MABostonArmyNavyMonument

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ARMY AND NAVY MONUMENT

BostonArmyNavyMonument.jpg
Boston Army Navy Monument
On Flagstaff Hill, Boston Common

From New England Craftsman, Vol. XIX, No. 8, May 1924, Page 231:

At a meeting of the Common Council and the Board of Aldermen of the City of Boston in March, 1866, a committee was appointed to take into consideration the erecting a Monument commemorative of the heroes who gave their lives in the Civil War just closed.

This Committee advertised for designs, specifications and estimates and offered a premium for 
the design selected. About thirty designs and models were received from architects and sculptors throughout the country, and after due deliberation the Committee selected the design submitted by Hammatt Billings of Boston, to cost according to the estimate $100,000.

The City Council authorized the Committee to contract for the erection of the Monument, at an expense not to exceed the estimate, and work was commenced on the foundation and the Committee advertised for bids for building the Monument above the foundation, and it was found that the work could not be carried out for less than $160,000. The City Council denied an additional appropriation, and work was suspended until in 1871 a new Committee was appointed, who advertised for designs for a Monument not to exceed in cost $75,000. Sixteen designs were submitted and were placed on public view, in order that the Committee might get a popular opinion as to the merits of the designs. The Committee was extremely gratified to find a remarkable unanimity in the selection of the one which was their unanimous choice. This was the design of Martin Milmore, a sculptor of indisputable qualifications, and the Committee were authorized by the City Council to conclude a contract with Mr. Milmore to erect the monument at an expense of $75,000 above the foundation.

CORNER STONE LAYING

On Monday, September 18th, 1871, the cornerstone was laid and the event was celebrated by an imposing public display. Business was generally suspended, the streets were thronged with people drawn together from all parts of the New England States to honor the occasion. The procession was formed in part as follows:

  • Chief Marshal, Gen. Joseph H. Barnes
  • Adjutant General, Gen. William H. Lawrence
  • First Brigade, Massachusetts Volunteer Militia, Brig. Gen. Isaac L. Burrill
  • Asst. Adjt. General, Lieut. Colonel Hobart Moore
  • Gilmore's Band
  • First Regiment of Infantry, Col. George Johnson
  • O'Connor's Band
  • Ninth Regiment of Infantry, Col. Bernard F. Finan
  • Shawmut Band
  • First Battalion of Infantry, Maj. Douglas Fraser
  • Cleary's Band
  • Second Battalion of Infantry, Maj. Louis Gaul
  • First Battalion of Light Artillery, Maj. Charles W. Baxter
  • Chelsea Hand
  • First Battalion of Cavalry, Lieut. Col. Albert Freeman
  • Department of Massachusetts, Grand Army of the Republic,
    • General William Cogswell, Salem, Dept Commander
    • Henry B. Pierce, Asst. Adjutant General
  • Followed by fifty Posts of the Grand ArrJ of the Republic and eleven bands of music. among which was Carter's Band of Boston, Thomas M. Carter, leader.
  • Boston Independent Cadets, Lieut. Col. W. Palfrey
  • His Excellency Gov. Claflin, Council and Staff, His Honor Mayor Gaston, Martin Milmore, sculptor, and the Monument Committee, in carriages.
  • Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, A. F. A. Masons, Charles Levi Woodbury, Acting Grand Master, in carriages
  • Germania Band
  • Ancient and Honorable Artillery Co.
    • Captain Edwin C. Bailey
    • First Lieut. John Mack
    • Second Lieutenant Richard M. Barker
    • Adjutant Capt. E. R. Frost
  • City Government, in Carriages
  • Boston Fire Dept., under command of Chief Engineer John S. Damrell

The ceremonies on the Common began with an Overture by an orchestra of or hundred selected musicians. The Rev. Warren H. Cudworth offered prayer, after which a G. A. R. choir of one hundred voices sang a hymn written for the occasion, by Dexter Smith.
 Alderman Robert Cowdin, Chairman of the Committee delivered an address and called upon His Honor Mayor Gaston to speak to the Assembly. His Honor's address was followed by the singing of The Star Spangled Manner, after which Alderman Cowdin turned to the members of the Grand Lodge A. F. and A. Masons, and said:

Most Worshipful Grand Master,— In behalf of the City Government I request you to lay with ancient form the cornerstone of this Monument according to the usages of your ancient order, and to deposit under it this metallic box, containing an engraved plate and certain historical documents.

Acting Grand Master Woodbury responded :—

From time immemorial it has been the custom of the Ancient and Honorable Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons, when requested so to do, to lay, with ancient forms, the cornerstone of buildings, erected for the worship of God, for charitable objects, for the purposes of the administration of justice and free government, and for the erection of such public monuments as, while appropriately of patriotic and common interests to the citizens of the Commonwealth to which we belong, may not vex Masonic Harmony by the inroad of political feeling or discussion. This cornerstone therefore we may lay in accordance with our law; and thus testifying our respect for the City of Boston, and our appreciation of the patriotic dead whose released spirits now hover near, we shall proceed in accordance with ancient usage. And as the first duty of Masons, in any undertaking, is to invoke tile blessing of the Great Architect, upon their work, we will now unite with our Grand Chaplain in an address to the Throne of Grace. At the completion of the prayer, a sealed box containing maps, addresses, coins, newspapers, and a list of members of the Grand Lodge A. F. and A. M. was placed in the cornerstone.

The stone having been adjusted, the Masonic ceremonial was performed by the Acting Grand Master (in the absence of Grand Master William Sewall Gardner) assisted by the following officers:

At the conclusion of the Masonic ceremonies "America" was sung by the choir and assembly, and the audience was then dismissed with a benediction by the Itev. Mr. Cudworth.

In 1872, Mr. Milmore went to Rome, where he spent the next five years modeling his designs. The contract provided that the statues as well as the body of the Monument should be of granite. Mr. Milmore, however, became convinced that the proper execution of the work would be more assured by substituting bronze for granite, in the statues and bas-relief, and the Committee after consulting with competent art critics, assented. Time has shown the wisdom of the change. Mr. Mihnore arrived home in April, 1877 and announced that he would deliver the Monument to the City on the 17th of September, this was the 217th anniversary of the settlement of Boston and it appeared to be peculiarly fitting that a Monument of such historical interest should be accepted and dedicated on that day. The City Council authorized the Committee' to make the necessary arrangements at a cost not exceeding $22,500.

The Committee believing that one of the most interesting features would be a procession, in which the veterans of the war should bear a prominent part, after receiving assurances of the hearty co-operation of the various military and civic organizations appointed Col. Augustus P. Martin (afterward Mayor of Boston) as Chief Marshal of the procession.

It was decided to hold the dedicatory exercises on a platform to be erected at the base of the Monument; to invite the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of A. F. and A. Masons of Massachusetts to perform the dedicatory service, peculiar to that order; to invite Gen. Charles Devens to deliver an oration, and the Rev. Warren H. Cudworth to act as Chaplain of the day. Mr. Cudworth had officiated at the laying of the cornerstone in 1871.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE MONUMENT

The Monument erected by the City of Boston in memory of her sons who fell in the Civil War, stands on Flagstaff Hill on Boston Common. Rising from this elevation to a height of more than seventy feet, its graceful column of granite forms a special point of attraction for the thousands who pass it in the daily ebb and flow of business and pleasure, and serves as a perpetual reminder of the martyrs whose death it commemorates, and the sacredness of the cause for which they perished. The shaft and base are of white granite from Hallowell, Maine. The first course of the structure consists of a platform, covering an area 38 feet square. It is reached by three steps. From this platform rises a plinth nine feet in height with projecting pedestals at each of the four corners, giving this portion of the Monument the exact shape of a square fort with bastions. Upon these pedestals stand the four bronze figures, each eight feet in height, representing Peace, History, the Army and the Navy. On the four sides of the plinth between the pedestals are bronze bas-reliefs, symbolic of incidents of the war. the subjects, the departure of a regiment for the field, a naval engagement, the labors of the Sanitary Commission, and the return of the regiments at the close of the conflict. Upon the plinth rests the pedestal proper 14 feet 6 inches in height terminating in a cornice. In a pane] facing the South is cut in bold letters the following inscription written by Charles W. Elliot, President Emeritus of Harvard College:

To the men of Boston
Who died for their Country
On land and sea in the War
Which kept the Union whole,
Destroyed slavery
And maintained the Constitution,
The Grateful City
Has built this Monument
That their example may speak
To coming generations.

From the surface of the pedestal rises the column which is of Roman Doric Order. Its effectiveness is largely enhanced by the figures in alto-relievo grouped about its base, representing the four sections of the Universe North, South, East and West. They are eight feet in height, and, as is customary in the representation of allegorical figures are robed in classic drapery, skillfully and gracefully disposed. The lower section of the shaft rises eight and one half feet end ing with the first band, a beautiful sculptured wreath. Above this is the second section or tinted part of the column, seven feet in height. Two plain sections of the shaft follow, separated by wreath bands, terminating with a band bearing the emblematic stars and surmounted by a capitol. Above each side is an eagle with outspread wings. Upon the capstone stands the bronze statue ol the Genius of America, the crowning glory of the Monument.

Sealed boxes, containing papers and documents were placed beneath the base of the column by the City of Boston, the Grand Army of the Republic, the Loyal Legion. and the Grand Lodge of Masons of Massachusetts.

PROCESSION

To the general public, the procession was the most interesting part of the ceremonies attending the dedication of the Monument. While the uniforms of the militia and the regalias and banners of the Societies added to the attractiveness of the procession, and as interesting features were much enjoyed by the spectators, the hearty enthusiasm with which the veteran soldiers were greeted proved how constantly and faithfully their services had been remembered.

The procession was formed as follows:

  • Mounted police under Chief E. H. Savage
  • Germania Band
  • Second Corps of Cadets, Salem, Lieut. Col. Samuel Dalton escort to Chief Marshal, Augustus P. Martin, staff and aids.
  • Cadet Band First Corps of Cadets, Boston, Lieut. Col. Thomas F. Edmonds escorting His Excellency Alexander H. Rice, Governor and Commander in Chief and staff.
  • First Brigade M. V. M. Brigadier General, Hobart Moore
  • Second Brigade M. V. M. Brigadier General, Eben Sutton
  • First Division
    • General Horace Binney Sargent, Commander of the Department of Massachusetts, Grand Army of the Republic, and staff, Grand Army of the Republic represented by about one hundred and thirty posts from Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island and Connecticut and many drum corps and bands, including Carter's Band of Boston, Thomas M. Carter, leader.
  • Second Division
    • Colonel Edward O. Shepard
    • Massachusetts Volunteer Militia and visiting Military organizations.
  • Third Division
    • Colonel, Charles E. Fuller
    • Boston School Regiment, and barge containing young ladies of the Public Schools representing the Goddess of Liberty and the States of the Union.
  • Fourth Division
    • United States Marines and United States sailors, escorting Hon. Frederick O. Prince, Mayor, and City Government and invited guests, Martin Milmore, sculptor, and the committee on the Army and Navy Monument.
    • The Massachusetts Commandery of the Military Order of Loyal Legion under command of General Alfred P. Rockwell, escorting Honorable Charles Devens, Orator of the Day and State Government. * Fifth Division
    • General Samuel C. Lawrence, Chief of Division and Staff Brown's Brigade Band.
    • The Grand Commandery of Knights Templars of Massachusetts and Rhode Island and fifteen subordinate commanderies each with a Band.
    • Boston Commandery, Samuel Mason, Jr., Eminent Commander, acting as special Guard of Honor to the M. W. Grand Lodge of Massachusetts
    • Independent Order of Odd Fellows and Order of Knights of Pythias of Massachusetts and many Bands.
  • Sixth and Seventh Divisions
    • Other Fraternal, Religious and Civic organizations and Bands.

The total number of men in the procession was 25,450 and occupied four hours in passing. Tlie Governor and staff reviewed the procession at the State House, and the Chief Marshal reviewed it at Beacon and Charles Streets.

DEDICATION

The dedicatory ceremonies were held or a platform erected at the base and on the south side of the Monument and the speaker's table was on the west side of the platform, and the Masonic table was immediately in front of the Monument.

The ceremonies of dedication were opened with Keller's American Hymn by Colt's Armory Band, J. Thomas Baldwin, leader, after which Hon. Francis Thompson, Chairman of the Committee introduced the Rev. Warren H. Cudworth, Chaplain of the Day who offered prayer.

At the conclusion of the prayer, the Sculptor, Martin Milmore surrendered the Monument in the following words:

Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen of the Committee:— The work which the city entrusted to me is finished, and is here submitted for your approval and acceptance, I have, endeavored to execute a fitting memorial to the men of Boston who died that the nation might live. Whether I have succeeded in giving adequate expression to the gratitude of the people, it is for you as their representative to say. I have to thank you, gentlemen, for the generous support which I have received during the progress of the work.

Alderman Thomson responded as follows:

In behalf of the Committee of the City Council to whom was assigned the charge of the Monument, I desire to say, as you well know, they have carefully watched the progress of the work; they believe that yod have faithfully and honestly complied with the terms of your contract, and I am authorized in their behalf to accept the Monument.

Alderman Thomson then requested M. W, Percival L. Everett. Grand Master, to dedicate the Monument, in the following words:

Most Worshipful Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts:— Six years ago at this time the cornerstone of yonder Monument was laid with imposing ceremonies by the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts. In the mean time the Monument has been constructed, and now the designer and builder surrenders it to the city as completed. The Committee in charge were desirous it should receive the Masonic ceremonies of dedication, agreeable to ancient custom, and respectfully invited you and your fraternity to be present on this occasion. Permit me, in behalf of the committee, to thank you and your fraternity, for the noble manner in which you have responded to the call, by the full attendance of the brethren of the Order. I have now to request that you will perform those services according to Masonic usages.

The Grand Master responded:—

From time immemorial it has been the custom of the Ancient and Honorable Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons, when requested, to lay with ancient forms the cornerstones of buildings to be erected for the worship of God, for charitable objects, for the purposes of the administration of justice and free government, and to consecrate such public monuments as are of patriotic and common interest to the citizens of the Commonwealth. This Monument, we may consecrate in accordance with our law, and thus while testifying our respect for the City of Boston, and our appreciation of the patriotic dead, we shall proceed in accordance with ancient usage, and as the first duty of Masons, in any undertaking is to invoke the blessing of the Great Architect upon their work, we will now unite with our Grand Chaplain in an address to the Throne of Grace.

The Rev. Joshua Young, Grand Chaplain then offered prayer;

After the use of the Square, Level, and Plumb, according to ancient form, the Grand Master, striking the Monument three times with the gavel, said:— "Well made — well proved — true and trusty." This undertaking has been conducted and completed by the Craftsmen according to the grand plan, in Peace, Harmony, and Brotherly Love.

The Deputy Grand Master received from the Grand Marshal the vessel of Corn, and, pouring the Corn, said:— "May the health of the community which has executed this undertaking be preserved, and may the Supreme Grand Architect bless and prosper its labors."

The Grand Marshal presented the Cup of Wine to the Senior Grand Warden, who poured the Wine, saying:— "May plenty be vouchsafed to the people of this ancient city, and may the blessing of the Bounteous Giver of all things, attend all its philanthropic and patriotic undertakings."

The Grand Marshal presented the Cup of Oil to the Junior Grand Warden, who poured the Oil saying:— "May the Supreme Ruler of the World preserve this people in peace, and grant tn them the enjoyment of every blessing."

The W. Rev. Alonzo H. Quint, Grand Chaplain, offered an Invocation:— "May Corn, Wine, and Oil, and all the necessaries of life, abound among men throughout the world; and that this structure may long remain in the Beauty and Strength of the Brotherly Love for the departed to whose memory it is now to be consecrated let us pray."

GRAND MASTER'S ADDRESS

After the Prayer of Consecration, The Grand Master addressed the meeting:— he said in part:

The ancient society of Freemasons, represented by the Grand Lodge administering its affairs within the Commonwealth, in conformity to the teachings of its own history and traditions, and in unison with all ranks and orders of citizens, appears today, at the request of the municipal authorities of the city, to participate in, and, if possible to enhance the impressive services of commemoration. The guild or craft of Free masons, is historically known, not only by its age, but by its distinctive character and qualities, by its nearly all-pervading reach through the various races and forms of civilization, and its connection at all times with the conditions of civil and social fabric.

In the early periods of European society its members were educated and practical constructors, builders of the grand cathedrals and other structures whose massive proportions and architectural fitness still remain to mark the skill in art of those who laid their foundations and raised them to shapes of beauty and grace. Under the influences of time and the general progress and elevation of society, the constructive or operative character of the Masons as builders was so far modified that they became a philosophical, charitable and social body, whose office was not the building of a physical structure, but the grander edifice of human character.

The part taken by the fraternity in the establishment of our American State in the initiation and accomplishment of the Revolution, the adoption of the Constitution, and the organization of the Federal government, is doubtless known to most of you. Our brethren, at once depressed and aroused by political wrongs, suffered by them in common with their citizens, as colonial subjects of Great Britain, were among the first to be inflamed by the sacred fires of revolt.

It was perhaps more notable that they should feel the need to array themselves in the posture of revolution against the existing government, and assume the perils of the position, since, as subordinates of the dominant Masonic authority of the mother-country, they had suffered no Masonic wrongs or oppressions, but had ever maintained the closest and most severe relations of fraternity with their English brethren. Nevertheless, the principle of loyalty, leading in this exceptional instance, although, by the same logical deductions, to the overthrow rather than the preservation of a government whose functions and uses had oppressed instead of serving the people, induced our illustrious brothers, Washington, Franklin, Otis, Warren, Revere, and their associates, to cast their lives into the scale of a new and assuredly doubtful cause. The revolutionary and constitutional fathers, who through the fires and hardships of the eight years struggle in arms, and the scarcely less arduous subsequent struggle for the civil results of the contest, were in large numbers attached to the fraternity, upholding its organization, ritual and ceremonies, even through the most strenuous campaigns of the war. Knowing as a society, neither creed nor dogma in politics or religion, they have contributed with the capacity of their numbers and influence, to the support and maintenance of the institutions of religion, of philanthropy, of science, and of art.

They have interwoven into the fabric of general society — they have incorporated into the very structure of the Commonwealth — the practical doctrines and maxims by which a people, by the forces of organization, have risen to the stature of a well established State. Often working in the ranks of the humblest service, they have also often illustrated the dignity of the highest stations. Neither their lofty services nor their lowly duties have been rendered simply because, while they were Masons, they were also citizens, and therefore bound by the commonest ties of mere citizenship to a general allegiance, but because as Masons they were individually held by the peculiar force of their Masonic obligation. The duties and obligations of citizenship thus professed, and thus discharged have therefore been functional with the Craft,— the result of its philosophy and its precepts,— the clear and indisputable issue of its practical teaching in the civic life. In no strain of boasting or self-gratulation, and surely with no depreciation of the good works and the good spirit of the masses of patriotic men who were never linked with us in the bonds of this peculiar brotherhood, I simply assert the truth of History, when I declare that the Freemasons of this Commonwealth have never failed in any hour of peace or war in the devotion of life, and all that life holds most dear, to the welfare of the Nation and the State, to the glory of their arms and the happiness of their people. A lesser service they could not have rendered and kept the faith as true and honorable members of the institution.

The drama of war is ended,— the discord of battle and of civil strife has closed, and peace returns with her grateful olives.

For the future of the land of our 1ove there can be no loftier aspiration than that which today fills the breast of the ancient fraternity of Masonry, namely, that for this sacrifice, for the consecration of these heroes of Boston,— these heroes of America,— there must be exacted and received the fullest satisfaction, the most complete resulting equivalents.

The land which they saved must be made and kept wholly worth the saving. The authority of the Federal government within its limits, and of the States within theirs, must be clear and exclusive, without conflict or dispute. The tyranny, the selfishness and the corruptions of party must make way for the return of pure and incorruptible administration through all the avenues of government, in every department of its operation. The desolations of the war must appear, the waste must he rebuilt, and sorer wounds of affections must be healed. There must be a loyalty, not of external compliance, but of inward affection; a Union not of conforming hands but of consenting hearts. There must be returns to the loves of Revolutionary days, to the pure glances of those mutual eyes, which, in all sections of the outspread land, shall be blind to every partial interest, and open only to the common cause and universal good. This fraternal union of States, this genius of constitutional government,— the faith of fathers, the hope of the nations, the expectation of mankind,— this shall be our grand Republic;— this our beloved America. With the dust of her slaughtered sons transmuted into gems of purest lustre around her brow, she will resume her march down the pathway of time.

The Grand Master, addressing the Grand Marshal, said:—

Worshipful Brother Grand Marshal,— You will make proclamation that this monument has been duly consecrated in accordance with ancient form and usage.

PROCLAMATION OF GRAND MARSHAL

In the name of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, I now proclaim that the Monument here erected by the City of Boston, in memory of our patriotic dead, has this day been found square, level, and plumb, true and trusty, and consecrated according to the ancient form of Masons.

This Proclamation is made from the East, the West, the South, — Once, (Trumpet) Twice (Trumpet) Thrice (Trumpet). All interested will take due notice thereof.

CONCLUSION

At the conclusion of the Masonic services the band performed To Thee O Country after which Alderman Thompson delivered the Monument to His Honor the Mayor in an appropriate speech. His Honor Frederick O. Prince responded, and concluded his speech by introducing Hon. Charles Devens, Orator of the Day.

Hon. Charles Devens made an interesting and patriotic speech concluding with the proclamation of the State:— "God save the Commonwealth of Massachusetts" and added with no less fervor and solemnity "God save the Union of the American States."

At the close of the oration the audience were dismissed with a benediction by Rev. Warren H. Cudworth.

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