Civil War Soldiers Monument

History of the

Rochester Soldier’s Monument on the Commons

Rochester’s first Soldiers’ Monument was built at a cost of $3,000. The monument was dedicated on September 5,1872 and about 8,000 people attended the dedication on the Commons. The monument was of the same design as the Watertown, Mass., monument and stood a little over twenty-five feet high with three marble tablets inscribed with 54 names of either natives of Rochester or residents who died either in service to the Union or shortly after being discharged from service and one tablet with a general inscription.

But in March 1884 the citizens of Rochester were asked to vote to move the Soldiers’ Monument from the Commons to a lot that was offered as a gift in the new cemetery on Franklin Street. Also to raise and appropriate a sum of money to remove and alter the monument because it has never given satisfactoriness, either as an ornament or a monument to the valor of Rochester soldiers. On March 11^th it was voted to remodel the Soldiers Monument and set up on a lot to be given by the Cemetery Association. Also that a statue of a soldier be erected upon the monument and the four cannons donated by congress to Sampson Post No. 22, be suitably mounted and placed around the monument.

At a town meeting on March 11,1885 the location of the monument at the cemetery met the views of nearly every member of Sampson Post No. 22, Grand Army of the Republic and of the committee. It was voted to put the new monument on the site of the old one on the commons.

The dedication service of the New Soldiers’ Monument was held on Memorial Day, May 30th, 1885. The designed work in granite was preformed by Mr. Silas Hussey, and is composed of a part of the old monument, some Rochester granite and granite from elsewhere. The bronze statue of a soldier at parade rest is the most striking feature of the monument. The names of the soldier dead were engraved in the granite along with a general inscription on the front. Almost 5,000 people attended the dedication of the new monument on the commons. Now the monument was considered to be worthy of the patriotism of the town.

In August 1958 an article in the Rochester Courier, “How Soon Are They Forgotten,” asked readers to help solve a mystery. Mr. Ferrigan of Granite Street uncovered a marble plaque three feet long by two feet wide while renovating his barn into a garage. Rochester historian Miles Dustin was notified and was able to trace the owner ship of the plaque back to the turn of the century, however he was stumped as to where the plaque came from or why it was buried on Granite Street. Mr. Dustin and the Courier hoped readers could help solve the mystery.

The plaque read:

“In Commemoration

Of The Valor And Patriotism

Of The Volunteer Of Rochester

Who In The War Of 1861

Gave Their Lives For The

Maintenance Of The Union.

Erected By The Town A.D. 1872.”

In October 2004 Mr. & Mrs. Stevens contacted Charles W. Canney Camp No. 5, Sons of Union Veterans of The Civil War. Mrs. Stevens, the granddaughter of the Ferrigan’s, who now lives in the house on Granite Street to see if the camp could figure out where the plaque’s original location was and why is was buried on Granite Street. Commander Meehan of Camp 5, visited the Steven’s and told them that the plaque was from Rochester’s first Civil War Monument that was dedicated on September 5, 1872.

On how it ended up in the ground on Granite Street is still a mystery, the area was used as a dumping ground until houses were being built in the area. So the thoughts are that after the new monument was built there was no need for the plaque or a Civil War veteran in the area had it and when he died the family threw it away.

The Steven’s donated the plaque to Charles W. Canney Camp No. 5 for preservation and displays. Camp 5 displayed the plaque during their lecture and display at the Rochester Library.

Other items of interest:

The four cannons that surrounded the monument were given to the scrap drives during World War II.

Out of the 54 names on the monument only one name is incorrect. The name that appears on the monument today reads Charles W. Davis the correct name should have been Charles W. Downs, but during the etching of the names in granite of the 1885 monument the last name was misspelled. ***Click here for a detailed list of the 54 Civil War Soldiers Named on the Monument***

Charles W. Canney Camp #5 Preserves an Important Piece of Rochester’s History

The Monument Today

The Monument in 1885