Pittsfield, Massachusetts is an old mill town in the Western part of the state, just a half-hour away from Albany. I drove through snow in the mountains to get to the small city, but when I arrived the snow was starting to disappear. Just south of the city, I could see skiers going down the Bousquet Mountain ski run. In the middle of this urban area, there was a finely appointed town memorial dedicated to those who served in the Civil War. The monument is where North St., South St., West St., and East St. all come together in Park Square.
Fundraising for the monument began soon after the war ended. $3,000 dollars had been raised through private donations and in 1871 the town appropriated $7,000 more. In today’s dollars that combined amount is nearly a quarter of a million dollars! Pittsfield gave the commission to Launt Thompson, who would go on to do many famous public sculptures. Launt was an Irish refugee who arrived in the United States as a boy escaping the Great Famine. His works include sculptures at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and at West Point. When he got this commission, he was a young artist in his thirties, but his emerging style can be seen in the Pittsfield monument.
The monument was unveiled in 1872, just seven years after Appomattox. The monument had been allowed to deteriorate for 140 years until veterans groups rallied around preserving it. In 2013, after raising $43,000 for its preservation, the monument was restored and a dedicatory unveiling was held.
On the front of the monument, these words are inscribed:
“For the dead a tribute, for the living a memory, for posterity an emblem of loyalty to the flag of their country.”
The front also has a Bald Eagle. Back in the 1870s the now standard way of representing the eagle had not yet been adopted. Launt Thompson was a fine artist, but modern viewers might not even know this was an eagle.
On the sides are listed local men who gave their lives during the Civil War. They are done in cursive, each written individually. Next to each group of names is the regiment or unit they were in. Above them are the Corps Badges of the 5th, 6th, and 9th Corps.
Here is a close-up view of the names with their regiment.
At the time of the Civil War, there were 8,045 people living there. While Pittsfield was originally settled by Puritans who made up the majority of Massachusetts’s population, by the 1840s, the towns position on the Housatonic River made it a growing industrial center. Immigrants from Ireland began arriving and today nearly one-in-four Pittsfield residents claims Irish ancestry. In the 1860s, there was also a German immigrant community that made up about 5% of the population. Most of these were Lutherans.
Immigrants were attracted by the woolen, cotton, and grist mills along the river.
The back of the monument.
And here is the “backside” of the color bearer. You can see the great detail of this 150 year old sculpture.
Many of the buildings around the monument were erected soon after the end of the war. Some were there before the war even began.
The back of the monument recognizes those who served, and those who died. The pillar is fifteen feet high, with the statue of the color sergeant being six feet. The monument was placed where a large number of men entered the Federal service. It was unveiled on the 24th of September, 1872 with the keynote being given by Abolitionist George William Curtis. Curtis hailed the men of the Union Army under General Grant for securing “the emancipation of a race and the perpetuity of the Union” without humiliating the rebels.
A close-up of the color bearer from the front with such detail that you rarely see in a small city monument. Even the impact of the right hand on the flag is remarkable.
From behind the monument you can see the Berkshires in the distance.
Pittsfield began to prepare early for the Civil War. In 1860, it reorganized its militia company into the Allen Guard, which was constituted as a “Minuteman” unit, ready to assemble immediately. When the war broke out, Pittsfield was the only city in the Berkshires to send its company in the first complement of Massachusetts units to relieve Washington.
Here is the other bronze scroll with the list of those who died.
As you can see, four men from Pittsfield died while enlisted in the 54th Massachusetts Regiment, the subject of the movie Glory.
Across the street is the old City Hall built in 1832. The space where the monument is today was used as a recruitment area for Pittsfield in 1861 when the war broke out.
On April 18, 1861, Pittsfield residents assembled outside the Town Hall to hear that the war was on and that the town supported the Federal government. At 6:30 that evening, the Allen Guard marched through the town and its 78 men got on the train and headed off to Springfield. The Allen Guard became a company of the Eighth Massachusetts. After the Allen Guard left town, Pittsfield recruited another company for the 10th Massachusetts on the park where the memorial now stands. This unit left town on June 15, 1861. Captain Briggs of the Allen Guard was commissioned the colonel of the new 10th regiment. In the Fall of that year, General Benjamin Butler recruited a regiment in Pittsfield. This became the 31st Massachusetts and it saw action in the capture of New Orleans. In August of 1862, two companies were raised in Pittsfield for the 34th Massachusetts. With Lee’s invasion of Maryland in 1862, men were recruited into the 37th and 49th regiments. In 1864, a company was raised in Pittsfield for the 61st Regiment which saw service at Petersburg.
During the war, women in Pittsfield organized themselves to make necessities for their soldiers. After the war, Mrs. Fenn, who had devoted herself to the soldiers support, began the fundraising for the soldiers’ monument.
Something I did not know was that across the street is a church whose colonial ancestor was damaged by kids playing baseball. The town council passed legislation banning the playing of “base ball” near the church. This is the first written record of baseball!
The church that stands there now was built in 1853 and was a center of the community during the Civil War. The church seats seven hundred. It has Tiffany stained glass windows. Unfortunately, the church is up for sale. The church went from 1,500 members a half-century ago to just 180 now.
Other buildings on the memorial plaza are similarly notable for architecture and history.
All color photos were taken by Pat Young. To see more sites Pat visited CLICK HERE for Google Earth view.
Sources:
Massachusetts Civil War Monuments Project
The History of Pittsfield by J.E.A. Smith published by C.W. Bryan & Company (1876)
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Wonderful post. I would love to see the interior of that church
When I went, it was closed. I tried!