Schenectady “Rest Here for the Night” Memorial to Union Soldiers Photo Tour

Schenectady’s Rest Here for the Night Memorial is located at the intersection of State Street and Lafayette Street in Veterans Park near the county courthouse. Erected in 1875, it was put up only a decade after the war ended.

While the monument is impressive, it is badly in need of cleaning and restoration. The statue and its base are intact, as is most of the lettering carved into the base, but nearly half of the monument is stained and “dirty.” The fact that the monument is not in some forgotten corner of Schenectady, but is in a heavily visited park, led me to wonder why it has not gotten restoration attention. Photos from two decades ago show it in the same condition, so I was surprised that efforts have not been made to restore it.

The monument depicts a common soldier at parade rest, with a bas relief of a battle scene, beneath which are the words “REST HERE FOR THE NIGHT.” Immediately below the soldier is an image of the Grand Army of the Republic medal symbolizing the Union veterans organization that was one of the leaders in putting up the monument. Beneath that is the word “GETTYSBURG.” In looking at similar monuments in the Northeast, that is the most referenced battle that I have seen on them.

One that I don’t see as often on New York monuments is the “MARCH TO THE SEA.” Sherman’s march from Atlanta to Savannah was one of the most important campaigns of 1864, but most of the men who made it were from the “West.” The 134th New York Infantry, recruited in 1862 in Schenectady, Delaware, and Schoharie was assigned to the XI Corps of the Army of the Potomac. When the  XI Corps was transferred to Grant’s forces at Chattanooga, it became a “Western” unit, as did the 134th. The 134th participated in the freeing of Chattanooga, the capture of Atlanta, the March to the Sea, and afterwards in the campaign to free the Carolinas from Confederate occupation.

Beneath the reference to Sherman’s March is the dedication: “In memory of the soldiers & sailors from
Schenectady County, who aided in the suppression of the Great Rebellion of 1861-5.”

Recent research has shown that hundreds of local men enlisted during the Civil War, serving in at least fourteen different regiments. While most served in regiments with men from nearby areas like Albany and Saratoga, many enlisted in regiments from elsewhere in the state. For example, 54 Irish joined the “Fighting 69th” New York Volunteer Infantry of the Irish Brigade.

The 18th New York Infantry, mustered into the U. S. service on May 17, 1861, was made up of companies from as far apart as the Canadian border and the southern Hudson Valley near New York City. Two companies came from Schenectady. This two-year regiment served at the Battle of Bull Run in July, 1861 and fought with the Army of the Potomac through the Battle of Chancellorsville in 1863. With its term of enlistment ending in the summer of 1863, it was disbanded before Gettysburg.

In the photo below you can see the First United Methodist Church of Schenectady in the background.

Company B of the Second New York Regiment of Veteran Cavalry was filled with men from Schenectady. Organized from the old 30th New York Cavalry, it was called the Empire Light Cavalry and mustered into service on July 20, 1863. It served mainly in Alabama and Mississippi during the last two years of the war.

The other units from the area fought mainly with the Army of the Potomac at battles like the Wilderness.

The Battle of Antietam in Maryland was another place where men from Schenectady fought.

Here is a close-up of the bas relief depicting a battle with Union soldiers on the right and Confederates on the left. Beneath it is “REST HERE FOR THE NIGHT.”

Here is the inscription crediting the two groups responsible for the monument:

Erected by the
Ladies Monument
Association of the City
of Schenectady &
Post 4 Department
of New York Grand Army
of the Republic

1875

If you walk around the area you will see many homes that were built before the Civil War. Schenectady has one of the largest collections of pre-Civil War buildings of any city in Upstate, New York.

There are a number of eating establishments within walking distance of the monument along State Street.

The monument is easily reached by car via the New York State Thruway. It was a half-hour ride from Albany on the weekday morning I visited. It is a five block walk from the Schenectady train station where AMTRAK has service. If you visit this site, you may want to also visit the nearby William Seward and Harriet Tubman statues about seven minutes away by car. A half-hour away is the Civil War memorial at Albany Rural Cemetery.

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