The Soldiers Monument

The Soldiers Monument in Carlisle, Pennsylvania was created in a post war effort to honor the Cumberland County soldiers who died as a result of the Civil War. The efforts to build the monument were initiated by the Soldiers Monument Association in early January 1867, which included General Lemuel Todd as Chair, General Robert Miller Henderson as President, and Colonel Erkuries Beatty as Corresponding Secretary. The minutes of the Soldiers Monument Association are available for reference at the Cumberland County Historical Society in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Fundraising continued into early 1871 until the Monument Association obtained the five thousand dollars needed to erect the monument. The extra money financed the dedication ceremonies as well as the fence that enclosed the monument. A Carlisle mechanic, Richard Owens, was responsible for contracting and designing the monument, which contained a “Roll of Honor” that provided the names of the three hundred and forty-four Cumberland County officers and soldiers that died in combat or during their term of service in the army during the Civil War. The official unveiling of the thirty foot tall Soldiers Monument took place on the Public Square near the Carlisle Courthouse on August 19, 1871 with Lemuel Todd as Chief Marshall of the ceremonies and Major General Heintzelman as the presenter of the unveiled monument. Available on Google Books, Carlisle, Old and New gives a brief description of the monument as well as some of the other historical features in Carlisle.