'Silent Sentinel' Battlefield Dispatches No. 422

After the Civil War, between 1866 and 1910, thousands of monuments were dedicated in both the north and south in memory of specific individuals, usually "Generals", regiments or companies of soldiers on the battlefields or on the commons area of a town or on or near a county courthouse. Most of these monuments were paid for by private funds that were raised by the survivors or veterans of a specific regiment or veterans organizations such as the Grand Army of the Republic in the "northern" states and by the Confederate Veterans or the Daughters of the Confederacy in the southern states. Here in southeastern Kansas there are three almost identical monuments that were sponsored and funded by the Grand Army of the Republic Posts in Baxter Springs, Mound City and Fort Scott. The striking similarity of these monuments is that they are capped by the identical sculpture of a "Union" soldier in uniform, wearing a great coat and cape, gazing straight ahead, holding his musket and standing at the position of "Parade Rest"!

Tomorrow, May 30, 2015, is the 147th Anniversary of the "Traditional Memorial Day" and the 109th Anniversary of the dedication of the Grand Army of the Republic Monument located on the grounds of the Bourbon County Courthouse in Fort Scott. The monument is inscribed as being dedicated to "In Memory of the Vol. Defenders of the Union 1861-1865. In 1904, members of Fort Scott's General William H. Lytle Post No. 32 of the Kansas Department of the Grand Army of the Republic raised more than $2,000 in local donations for the purchase, transportation and installation of the monument. The largest donation was for $152.35 from Bourbon County and most of the remaining individual donations were between $25-$1.The following description of the unveiling of the monument was published on the front page of the May 30, 1906, edition of the Fort Scott Tribune:

MONUMENT IS UNVEILED

Appropriate Exercises Held in

Court House Yard

WAS ATTENDED BY THOUSANDS

The monument which was erected in the court house yard and dedicated to the "Defenders of America's Greatest Cause" was unveiled this afternoon with appropriate exercises. The address of the day was made by Governor Hoch and it was listened to with unusual attention. In conjunction with these ceremonies "Decoration Day" was observed with an appropriate program of addresses and special music. It is estimated that several thousand people were clustered about the large monument, bearing the statue of an American soldier. The event proved one that will remain fresh in the minds of people for a long time. The services were impressive in the extreme and there was a Spirit of Patriotism on all sides.

The north side of the Court House Yard into the street on either side was one sea of people and it was impossible to elbow one's way through the crowd, so dense was the crowd. The carriages in the street extended from First to Third Streets on National Avenue and Judson Street was also line. It was indeed a fine testimonial to those who were at the head of the undertaking.

One of the features of the day was the fine PARADE, which was under the personal direction of C. E. Warner who acted as Marshal of the Day. Gov. Hoch participated in the parade which was led by the Band, followed by an "Old Soldiers Drum Corps," members of the G. A. R. and the Women's relief Corps, civic organizations and citizens in carriages. After the parade the peopled assembled in the Court House yard where accommodations [refreshments] were provided.

The monument which was dedicated today stands thirty feet high from the ground line, including the statue. The statue alone is eight feet six inches. The total weight of the monument is 60, 000 pounds. The material in the monument and the statue is gray New Hampshire Granite.

The statue is of granite and represents a private soldier at "parade Rest". The whole monument with the exception of the statue is the work of D. P. Bruce & Company and was designed by A. A. Menezes. The total cost of the monument was about $2,000."

Now, if one travels south of the Mason-Dixon Line, one will find most of the "Confederate"

Soldier's Monuments facing towards the "Northern" enemy! If one travels in the "Northern" States most of the Soldier's Monuments face "South" for the same reason. However, the Fort Scott G.A. R. soldier's Monument does not face north or south, it faces East towards that "Land of Misery" which the Union soldiers called Missouri. BECAUSE, YOU NEVER, NEVER, EVER "TURN YOUR BACK TO THE ENEMY and the memories of the "Border War" in 1906 and now still go on!