"The Defense of the Flag" War Memorial by deecat
While I was walking to the Riverfront via Main Street, I spotted a lovely memorial that intrigued me so I crossed the street to investigate. It was The Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil War Memorial, and what a tribute it is.It was erected by the Ladies' Memorial Day Association through contributions and donations from the city, the citizens, and even the area school children who donated their pennies!.. Dedicated on October 6, 1899, even President McKinley and members of his cabinet attended the ceremony!
The memorial was created by Fritz Triebel, a local artist , who named it "The Defense of the Flag". The bronze sculptures were cast in Italy and weigh in at 70,000 pounds. The granite at the base of the memorial was shipped from Deere Island, Maine. However, the ship with the granite on it sank so new stone had to be sent.
With a closer look, I could see that the side nearest to Main Street is of a beautiful woman dressed in draped robe writing something like, " We write on the page what they fought on the battlefield...". On the right and left sides are broze sculptures of young men in battle raising the flag, some of them severly wounded. On the top of the tall column is a globe with an eagle perched on it.
A copper box was supposedly placed beneath the memorial's base with a list of schoolchildren in Peoria County and a list of Civil War soldiers, both living and dead.
Also, a tin box was placed inside the globe on which the eagle(called "Old Abe") is perched.
There was a book published in Peoria in 1906 called "Love's Labor" that tells the entire story and history of this monument. I plan to try to find a copy.
There are stone benches surrounding the memorial that are nice for sitting and admiring this most powerful tribute to the Civil War soldiers and sailors.
