Brewster is a small village in New York’s Hudson Valley. I visited its Civil War Monument in January of this year. As has been the case with most of my tours of monuments this winter, it was cold and rainy. The monument is by a fairly famous sculptor, but Brewster’s Civil War veterans got some national attention two years ago when a high school student discovered that a local African American man served in the 54th Massachusetts under Colonel Shaw. Frank Meyers was long identified as a recruit from Paterson, New Jersey, but in 2022 a high school senior Ellen Cassidy published an article saying that he was buried near Brewster and had lived in Patterson, New York, not Paterson, New Jersey. The story spread in the Hearst papers in the region and it was eventually featured in USA Today. I will tell you something about Meyers later in this article.
The monument is located at Railroad Ave. in Brewster where it intersects with Morningthorp Avenue. It is at the southern entrance to the village. It fronts on a ball field
Many monuments that I have seen use very similar statuary. While this is a small monument, I have not seen anything like the nude figure of a realistic boy holding a flag and a sword at any other site I have been at. The sculptor was at the time a well-known artist named Chester Beach. He was born in 1881 and after he had established a reputation for his art, he acquired an estate near Brewster. In addition to his work sculpting, he also designed coins for the U.S. Mint as well as medals for different organizations.
The monument was dedicated in May 1933 for Memorial Day. It was placed by the local Grand Army of the Republic, but by then, the war had been over for nearly seventy years. This was more likely the result of fundraising by the children of the veterans, since any remaining veterans would be almost ninety years old. An inscription says this was the “GIFT OF WILLIAM ANDREW FERRIS.” The monument did not have the two plaques to the left and right of the main structure. These were put up fairly recently in 1981 to honor local people who fought in the Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, the Korean and Vietnam Wars.
The naked boy does wear one piece of clothing: a strategically placed belt for the scabbard. The inscription announces that this is to honor “Service for the Union.”
There are two sculpted cannon balls at the sides of the monument. On top is the United States eagle.
Behind the boy is a shield with the United States flag design.
The monument has a list of members of the local Crosby Post of the Grand Army of the Republic.
One Civil War veteran who did not make the list is Frank Meyers. He died more than a decade before the local GAR post began. Meyers was 23 years old when he enlisted into the 54th Massachusetts Regiment, the Black regiment that was the focus of the movie “Glory.” The Meyers family are listed as “free colored persons” living in the Town of Southeast as early as 1838. In 1840, Francis Oliver Myers was born into a family which owned some land. On May 5, 1863, Meyers went to Readville, Massachusetts and enlisted. By May 28th, the regiment marched through Boston and it was put on a transport ship for South Carolina. On July 18, 1863 Frank Meyers participated in the assault on Battery Wagner guarding Charleston’s Harbor. Going in with the regiment under Col. Robert Gould Shaw, Meyers attracted the attention of a reporter from the New York Post who wrote:
“Frank Myers, whose arm was badly shattered by a shell, said, ‘Oh! I thank God so much for the privilege: I went in to live or die, as he please.’ He stood right under the uplifted sword of their brave Colonel Shaw, on the very top of the parapet, as he cried, ‘Forward, Fifty-fourth!’ and then suddenly fell, quickly followed by Myers himself.”
When he was evacuated, Meyers had wounds to his arm, his back, and his head. After a partial recovery, he was discharged for disability in February, 1864. Meyers died on May 19th, 1866. The first record of Memorial Day in Brewster was in 1871 and the local newspaper says that Meyers was among the dead veterans recognized in the ceremonies.
In Captain Luis F. Emilio’s regimental history A Brave Black Regiment: The History of the Fifty-Fourth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, 1863-1865, he says of Frank Myers that he “stood under the uplifted arm of Colonel Shaw, while that officer was on the parapet, waving his sword, and crying, “Forward, Fifty-fourth!” He saw the colonel suddenly fall, and was struck himself a moment after.”
Ellen Cassidy says that the book made a mistake in its roster of men of the 54th. It lists Meyers as being from Paterson, New Jersey, instead of Patterson, New York. While Meyers’s military records show him as having been born in Patterson, N.Y., the National Park Service, many online databases, and many history books show him incorrectly as being from New Jersey. Cassidy says that Meyers returned to his hometown after his discharge and that he lived in Southeast Town for the last two years of his life. He is buried in the local Milltown Rural Cemetery. Cassidy was able to correct the National Park Service listing and she is continuing to make the soldier’s story known.
In 2011, the Boy Scouts put up a marker explaining that the “Crosby Post” of the Grand Army of the Republic was named after a local hero who was severely wounded during the Battle of Spotsylvania in 1864.
Below is the monument from the rear. You can see the baseball field where four generations of local children have played.
All color photos were taken by Pat Young. To see more sites Pat visited CLICK HERE for Google Earth view.
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Great article.
“Gift of William Andrew Ferris”
Mr Ferris was a local business man and peer of the Civil War Veterans. He left in his will money for the Brewster Public Library and this Civil War memorial.
The funds would become available upon the passing of his widow. That’s the reason for the time of dedication and the bequest. His family still resides locally.
Thanks Jack. Useful info!