Today in Wheeling History: May 30--The Soldiers and Sailors Monument was dedicated to honor Union veterans at Capitol Square with over 20,000 people in attendance (1883).
The Soldiers and Sailors Monument dedication on May 30, 1883, marked one of Wheeling's most spectacular public gatherings. More than fifteen thousand people packed the area around the West Virginia state capitol building at 16th and Chapline Streets, despite threatening storm clouds overhead. The monument, commissioned by the Soldiers' Aid Society of Wheeling using funds from a Civil War sanitary fair, was carved from Rhode Island granite and features a soldier and sailor flanking a central figure of Liberty holding a shield and sword.
The elaborate procession began at 2 o'clock and moved up Market Street, featuring the Holliday Post G.A.R., Spangler Post from Bellaire, veterans of the War of 1812 and Mexican War, German singing societies, fire department units, and the Wheeling Butchers' Association. Dr. Thomas H. Logan presented the monument on behalf of the Soldiers' Aid Society trustees, while Post Commander G.B. Jones accepted it for the Grand Army of the Republic veterans.
The ceremony included symbolic guards placed at each corner, scripture readings, patriotic songs by German choruses, and a specially commissioned poem by William Leighton, Jr., an English immigrant and glassworker. The monument features battle names including Rich Mountain, Antietam, Gettysburg, Vicksburg, Cloyd Mountain, Opequan, and Appomattox inscribed on its front, while the back bears the dedication "They counted not their lives dear unto them". After various relocations, the restored monument now stands beside West Virginia Independence Hall.
To learn more: Ohio County Public Library, Wheeling WV (https://tinyurl.com/bdhkjwkt) (https://tinyurl.com/y4w5rwsy); Historical Marker Database (https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=39746), Archiving Wheeling (https://tinyurl.com/4jf4j47y), Wheeling Heritage (https://tinyurl.com/yffncbfa)
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; The Historic Marker Database
The Soldiers and Sailors Monument dedication on May 30, 1883, marked one of Wheeling's most spectacular public gatherings. More than fifteen thousand people packed the area around the West Virginia state capitol building at 16th and Chapline Streets, despite threatening storm clouds overhead. The monument, commissioned by the Soldiers' Aid Society of Wheeling using funds from a Civil War sanitary fair, was carved from Rhode Island granite and features a soldier and sailor flanking a central figure of Liberty holding a shield and sword.
The elaborate procession began at 2 o'clock and moved up Market Street, featuring the Holliday Post G.A.R., Spangler Post from Bellaire, veterans of the War of 1812 and Mexican War, German singing societies, fire department units, and the Wheeling Butchers' Association. Dr. Thomas H. Logan presented the monument on behalf of the Soldiers' Aid Society trustees, while Post Commander G.B. Jones accepted it for the Grand Army of the Republic veterans.
The ceremony included symbolic guards placed at each corner, scripture readings, patriotic songs by German choruses, and a specially commissioned poem by William Leighton, Jr., an English immigrant and glassworker. The monument features battle names including Rich Mountain, Antietam, Gettysburg, Vicksburg, Cloyd Mountain, Opequan, and Appomattox inscribed on its front, while the back bears the dedication "They counted not their lives dear unto them". After various relocations, the restored monument now stands beside West Virginia Independence Hall.
To learn more: Ohio County Public Library, Wheeling WV (https://tinyurl.com/bdhkjwkt) (https://tinyurl.com/y4w5rwsy); Historical Marker Database (https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=39746), Archiving Wheeling (https://tinyurl.com/4jf4j47y), Wheeling Heritage (https://tinyurl.com/yffncbfa)
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; The Historic Marker Database
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