On his journey, he rode his horse starting from Charlestown down Washington Street and up Crescent Street near the present-day Holiday Inn. One of the most significant historic events featuring East Somerville was Paul Revere's "Midnight Ride" in 1775. Initially a farming community where Charlestown residents pastured their cows, East Somerville later provided respite from the stresses of Boston and city life when roads, bridges and the arrival of the railroad made it an accessible and convenient location. Originally part of Charlestown, East Somerville is one of the oldest and most densely settled areas of Somerville. The community stretches east along Broadway from Massachusetts Route 28 to Sullivan Square and Interstate 93 on the city line with the Boston neighborhood of Charlestown. Location of East Somerville within the surrounding neighborhoods Mount Vernon StreetĮast Somerville is a neighborhood in the eastern part of the city of Somerville, Massachusetts. A writer for the Somerville Journal reporting on the dedication wrote that the “bronze female with uplifted hand typifies the protecting care of the flag she holds.Neighborhood in Somerville, Massachusetts It was designed by sculptor Henry Augustus Lukeman of New York whose best known work was the massive Confederate memorial at Stone Mountain in Georgia. During the ceremonies, it was unveiled by Capt. The new monument, featuring a unique grouping of statues entitled “American Valor,” was placed on Central Hill next to the Somerville Public Library and dedicated on Memorial Day 1909. “To my mind,” he said, “the grandest monument within our borders is the modest column erected by the Somerville Light Infantry.” However, he also stated, “Sometime in the early future…I feel that our city should have a grand, imposing monument in commemoration of the efforts of the soldiers of 1861-1865.” Mayor Charles Grimmons, in his January 1907 inaugural address, was quick to give a respectful nod to the Milk Row monument. Howe (architect), Gorham Manufacturing Company (casting)Īs other towns began placing larger Civil War monuments with fine sculpture in the decades after the war, it was not long before Somerville citizens began to consider building something on a similar scale. Location: Adjacent to Public Library, 79 Highland Avenue, SomervilleĪrchitect/sculptor/manufacturer: Henry Augustus Lukeman (sculptor), George B. Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument, Central Hill He was not of a martial temperament, but his devotion to the cause and his conscientiousness were so inspiring that he was equal to all emergencies.” His nature was gentle and loving, and the crucible of war seemed only to develop these high qualities. A fellow soldier from Somerville wrote of him, “His character was unique in many respects. He was killed in action during the Battle of Five Forks on Apjust one week before Lee’s surrender. In 1862, he reenlisted with the 39th Massachusetts Infantry as a second lieutenant and eventually rose in rank to captain, commanding Company K of that regiment. Kinsley initially enlisted as a private in the 5th Massachusetts with the rest of the Somerville Light Infantry. Willard Kinsley, for whom the Somerville Grand Army of the Republic Post was named. One of the names on this monument is Capt. Because the monument was placed almost two years before the war’s end, names were added to the shaft of the obelisk above the original engraved tablets. The company had just returned from their second term in the summer of 1863, a fact which might account for the unusually early timing of the monument–the war was not yet over but it was a good opportunity to honor the service of the Somerville Light Infantry. After its first term of ninety days, the company was reorganized an additional term of nine months and, later, one hundred days. The company fought at the First Battle of Bull Run and Somerville lost its first two men in that battle-Privates E. The Somerville Light Infantry was a local militia company which answered Lincoln’s first call for troops on Apand became Company I of the 5th Massachusetts Infantry. It was originally intended to be a memorial to the Somerville Light Infantry, however it was decided shortly after the monument was erected in 1863 that it should memorialize all Somerville’s soldiers lost in the war. Somerville can claim the very first Massachusetts Civil War monument dedicated to all those from a given municipality. Number of names: 68 men from Somerville who died in the war (list is incomplete) Location: Milk Row Cemetery, 439 Somerville Avenue, Somerville
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