May 26— This tale was first published in May 2021.
Nearly 100 Civil War monuments are located in more than 130 cities and towns across Maine in honor of the roughly 9,400 Mainens who perished during the conflict, the survivors, and the more than 360, 000 different Union soldiers who perished all over the country.
As individuals go about their life, these shrines may fade into the background. The five-pointed sun that adorns the majority of Maine’s Civil War monuments is even less well known.
The Grand Army of the Republic, a sibling and lobbying group made up of Civil War veterans, was established just a few years after the war ended, and the celebrity is not just a simple decoration.
In many ways, it served as a prelude to companies like the VFW and the American Legion. And it was mainly responsible for the creation of the majority of Maine’s Civil War monuments and for making Memorial Day a national holiday as a country with significant political influence.
According to Brian Swartz, a Bangor author and writer,” You can actually say that if there was hardly a Grand Army of the Republic, we would not have had Memorial Day as a national holiday as early as it happened.” Although there may have been some local work, the Veterans ‘ Organization was the first to really stretch its political muscles.
The Grand Army of the Republic was established in 1866 in response to the government’s poor treatment of Civil War soldiers, the majority of whom were denied a pension or health care after the Department of War demobilized the defense in 1865.
These were “like soldiers returning from Vietnam.” Their people “didn’t know the experiences they had to go through and endure,” said Swartz. These people were actually boys to one another. They had watched people who they had a close relationship with perish in war. And they were not getting any assistance at all.
In addition to their efforts to ensure proper maintenance and reimbursement for war veterans, the organization’s first initiatives included the construction of Memorial Day. May 30 was designated as the day Americans did pay tribute to war casualties, missing in action, and dying veterans, according to the organization’s commander-in-chief John Logan in 1868. Although there was a long tradition of decorating the tombs of battle dead, the 1868 statement was the first national recognition of a particular day as a time to realize the deceased.
From 1868 until 1970, it was celebrated on May 30. Some veterans believed the occasion’s earnestness was diminished by the decision to change the time to the last Monday in May that year.
One of the state’s and the local Grand Army of the Republic content ‘ major projects was to raise money to build Civil War shrines in Maine. The majority of these landmarks were constructed between 1870 and 1920, and they vary greatly in size and style.
Some are plain rock obelisks, like the Hallowell statue and the village of Hermon’s monument, which is near Hermon Elementary School. Some depict a soldier standing boldly in the cities of Bath, Blue Hill, Caribou, and Corinna. And some are unique to the rest, such as the monument at the Grand Army of the Republic significant at Mount Hope Cemetery in Bangor, which features a cannon and reconstruction of a fort from the Civil War.
According to Swartz,” These monuments even served as a way for Civil War soldiers to consider the friends they have lost who are still there.” ” Many, some Mainers entered unmarked graves down southern,” the statement read. They won’t ever be located.
The organization’s another significant projects included lobbying for the establishment of a hospital for soldiers in Maine. The city of Chelsea’s first veterans center, Togus, was created in part as a result of their efforts.
By the 1940s, account had decreased. Melvin Jellison of Clifton and Zachary McLaughlin of Phillips, both of whom were Grand Army of the Republic people, both passed away in 1947 just a few weeks after each other. The Grand Army of the Republic was disbanded in 1956 after the demise of the nation’s final Civil War veteran. Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War was its successor, and the corporation will still have about 6,400 people in 2021.
The Grand Army of the Republic’s work is also evident in every corner of the country, from the numerous companies that seek to provide the veterans it inspired to the environment of war monuments and the fact that we initially observe Memorial Day. It has been 65 years since the last Civil War senior was dead.
According to Swartz,” someone might notice that five-pointed star, and they won’t understand what that means.” However, it embodies the feelings of brotherhood and the work they did to ensure that their legacy was kept intact.
The Bangor Daily News ( Bangor, Maine ) has a 2025 date. Visit www. bangordailynews.com Tribune Content Agency, LLC distributed.
