1. L-R: MSG, Brian Ward; Robert Flynn, Charlestown, AHAC; Afghanistan vet, MAJ James Marque; Evelyn Mattinelli, Secretary, Somerville Museum; COL, Lawrence Wilwerth, Vietnam Vet; MSG Gerard Davidson, AHAC; COL John Arther Moore, MANG, with the monument standing tall and U.S. and Vietnam Veteran's flag accompanying.
We
hereby acknowledge the sacrifice, the blood, the pain and heroic
efforts of the men of Somerville in doing their part in helping to
preserve the nation of the United States during one of the darkest
epochs in its history, The Civil War, when approximately 600,000 people
from across the land died, and in which a president was assassinated.
---Skip Murray
The following presentation was prepared by Historic Somerville, Inc by Lawrence Willwerth.
SOURCE: "Somerville Past& Present." Edward A. Samuels, 1897
Somerville's Proud Tradition of Military Service
Somerville and the American Civil War 1861-1865
Wreath Presentation at Civil War Soldiers Monument,
Milk Row Cemetery, Somerville, Massachusetts.
"Four days after President Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers to serve the Union, on April 15th, 1861, the men of Somerville, the Somerville Light Infantry, initially organized in 1853, left for Washington, DC, from Faneuil Hall, Boston.
In
1860 Somerville's male population eligible for military service was
approximately 2,500, out of a total population of 8,000. Sixty percent
of Somerville's men served in the military for the Union during the
Civil War. The men of Somerville were asked to volunteer five times
during the Civil War and served in the 5th Massachusetts and the 39th
Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. They served with distinction in the
battles of Bull Run, Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Petersburg and Appomattox.
1,485 men from Somerville, 10 percent more than required, enlisted in the Armed Forces of the Union from 1861-1865. The men of Somerville paid a high price for their service. Ninety-eight soldiers died directly due to their war service. Forty-four were killed in action or wounds. Fifty-one died in hospital, camp, or as a Prisoner of War. Three were missing in action and approximately two hundred and fifty suffered battle wounds. A twenty-three percent casualty rate for the Civil War.
The men of Massachusetts have a proud tradition of service in the American Civil War. 136,000 Massachusetts men served (6th in number of troops furnished). Massachusetts Regiments were the best trained, first to mobilize, first to deploy, and first to fight in the Civil War. The 5th Massachusetts and 39th Massachusetts were among these units.
1,485 men from Somerville, 10 percent more than required, enlisted in the Armed Forces of the Union from 1861-1865. The men of Somerville paid a high price for their service. Ninety-eight soldiers died directly due to their war service. Forty-four were killed in action or wounds. Fifty-one died in hospital, camp, or as a Prisoner of War. Three were missing in action and approximately two hundred and fifty suffered battle wounds. A twenty-three percent casualty rate for the Civil War.
The men of Massachusetts have a proud tradition of service in the American Civil War. 136,000 Massachusetts men served (6th in number of troops furnished). Massachusetts Regiments were the best trained, first to mobilize, first to deploy, and first to fight in the Civil War. The 5th Massachusetts and 39th Massachusetts were among these units.
The
Somerville residents felt there needs to be erected a monument fitting
for the service and sacrifice the men of Somerville were making in
defense of the Union.
In 1861, the only burial ground in Somerville was Milk Row Cemetery. Enoch Robinson, locksmith and builder of the Round House on Atherton Street, donated his cemetery plot in Milk Row Cemetery for the proposed monument.
This monument, erected under the supervision of the Military Committee of the Somerville Light Infantry, was paid for by private contributions and funds contributed by citizens of said company. It was constructed by Charles E. Hall of Powell & Hall, was dedicated one hundred and fifty-one years ago, July 1863.
Somerville's Milk Row Cemetery Civil War Monument is the First Civil War Monument of the American Civil War".
3. The ceremony.
31. Discussion about the 10th Mountain Division with MSG Brian Ward. Felista's dad was in the 10th, served in and was wounded in Italy. He died, November 2010. Strong emotions here.
34.
37.
Wonderful photos, Skip, that are so helpful for the many folks who could not be at the moving ceremony. Despite the chilly and wet weather it's great that so many members of AHAC, Somerville Museum members, and the public were there to honor the oldest veterans of Somerville!
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