Sag Harbor is one of Long Island’s most intact housing stock from the Civil War Era. Earlier fires in the village led to many of the downtown buildings being constructed in the decades before the Civil War, with many businesses and housing units being built between 1830 and 1870. The years before the war saw a remarkable degree of prosperity in Sag Harbor with its whaling fleet being the sixth largest in the entire United States.
However, by the 1860s, the whaling industry went into rapid decline. By 1859, Pennsylvania oil fields were already cutting into the national market for whale oil, the principal profit center of the whaling industry. Also, the whaling industry had nearly whipped out the traditional whaling grounds off of Long Island and New England, and Sag Harbor boats were forced to look for prey off of Brazil, and, by the 1850s, near Alaska. A whaling trip which used to take six months to a year, now took two to four years, driving down the profit of the Sag Harbor whaling ship owners. Finally, during the Civil War, Confederate cruisers claimed whaling ships and their cargo, further depressing the industry.
The village has honored it’s Civil War veterans with a memorial at the entrance to the downtown. The monument includes a life-sized statue of a Union soldier on a pedestal. In front of it is a 1,498 pound artillery piece. The cannon was removed early in 2023, restored, and placed on a new carriage. Earlier, the statue was cleaned. With very nice landscaping and a century-old fence it looks as though it was put up new!
When the cannon was cleaned, its markings were revealed S. McM. & Co. 1864. 1,498 lbs. 36. S.C.L. This tells us that it was made during the Civil War and fired 24 pound cannon balls.
The statue was unveiled on October 24, 1896. Pictures of the site in the early 1900s show that the fence and the cannon were not on site, only the statue.
The project of erecting the statue fell to the Ladies Monument Association. It is marked with the years of the war and said it was fought for “LIBERTY AND UNION.”
Two dozen men from the village enlisted in the Navy, not an unusual decision by an important port in New York. Men enlisted in
a variety of Army units, including the 127th New York in Company K. When they were stationed in coastal Virginia, they used their knowledge of the water to earn themselves the nickname “The Clamdiggers.”
Unlike most Long Island villages, Sag Harbor did not see explosive growth after the end of World War II. In 1870, the population was 1,723 and in 2020 it was 2,772. The slow rate of growth is one reason that the many Civil War Era buildings still make up such a large part of where residents live and work.
Behind the statue is a container with flowers planted in it. The container was a trough used to water horses passing down the street in the 19th Century.
The triangle where the monument resides is a shady place with mature trees and it is a favorite place on sunny days for residents to get some relief from the sun.
The area near the site has many homes and buildings that date back to before the Civil War. Here is a walking tour.
Below is the view from the monument of Sag Harbor’s Main Street. The tall building is the Municipal Building constructed in 1846. Next to it on the left is the famed American Hotel, built in 1842. The central location of the statue makes it the kick-off point for the village’s Veterans Day Parade and several art and music festivals have been held here. A walk down Main Street gives you access to very good seafood and a view of the harbor.
All color photos were taken by Pat Young. To see more sites Pat visited CLICK HERE for Google Earth view.
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I have walked past it many times and had only a general knowledge view. Sag Harbor is one of the nicest villages in America. A great article.