Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument (Cleveland)

For other monuments with the same name, see Soldiers and Sailors Monument (disambiguation).

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The Cuyahoga County Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument, circa 1900

The Cuyahoga County Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument is a monument to Civil War soldiers and sailors from Cuyahoga County, Ohio. Located in the southeast quadrant of Public Square in downtown Cleveland, it opened July 4, 1894. It was designed by architect Levi Scofield (1842–1917), who also created the monument's sculptures. F.F. Schnitzer was the supervising architect who oversaw the creation of the structure. The monument is regularly open to the public free of charge.

History and Construction

The monument consists of a 125-foot black Quincy granite shaft erected on a square base constructed of rough-hewn granite blocks trimmed in sandstone and housing a memorial building. The shaft divided by six carved bands which list the names of battles in which Cuyahoga soldiers fought and is topped with a bronze statue of the "Goddess of Liberty" signifying loyalty to United States. Four bronze groupings at its base depict the four branches of the Union Army— the Navy, Cavalry, Infantry, and Artillery. Inside the memorial building are a series of marble tablets listing 9,000 Civil War veterans that served with Cuyahoga County regiments or were from Cuyahoga County. Also inside the base are four bronze relief sculptures depicting the Soldiers' Aid Society, Emancipation of the Slaves, Beginning of the War in Ohio and the End of the War, as well as busts of Col. James Barnett, Scofield, and several Ohio officers who were killed in action during the war.

Restoration

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One of the four sculptural groupings on the monument's exterior

Restoration of the monument began October 26, 2008, and was expected to last approximately nine months with a cost $1.5 million. Funds came from federal, state and local governments, veterans' and community groups. Work included cleaning interior and exterior stonework, structural repairs and painting, restoring chandeliers, installing upgraded heating and lighting, repairs to stained glass windows, installing air conditioning and making the monument accessible to disabled visitors. When the marble tablets were created, names were etched with acid, then inked. Over time, the dyes from the ink leached into the marble and discolored it. Workers cleaned each name and restored the marble's original patina. The renovated monument opened June 5, 2010, with $2 million spent on work.

From the time of dedication until the 1940s, plantings around the monument depicted 24 army corps badges and 5 badges of Civil War organizations. After construction work finished, volunteer gardeners used over 16,000 plants to recreate the 5 organization badges plus two based on illustrations in the memorial room and one for the Daughters of Union Veterans. The plants cost $6,500 and were specially cultivated for the project. The 24 army badges could not be recreated because of budget constraints.

In 2011, researchers discovered that the names of 140 black soldiers from the area were omitted from the tablets. The commission overseeing the monument said it will add the names and others they discover through additional research.

See also

• Ohio in the Civil War
• History of Cleveland, Ohio

External links

• Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument Commission
• Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument at Find a Grave