column is of Amherst stone, rep- resenting a section of a fortified tower, is nine feet in diameter with projecting moldings twelve feet. The shaft of the column is of polished black Ouincy granite in ten blocks, each weighing about fourteen tons, the lower end seven feet in diameter and the upper six and one half feet. At the alternate joints of the shaft are six bronze foliated bands, seventeen inches in width, containing the names of thirty of the most prominent battles of the War commencing alphabetically at the top in the following order: Antietam, Atlanta, Bentonville, Cedar Mountain, Chickamauga, Corinth, Donelson, Five Forks, Fort Fisher, Franklin, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, Kenne- saw, Knoxville, Mission Ridge, Mobile, Monitor- Mer- rimac, Nashville, New Orleans, Pea Ridge, Perryville, Petersburg, Resaca, Richmond, Shiloh, Spotsylvania, Stone River, Vicksburg, Fort Wagner, Wilderness and Winchester. The above list was compiled after corresponding with some of the most prominent his- torians and generals of the army. All that shows above the granite shaft, about forty-one feet in height, is of cast bronze, weighing about thirty thousand pounds. The first member above or neck of the column is in the form of a gabion. The bell of the capital is divided by eight bent fasces, between which are the emblems of the eight principal branches of the service — Infantry, Cavalry, Artillery, Navy, Engineers, Ordnance, Sig- nal and Ouartermaster. i7 The volutes of the capital, while properly propor- tioned, have a resemblance to pieces of artillery, with wheels, muzzles, trails, etc. The abacus is pierced for armament and is nearly twelve feet across in its widest part. These different members are separated by ropes, blockading chains, etc., instead of moldings; a row of cap pouches is substituted for leaf ornaments. Above the abacus the pedestal is in the form of a mon- itor turret with projecting guns, terminating with a member encircled with the stars and stripes, on which stands the Amazonian figure of Liberty, fifteen feet in height, in the attitude of defense. The bronze statuary in the four groups on the ped- estal is made about one- third larger than life, being from seven and one-half to eight feet two inches in height. The Infantry group, representing "The Color Guard," was from an actual incident of the War, and de- picts with vivid truthfulness, as the sculptor saw it, the gallant defense of the flag of the 103rd Ohio Infantry, at the battle of Resaca, where the lion-hearted sergeant, Martin Striebler, and his gallant guard of eight corpo- rals, stood before the enemy's fire until they were all killed or wounded. The Artillery group, "At Short Range," repre- sents a piece in action, fully manned, with an officer in command. The gun is depressed ; the abandoned shell in front shows that cannister has been substi- tuted. No. 1 has rammed the charge home ere the deadly minie ball pierced his heart, and he clutches > < W H O o I— I E- i— i u w E « J the rammer rigidly as he throws himself across the gun for support. No. 2 has fallen in his position. No. 3, the reliable red -whiskered farmer, has left the vent and taken the Corporal's place at the trail. No. 4, while attaching the lanyard hook to the friction primer, is looking down at his fallen comrade. The sturd\- gunner, with left hand on elevating screw, while notic- ing the obstruction on the gun, holds his right hand out from the trail, giving notice for the men to be steady. The officer, who has been looking with his field glass, has not noticed his wounded men, and, pointing with his finger, says, " A little more to the right, Corporal." The Cavalry group, " The Advance Guard," repre- sents a detachment that has struck the line of the en- emy. A trooper is still astride his horse that has fallen with a bad wound. A venturesome Confederate soldier has noticed his predicament and has made a rush for the guidon, but the cavalryman has whipped out his revolver and has given " Johnny Reb " one in the face, and is prepared for another shot. A fine-looking Con- federate officer has seized the rebel flag from the fallen bearer, and is cheering his men to the assault. A dismounted trooper in front, on one knee, is coverino- his man with his carbine. The bugler has been sent forward from the reserve by his officer to see how mat- ters are progressing at the front; finding them hard pressed, and stubbornly trying to hold their ground, he has dismounted, and is sending back a bugle call for assistance. The Confederate soldiers were intro- 21 duced in this historical group to show to posterity what they and their flag were like. The Navy group, " Mortar Practice," represents a scene near Island No. 10 on the Mississippi River, where an officer and five men are loading a mortar, preparatory to shelling the intrenchments. As before stated, the character of the building is in the order of military and naval emblems. The win- dows represent semi-circular casement openings, with vertical cannons supporting the caps instead of col- umns. The metope spaces in the frieze of the cornice are filled with richly carved army corps badges, encir- cled with laurel wreaths planted on shields. The tri- glyphs separating them are in the form of the stars and stripes of our flag. The cresting of the cornice is formed of embattlements through which show muzzles of guns. At the four corners of the cornice are pedes- tals suggesting capstans, on which are supported bronze flag poles. The stars and stripes float from one pole every day of the year, on holidays at the four corners. Over the doors at each of the north and south en- trances are panels with the dates 1 861-1865. Over the north entrance is the Ohio State Seal, and over the south entrance the United States Seal, flanked by battle-axes and draped flags. The gables at the east and west sides have respectively the badges of the Grand Army of the Republic and the Loyal Legion, bordered with draped flags. In the north and south gables in bold letters are engraved: "Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument." 23 Upon entering the building from Superior Street, the visitor is struck with an effective group of life- size figures in a cast bronze panel, seven by ten feet, representing the Emancipation of the Slave. The central figure in full relief is Abraham Lincoln, his right hand extended holding the shackles that have been taken from the bondsman kneeling at his feet, while with the left he hands him the gun and accoutrements. This feature .explains more clearly the law which authorized Lincoln to issue the proc- lamation, and also required the Government to employ the slave as a soldier. On the right hand of the President stand Salmon P. Chase and John Sherman, the financial men of the war period, and on the left are Ben. Wade and Joshua R. Giddings, who were Lincoln's main stays in the anti-slavery movements. In the background, in bas-relief, are represented the Army and the Navy. Overhead is the closing para- graph of the proclamation, written by Chase and adopt- ed by Lincoln, "And upon this act, sincerely believed to be an act of justice, warranted by the Constitu- tion, upon military necessity, I invoke the considerate judgment of mankind and the gracious favor of Almighty God." The panel on the west side of the shaft is called '•The Beginning of the War, in Ohio." The three central figures are the war governors Dennison, Tod and Brough, flanked on the right by Generals McClel- lan, Cox and Garfield, and on the left by Generals Rosecrans, Hayes and Gilmore. In the background 25 on one side is represented the recruiting service, and on the other the troops marching to the front. The panel on the south side represents the Sani- tary Commission, the Soldiers' Aid Society and the Hospital Service The figures shown are Mrs. Benj. Rouse, President ; Miss Mary Clarke Brayton, Secre- tary ; Miss Ellen F. Terry, Treasurer; Miss Sarah Mahan, Clerk, and Vice-Presidents Mrs. John Shelley, Mrs William Melhinch and Mrs. J. A. Harris. The hospital work is represented by Mrs. R. B. Hayes, Mrs. Peter Thatcher and a Sister of Charity dressing the arm of a wounded soldier lying on a cot. 1 Under this panel is the official list of names of those who were active in assisting the officers of the Commission during the war. The fourth panel is entitled " The End of the War ; or, The Peacemakers at City Point " The scene is where Lincoln left his steamer " River Queen" and went ashore to visit Grant's headquarters. Gen. Sherman had been invited by Grant to visit him for con- sultation, as he usually did before making any import- ant movement ; he was accompanied by Gen. Leggett. The other figures in the group are Robert T. Lincoln, Generals Rawlins, Crook, Sheridan, Custer, Meade, Ord, Warren, Humphrey and Commodore Porter, fourteen in all. This conference led to the battle of Five Forks and the surrender of Lee's army at Appo- mattox. These bronze historical panels are framed with molded colored marble bases, with massive fasces at BRONZE DOORS, NORTH AND SOUTH ENTRANCES. ~7 the four corners, and heavy molded caps. Above the panels, and extending to the ceiling, the shaft is encased in colored marble. In each of the four faces are three large-sized bronze medallions of prominent Ohio commanders, the officers chosen being Hon. E. M. Stanton, Secretary of War ; Generals J. B. McPherson, James B. Hazen, A. McDowell McCook, Manning F. Force, James B. Steadman, J. S. Casement, A. C. Voris, J. J. Elwell, George W. Morgan, Emerson Opdycke and Dr. C. A. Hartman. Between the arches of the windows on the east and west walls are six niches in which rest bronze busts of officers who were killed in action : Col. W. R. Creigh- ton, Lieut-Col. Mervin Clark, Maj. J. B. Hampson, Capt. Wm. W. Hutchinson, Capt. William Smith and Capt. W. J. Woodward. By a vote of the Commission, the bronze busts of Gen. James Barnett and Capt. Levi T. Scofield were ordered placed over the north and south doors, the former in honor of his distinguished patriotism during the war, he having held the highest rank of any soldier of our county; the latter in recognition of his brilliant services as architect and sculptor, to the people of the county and to the Commissioners. The marble ceiling is composed of heavy slabs of light blue color about six feet six inches square, and the molded ribs surrounding same are of a rich green color. In the marble work over the entrances are two inscriptions. Over the north entrance : 28 Cuyahoga County's tribute to those who gave and those who offered to give their lives, that the nation might live. Written by President William J. Gleason. Over the south entrance : Break ranks and rest till the last trumpet's call Shall sound the fateful reveille for all. Written by Secretary Levi F. Bauder. On the shaft, above the panel of the Sanitary Com- mission, is engraved the following quotation from a patriotic address of Henry Ward Beecher : " How bright are the honors which await those who, with sacred fortitude and patriotic patience, have endured all things that they might save their native land from division and from the power of corruption. The honored dead ! They that die for a good cause are redeemed from death. Their names are gathered and garnered. Their memory is precious. Oh, tell me not that they are dead ! That generous host, that airy army of invisible heroes. They hover as a cloud of witnesses above this nation. Are they dead that yet speak louder than we can speak, and a more universal language ? Are they dead that yet act ? Are they dead that yet move upon society, and inspire the people with nobler motives and more heroic patriotism ? Till the mountains are worn out, and the rivers forget to flow ; till the clouds are weary of replenishing springs, and the springs forget to gush, and the rills to sing, shall their names be kept fresh with reverent honors which are inscribed upon the book of National Remembrance." The floor is laid out in emblematic patterns of marble mosaic, two feet wide around the shaft and next to the outer wall, where a bronze railing is placed to protect the tablets and panels. Between the rail- ings is the walking-space laid with a marquetry of 2 9 red and white Medina stone, four inches thick, with upper surface polished. From the ceiling is suspended a rich cast bronze electrolier encircling the shaft midway between same and outer wall, with reflectors for both shaft and walls, containing i 20 incandescent lights. At the four cor- ners are suspended handsome combination chande- liers for gas and electricity. The building is heated by electricity, with forty electrical radiators that have been placed around the walls, guaranteed to heat the rooms to 75 degrees in zero weather. The radiators are concealed by brass screens perforated in the designs of corps and army badges. The window openings have bronze frames and sash that are hinged at the bottom and open at the top, worked with a chain and gearing to each sep- arate sash. The windows are glazed with stained glass in emblematic iri' saic patterns. On the side next to the cavalry group, the designs show nearly everything that is used in the cavalry service, boots and saddles, horseshoes, flags, carbines, revolvers, an- vils, swords, etc. Appropriate emblems are on the other three sides. Those who served in the different branches can pick out in the brilliant colors of opales- cent glass everything that was familiar to them, from a small screw up to the heaviest ordnance. The sash are made double, so that an extra thick- ness of Florentine glass, placed on the outside, will conceal the raw colors of the light opalescent glass, which otherwise would show on the exterior. 3° The bronze doors are of excellent construction, and have rich panels with emblematic designs of the four branches of service and some of the staff depart- ments. There are also cast bronze grilled doors of rich design to correspond with the surroundings. All the above doors have no hinges, but work with pivots in bronze sockets let into the stonework above and below. The locks are of the same construction as are used in bank safes. On three sides of the Monument, in the grass plots, are set out every summer, in beautiful colored flowering plants, beds representing the twenty-four corps of the army, the cavalry corps and signal ser vice ; and on the Superior Street side, large badges of the Grand Army of the Republic, Woman's Relief Corps, the Loyal Legion, the Union Veterans' Union, the Sons of Veterans and the Ladies of the Grand Army. THE DEDICATION. The Memorial was dedicated July 4, 1894, under the direction of the Board of Monument Commission- ers. The Dedicatory Exercises, commencing at 9 o'clock, were held on the Public Square in a large amphitheatre erected for the purpose, with the follow- ing programme : Sunrise Salute of One Hundred Guns. Grand Concert by the Great Western Band under the direction of Prof. F. H. Hruby. Prayer— Rev. Dr. John Mitchell. Song— Columbia, Columbia— words by Mrs. N. Coe Stewart ; music by N. Coe Stewart— School Children's Chorus. Introductory Address— Gov. Wm. McKinley, President of the Day. Music— American Flag Song— Zitndel— School Children's Chorus. Reading of the Declaration of Independence — Virgil P. Kline, Esq. Song— The Red, White and Blue— School Children's Chorus. Oration— The Soldiers' Monument and the Lessons of Patriotism it teaches — by the Orator of the Day, Hon. Joseph B. Foraker. Song— The Star Spangled Banner— School Children's Chorus. Reading of an Original Poem — Rev. Dr. Levi Gilbert. Song — America — School Children's Chorus. Benediction — Monsignor T. P. Thorpe. National Salute of Forty-Four Guns at mid-day. Grand Procession— under direction of Grand Marshal Gen. M. D. Leggett, at 1.30 P. M., consisting of all the Military and Civic Organizations in the county. Naval Salute at sunset. The city was gorgeously decorated and lighted up until midnight. The cost in round figures was $280,000. Purely original in design and detail, it strikingly carries out •o 32 the active scenes and incidents of the civil war. It is a magnificent tribute to the patriotism of the Union soldiers and sailors, freely given by the entire people of Cuyahoga County. The Monument is continually open to the public day and evening, free of cost, to the stranger as well as the citizen, and a visit to it will be a pleasure to all who admire genuine and realistic art. (Xs