Woburn Unveils its Civil War Soldier Monument on October 14, 1861, Sculpted by Irish-Born Martin Milmore
On October 14, 1869, the Town of Woburn MA dedicated its Civil War Soldiers Monument in the center of town, complete "with appropriate and imposing ceremonies," including some 1,600 school children marching in a procession, led by Governor William Clafin and other dignitaries, military heroes, town officials, fire departments and temperance associations.
The bronze figure was created by 25 year old Irish-born sculptor Martin Milmore, who was quickly gaining faming as a young artist for his series of Civil War statues and monument, as well as three classical figures for the prestigious Massachusetts Horticultural Society Building on Tremont Street.
Prior to the unveiling, the Boston Evening Transcript described the monument:
"The statue is in bronze, and is designed and moulded be Martin Milmore. It is eight feet high, and represented a soldier standing at ease. It is considered one of the best specimens of a soldier yet cast in bronze. The granite has been elegantly wrought, and when finished, including the statue, will stand about twenty-two feet from the base line, and will be one of the finest monuments that has yet peen erected in memory of our fallen heroes. The cost of the granite and statue is almost ten thousand dollars.
"The pedestal is of white granite twelve feet in height. Surmounting it is the bronze figure of a soldier, executed with great artistic skill. It was designed by the Boston artist, Milmore, and is originally the cast of his superb bronze figure of a soldier at parade rest. It stands upon an inlaid tablet base of granite upon which are inscribed the names of eighty-one of Woburn's faithful men who spilled their life's-blood for the Union."
The music at the ceremony was furnished by Gilmore's Band, led by Galway-born maestro Patrick S. Gilmore. Other bands included Brown's and the Metropolitan Bands. The school children sang an appropirate ode after an invocation, reported The Transcript.
In the evening, the Mechanic Phalanx Associates held a grand reucion at Lyceum Hall..
"The soldiers, whose memory this monument is being put up to commemorate, are laid in the beautiful cemetery about half a mile from the square, in a large oval lot, with a marble slab over each," wrote the Transcript. The monument in the centre is about sixteen feet high, handsomely moulded, and on each side are tablets with the names of the soldiers in gold letters. The lot is inclosed with a granite base and presents a beautiful appearance."
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"The statue is in bronze, and is designed and moulded be Martin Milmore. It is eight feet high, and represented a soldier standing at ease. It is considered one of the best specimens of a soldier yet cast in bronze. The granite has been elegantly wrought, and when finished, including the statue, will stand about twenty-two feet from the base line, and will be one of the finest monuments that has yet peen erected in memory of our fallen heroes. The cost of the granite and statue is almost ten thousand dollars.
"The pedestal is of white granite twelve feet in height. Surmounting it is the bronze figure of a soldier, executed with great artistic skill. It was designed by the Boston artist, Milmore, and is originally the cast of his superb bronze figure of a soldier at parade rest. It stands upon an inlaid tablet base of granite upon which are inscribed the names of eighty-one of Woburn's faithful men who spilled their life's-blood for the Union."
The music at the ceremony was furnished by Gilmore's Band, led by Galway-born maestro Patrick S. Gilmore. Other bands included Brown's and the Metropolitan Bands. The school children sang an appropirate ode after an invocation, reported The Transcript.
In the evening, the Mechanic Phalanx Associates held a grand reucion at Lyceum Hall..
"The soldiers, whose memory this monument is being put up to commemorate, are laid in the beautiful cemetery about half a mile from the square, in a large oval lot, with a marble slab over each," wrote the Transcript. The monument in the centre is about sixteen feet high, handsomely moulded, and on each side are tablets with the names of the soldiers in gold letters. The lot is inclosed with a granite base and presents a beautiful appearance."
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Martin Milmore (1844-1883) was born in Kilmorgan, County Sligo on September 14, 1844, the youngest of five sons of parents Martin and Sarah Milmoe (nee Hart). When the father died in 1851, Sarah emigrated with her five sons to Boston, where they settled in Warren Street, right off of Tremont Street near Boston Common.
During this time, Irish refugees had poured into Boston, stimulating the anti-Irish, anti-Catholic sentiments of Bostonians that stretched back to the days of the 17th century Puritans. In Boston the family changed the spelling of its name from Milmoe to Milmore, possibly to align with a popular Irishman at the time, Patrick S. Gilmore, a talented cornet player and band leader.
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