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Soldiers and Sailors Monument (Lancaster, Pennsylvania)
Encyclopedia
The Soldiers and Sailors Monument is a 43 feet (13.1 m) tall Gothic Revival
memorial which stands in Penn Square in downtown Lancaster, Pennsylvania
. It was dedicated
on July 4, 1874, at its present site on the Northeast intersection of King and Queen Streets. The monument's original intention was to pay tribute to Lancastrian Union soldiers killed during the American Civil War
. However, today the Soldiers and Sailors Monument also represents those who have served in subsequent American military conflicts.
The 1744 Treaty of Lancaster
between the British
and Iroquois
was signed in the old Lancaster courthouse which stood on the site of the monument at the time.
The Soldiers and Sailors Monument also stands on the exact spot where the Second Continental Congress
met during the Revolutionary War on September 27, 1777, in the old Lancaster Courthouse. The courthouse later burned down in 1784. The monument has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places
since April 2, 1973.
, rectangular granite
pillar topped with a statue of a robed woman on a pedestal known as the "The Genius of Liberty". The Genius of Liberty holds a drawn sword and a shield. Her head is crowned with stars. She faces north which, according to legend, allows her to turn her back on the former Confederate States of America
, which were defeated in the war.
Statues of four men representing the four branches of the American armed services
surround the granite shaft near its base. The four branches represented by the men are the United States Navy
, United States Army
, Artillery and the United States Cavalry.
The names of several Civil War battles are carved on the monument's central granite pillar, as the memorial's original intent was to honor those killed in that particular war. The inscriptions include the Battle of Antietam
, the Battle of Chickamauga
, the Battle of Gettysburg
, the Battle of Malvern Hill
, the Battle of Petersburg and the Battle of the Wilderness
.
Several bronze
plaques have been added to the Soldiers and Sailors Monument since its construction, memorializing members of the American armed forces. One plaque specifically commemorates the role of African Americans in the military
. Other separate plaques honor those killed in World War I, World War II, the Korean War
, Vietnam War
and the Persian Gulf War
.
The base of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument is carved with the inscription, "Erected by the people of Lancaster County/ To the memory of their fellow citizens who fell /in defense of the Union /in the War of the Rebellion /1861–1865"
The idea for a memorial to Lancasterian Union soldiers killed during the American Civil War was conceived soon after the end of hostilities in 1865. The funding for the memorial was championed by a women's civic organization called the Patriot Daughters of Lancaster and its leader, Rosina Hubley. The Patriot Daughters of Lancaster held a ladies fundraising fair sale in December 1867 at the nearby Fulton Hall, now called the Fulton Opera House
, to help finance
the construction of the proposed monument
. The event raised approximately US$3,500 the ultimate goal of $20,000. The remaining funds for the monument's construction were raised through either military taxes and funds released by the Lancaster County Treasury or through private donations. The total cost of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument is believed to be $26,000 at the time.
Centre Square, as the present-day Penn Square was called at the time, was chosen as the site of the new Soldiers and Sailors Monument. The monument was formally commissioned on November 4, 1872. It was formally unveiled and dedicated on July 4, 1874, and was originally surrounded by stockade fencing
and dirt streets at the time. President
Ulysses S. Grant
sent his regrets for being unable to attend the ceremony. The large crowd which watched the dedication included Civil War veterans and a group of girls from the Mount Joy
Soldiers Orphan Home. The Soldiers and Sailors Monument was officially dedicated at 1:00 pm while the girls from the orphanage sang My Father's Grave. The Genius of Liberty on top of the monument was drapped in an American flag.
Rosina Hubley, who had led the efforts to construct the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, remarked on July 4, 1874, that she believed it would be a "perpetual reminder to all people of the country as they gather week-to-week to barter and chaffer in the market place, that there is something higher and better than self or produce, bargains or bank notes."
An iron fence and granite wall enclosure were added to the monument in 1877, replacing the original picket fence. The monument was sandblasted and cleaned in both 1905 and 1924. A plaque containing the Gettysburg Address
and a picture of Abraham Lincoln
were added on June 8, 1931. New lights were placed on the monument in 1956, 1972 and again in the early 2000s.
A proposal was floated during the 1950s to relocate the monument to an alternative site in a city park in order to ease traffic congestion
in downtown Lancaster. However, the relocation idea was abandoned and the memorial remained at its original location.
Traffic passed around all four sides of the monument until the 1970s. A new traffic pattern was devised for Penn Square and the monument in 1972. A brick plaza was constructed in tandem with the expansion of the nearby Fulton Bank
building, closing off traffic on the monument's northeast corner and opening it to pedestrian
s. The size of the monument's base was shrunk from its original 35 feet (10.7 m) down to 17 feet (5.2 m) as part of the reroute of traffic. The iron railing, added in 1877, was removed and new granite curbing was added to protect the monument from traffic collisions.
On November 12, 1978, a woman committed suicide by crashing her car into the monument, causing damage to the sailor statue, which represents the United States Navy. The sailor statue's base and legs were repaired using cement.
The new $170 million dollar, 200000 square feet (18,580.6 m²) Lancaster County Convention Center
and 300 room Marriott Hotel opened directly across the street from the monument on April 21, 2009. The historic Lancaster Central Market, constructed in 1889, and the W. W. Griest Building
stand just to the northwest.
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
memorial which stands in Penn Square in downtown Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Lancaster is a city in the south-central part of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is the county seat of Lancaster County and one of the older inland cities in the United States, . With a population of 59,322, it ranks eighth in population among Pennsylvania's cities...
. It was dedicated
Dedication
Dedication is the act of consecrating an altar, temple, church or other sacred building. It also refers to the inscription of books or other artifacts when these are specifically addressed or presented to a particular person. This practice, which once was used to gain the patronage and support of...
on July 4, 1874, at its present site on the Northeast intersection of King and Queen Streets. The monument's original intention was to pay tribute to Lancastrian Union soldiers killed during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. However, today the Soldiers and Sailors Monument also represents those who have served in subsequent American military conflicts.
The 1744 Treaty of Lancaster
Treaty of Lancaster
The Treaty of Lancaster was a treaty concluded between the Six Nations and the colonies of Virginia and Maryland. Deliberations began at Lancaster, Pennsylvania on June 28, and ended on July 4, 1744....
between the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Iroquois
Iroquois
The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...
was signed in the old Lancaster courthouse which stood on the site of the monument at the time.
The Soldiers and Sailors Monument also stands on the exact spot where the Second Continental Congress
Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress was a convention of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that started meeting on May 10, 1775, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, soon after warfare in the American Revolutionary War had begun. It succeeded the First Continental Congress, which met briefly during 1774,...
met during the Revolutionary War on September 27, 1777, in the old Lancaster Courthouse. The courthouse later burned down in 1784. The monument has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
since April 2, 1973.
Description
The Lancaster Soldiers and Sailors Monument features a 43 feet (13.1 m) tall Rhode IslandRhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
, rectangular granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
pillar topped with a statue of a robed woman on a pedestal known as the "The Genius of Liberty". The Genius of Liberty holds a drawn sword and a shield. Her head is crowned with stars. She faces north which, according to legend, allows her to turn her back on the former Confederate States of America
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
, which were defeated in the war.
Statues of four men representing the four branches of the American armed services
Military of the United States
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard.The United States has a strong tradition of civilian control of the military...
surround the granite shaft near its base. The four branches represented by the men are the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
, United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
, Artillery and the United States Cavalry.
The names of several Civil War battles are carved on the monument's central granite pillar, as the memorial's original intent was to honor those killed in that particular war. The inscriptions include the Battle of Antietam
Battle of Antietam
The Battle of Antietam , fought on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg, Maryland, and Antietam Creek, as part of the Maryland Campaign, was the first major battle in the American Civil War to take place on Northern soil. It was the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, with about 23,000...
, the Battle of Chickamauga
Battle of Chickamauga
The Battle of Chickamauga, fought September 19–20, 1863, marked the end of a Union offensive in southeastern Tennessee and northwestern Georgia called the Chickamauga Campaign...
, the Battle of Gettysburg
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...
, the Battle of Malvern Hill
Battle of Malvern Hill
The Battle of Malvern Hill, also known as the Battle of Poindexter's Farm, took place on July 1, 1862, in Henrico County, Virginia, on the seventh and last day of the Seven Days Battles of the American Civil War. Gen. Robert E. Lee launched a series of disjointed assaults on the nearly impregnable...
, the Battle of Petersburg and the Battle of the Wilderness
Battle of the Wilderness
The Battle of the Wilderness, fought May 5–7, 1864, was the first battle of Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Virginia Overland Campaign against Gen. Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. Both armies suffered heavy casualties, a harbinger of a bloody war of attrition by...
.
Several bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
plaques have been added to the Soldiers and Sailors Monument since its construction, memorializing members of the American armed forces. One plaque specifically commemorates the role of African Americans in the military
Military history of African Americans
The military history of African Americans spans from the arrival of the first black slaves during the colonial history of the United States to the present day...
. Other separate plaques honor those killed in World War I, World War II, the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
, Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
and the Persian Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
.
The base of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument is carved with the inscription, "Erected by the people of Lancaster County/ To the memory of their fellow citizens who fell /in defense of the Union /in the War of the Rebellion /1861–1865"
History
Fulton Opera House
The Fulton Opera House, also known as the Fulton Theatre or simply The Fulton, is a League of Regional Theatres class C regional theater located in historic downtown Lancaster, Pennsylvania.-Building:...
, to help finance
Finance
"Finance" is often defined simply as the management of money or “funds” management Modern finance, however, is a family of business activity that includes the origination, marketing, and management of cash and money surrogates through a variety of capital accounts, instruments, and markets created...
the construction of the proposed monument
Monument
A monument is a type of structure either explicitly created to commemorate a person or important event or which has become important to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, or simply as an example of historic architecture...
. The event raised approximately US$3,500 the ultimate goal of $20,000. The remaining funds for the monument's construction were raised through either military taxes and funds released by the Lancaster County Treasury or through private donations. The total cost of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument is believed to be $26,000 at the time.
Centre Square, as the present-day Penn Square was called at the time, was chosen as the site of the new Soldiers and Sailors Monument. The monument was formally commissioned on November 4, 1872. It was formally unveiled and dedicated on July 4, 1874, and was originally surrounded by stockade fencing
Stockade
A stockade is an enclosure of palisades and tall walls made of logs placed side by side vertically with the tops sharpened to provide security.-Stockade as a security fence:...
and dirt streets at the time. President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
sent his regrets for being unable to attend the ceremony. The large crowd which watched the dedication included Civil War veterans and a group of girls from the Mount Joy
Mount Joy, Pennsylvania
Mount Joy is a borough in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 6,765 at the 2000 census.-Name and origin:Mount Joy is often named in lists of "delightfully-named towns" in Pennsylvania Dutchland, along with Intercourse, Blue Ball, PenisPallooza, Amish Land, Dick-in-Hand...
Soldiers Orphan Home. The Soldiers and Sailors Monument was officially dedicated at 1:00 pm while the girls from the orphanage sang My Father's Grave. The Genius of Liberty on top of the monument was drapped in an American flag.
An iron fence and granite wall enclosure were added to the monument in 1877, replacing the original picket fence. The monument was sandblasted and cleaned in both 1905 and 1924. A plaque containing the Gettysburg Address
Gettysburg Address
The Gettysburg Address is a speech by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln and is one of the most well-known speeches in United States history. It was delivered by Lincoln during the American Civil War, on the afternoon of Thursday, November 19, 1863, at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery...
and a picture of Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
were added on June 8, 1931. New lights were placed on the monument in 1956, 1972 and again in the early 2000s.
A proposal was floated during the 1950s to relocate the monument to an alternative site in a city park in order to ease traffic congestion
Traffic congestion
Traffic congestion is a condition on road networks that occurs as use increases, and is characterized by slower speeds, longer trip times, and increased vehicular queueing. The most common example is the physical use of roads by vehicles. When traffic demand is great enough that the interaction...
in downtown Lancaster. However, the relocation idea was abandoned and the memorial remained at its original location.
Traffic passed around all four sides of the monument until the 1970s. A new traffic pattern was devised for Penn Square and the monument in 1972. A brick plaza was constructed in tandem with the expansion of the nearby Fulton Bank
Fulton Bank
Fulton Bank, N.A., founded 1882, is the wholly owned banking subsidiary of Fulton Financial Corp., a financial services holding company headquartered in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Currently, Fulton Bank is major and largest source of parent company's net income....
building, closing off traffic on the monument's northeast corner and opening it to pedestrian
Pedestrian
A pedestrian is a person traveling on foot, whether walking or running. In some communities, those traveling using roller skates or skateboards are also considered to be pedestrians. In modern times, the term mostly refers to someone walking on a road or footpath, but this was not the case...
s. The size of the monument's base was shrunk from its original 35 feet (10.7 m) down to 17 feet (5.2 m) as part of the reroute of traffic. The iron railing, added in 1877, was removed and new granite curbing was added to protect the monument from traffic collisions.
On November 12, 1978, a woman committed suicide by crashing her car into the monument, causing damage to the sailor statue, which represents the United States Navy. The sailor statue's base and legs were repaired using cement.
The new $170 million dollar, 200000 square feet (18,580.6 m²) Lancaster County Convention Center
Lancaster County Convention Center
The Lancaster County Convention Center is a publicly owned convention center in the city of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA. With initial site preparation in late 2006 and completion in the summer of 2009, the Lancaster County Convention Center is one of several projects intended to help revitalize...
and 300 room Marriott Hotel opened directly across the street from the monument on April 21, 2009. The historic Lancaster Central Market, constructed in 1889, and the W. W. Griest Building
W. W. Griest Building
The W.W. Griest Building is a historic skyscraper located in the city of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Built in 1925 by C. Emlen Urban, the W.W. Griest Building is also the second tallest building in the city of Lancaster. It has been listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places since June...
stand just to the northwest.
See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Lancaster, PennsylvaniaNational Register of Historic Places listings in Lancaster, PennsylvaniaThis is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on National Register of Historic Places in the city of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, United States...