Today in Wheeling History: May 27—The Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument, honoring local Union Civil War dead, was re-dedicated outside West Virginia Independence Hall in Downtown Wheeling (2019).
The Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument is Wheeling’s principal Civil War memorial, dedicated to local Union soldiers and sailors who died in the conflict. Commissioned from the New England Granite Company in 1878 and completed in 1880, the 55‑ton monument did not reach Wheeling until 1881 and was first erected on Capitol Square at 16th and Chapline Streets. It was formally dedicated there on May 31, 1883, in a ceremony that drew veterans from the Civil War and earlier wars, underscoring Wheeling’s central role in the creation of West Virginia and in preserving the Union.
Over the twentieth century, the monument was repeatedly moved: from Capitol Square in 1956 to make way for the City‑County Building, then to a site near National Road, to the Linsly campus, and finally to Wheeling Park, where it stood on a hilltop for six decades, largely out of everyday public view. Beginning in 2016, Wheeling historian Margaret Brennan led a three‑year fundraising and advocacy effort that raised about \$135,000 to return the monument “back home” to downtown. On May 27, 2019—Memorial Day—the restored monument was re‑dedicated on the Market Street side of West Virginia Independence Hall, within a block of its original site. The ceremony featured Governor Jim Justice, state arts and culture curator Randall Reid‑Smith, Mayor Glenn Elliott, historian Dr. Joe Laker, Independence Hall staff, American Legion Post 1, and a new commemorative poem by West Virginia Poet Laureate Marc Harshman, reaffirming the monument’s role as a visible, instructive reminder of Wheeling’s Civil War sacrifice.
To learn more: Ohio County Public Library, Wheeling WV (https://tinyurl.com/2azsyprx); Mayor Glenn Elliott’s Remarks (https://tinyurl.com/2auw6prv), Marc Harshman’s Poem (https://tinyurl.com/2asxthpe), Additional Coverage (https://tinyurl.com/3255zn74), Archiving Wheeling (https://tinyurl.com/4jvvz69s)
Photo caption and credit: Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument (Wheeling Heritage)
The Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument is Wheeling’s principal Civil War memorial, dedicated to local Union soldiers and sailors who died in the conflict. Commissioned from the New England Granite Company in 1878 and completed in 1880, the 55‑ton monument did not reach Wheeling until 1881 and was first erected on Capitol Square at 16th and Chapline Streets. It was formally dedicated there on May 31, 1883, in a ceremony that drew veterans from the Civil War and earlier wars, underscoring Wheeling’s central role in the creation of West Virginia and in preserving the Union.
Over the twentieth century, the monument was repeatedly moved: from Capitol Square in 1956 to make way for the City‑County Building, then to a site near National Road, to the Linsly campus, and finally to Wheeling Park, where it stood on a hilltop for six decades, largely out of everyday public view. Beginning in 2016, Wheeling historian Margaret Brennan led a three‑year fundraising and advocacy effort that raised about \$135,000 to return the monument “back home” to downtown. On May 27, 2019—Memorial Day—the restored monument was re‑dedicated on the Market Street side of West Virginia Independence Hall, within a block of its original site. The ceremony featured Governor Jim Justice, state arts and culture curator Randall Reid‑Smith, Mayor Glenn Elliott, historian Dr. Joe Laker, Independence Hall staff, American Legion Post 1, and a new commemorative poem by West Virginia Poet Laureate Marc Harshman, reaffirming the monument’s role as a visible, instructive reminder of Wheeling’s Civil War sacrifice.
To learn more: Ohio County Public Library, Wheeling WV (https://tinyurl.com/2azsyprx); Mayor Glenn Elliott’s Remarks (https://tinyurl.com/2auw6prv), Marc Harshman’s Poem (https://tinyurl.com/2asxthpe), Additional Coverage (https://tinyurl.com/3255zn74), Archiving Wheeling (https://tinyurl.com/4jvvz69s)
Photo caption and credit: Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument (Wheeling Heritage)
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