Our fourth Public Square post is appropriate for this Memorial Day Weekend – The Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument. The monument was dedicated on July 4, 1894. The Soldiers and Sailors Monument was built to honor the 9,000 Cuyahoga County residents who fought in the Civil War, of which about 1,000 died.
The monument is open most days to the public and is free to tour. Inside you can find the names of the 9,000 Cuyahoga residents inscribed on the walls. Bronze reliefs portray the “the story of Lincoln and Grant, of Sherman and Sheridan, of Meade
and Thomas, of Hancock and Custer, of Farragut and Porter, of Hayes and Garfield, and of the brave men who followed and fought with them for their country and its liberties,” William Gleason, the President of the Monument Commission said on July 15, 1984.
Levi Schofield designed the Soldiers and Sailors monument. He served in the Union Army himself. His statues outside the monument show an African American fighting alongside white soldiers; this was one of the first monuments to show this. His depiction of the Calvary shows first hand the horrors of war with the only Confederate in the monument being shot at point blank range. His infantry statue shows several soldiers dead and many wounded, again recognizing the realism of the horrors of war.
Atop the column stands Lady Liberty and along the shaft of the column are the names of each of the battles that the residents of Cuyahoga fought in. To learn more about the monument visit their the their website.
Tours of Cleveland walking tours begin in Public Square where we further discuss the monument. Book your tour today.