Soldiers Monument in Ballston Spa. Photo courtesy of Saratoga County Historical Society and Brookside Museum.
BALLSTON SPA — The day they had been planning for over two years had finally arrived, but the summer sky had darkened, opening up to pour rain upon the excited residents of Ballston Spa.
Disappointed but determined to celebrate the memories of their fallen soldiers, citizens from all around Saratoga County kept high spirits on that rainy day in June 1888, as an estimated 10,000 people flooded the downtown streets for the unveiling of a new monument etched with the names of local soldiers who never returned home from war.
“Ever since the Civil War ended in 1865 and the men came home, they wanted to have some kind of memorial to the men who didn’t return,” said Kim McCartney, a researcher for Brookside Museum. “It was talked about and talked about, and finally on December 27, 1826, they formed a committee of prominent citizens of the area and men from the Post McKittrick GAR—Grand Army of the Republic, which is what they called the Union Army back then—and they took bids and it was the National Monument Company in Vermont that won the bid, supplied the granite and made the monument.”
At 10 a.m. on June 14, 1888, veterans and men in uniform from all over Saratoga County formed a crowd at Bath Street, ready to parade for a full two hours around the downtown area, which had been fully decorated by the women with flowers and flags.
After the parade, everyone split up into different groups to go and have lunch together in various places around the village. Once they finished eating, the crowds filled the streets again to watch the unveiling of the brand new monument, which featured the names of fallen soldiers from the Civil War, Revolutionary War, War of 1812 and even the Mexican War.
Thousands of people were gathered at the monument to listen to the revered General Daniel Butterfield, who had commanded the 44th Regiment and was Chief of Staff of the Army of the Potomac, give “a very long, very moving” address. Albert J. Reid, Civil War veteran, was the marshal for the parade, and letters were read aloud from Congressman George West and Civil War veteran and figure William J. Parkinson, who couldn’t make it to the ceremony in person. Little girls dressed in red, white and blue sang the Star Spangled Banner around the monument, and with that, the day of celebrations ended.
As all statues do, the now-symbolic Soldiers Monument became severely weathered as decades upon decades passed by.
“We noticed the monument was starting to deteriorate to the point where we became concerned,” said Everett Manning, chaplain of American Legion Henry Cornell Post 234 in Ballston Spa. “The names were starting to fade badly and the cement wall was breaking up along with the curbing around it, so we put together a team of people to determine what we could do about it.”
The Legion elected Tom Andreadakis to head the project of finding out what it would take to restore the monument back to its original state. Since the curbing around the monument is owned by the town of Ballston Spa, the group had to contact the mayor and ask the town to fix the curbing and add some lighting around it.
The statue was fully restored by Don Wescott in 2012 and the curbing repaired and lights added this year with the help of the town board.
After realizing that this year is the 125th anniversary of the original dedication of the monument, members of the Legion decided to “stage a grand event” in honor of the historical statue.
“[Don] did a wonderful job of restoring the monument,” Manning said. “It’s really in beautiful shape.”
On Saturday, June 15 from 1–4 p.m., a grand celebration will take place in front of the monument in the group’s effort to echo the grandeur of the original dedication 125 years ago. Ballston Spa’s two fire departments will be in attendance, with one hanging a huge American flag over the ceremony while the Union fire department will play three patriotic songs. Speeches will be given by representatives from the Brookside Museum, Heritage Hunters, American Legion and Mayor John Romano. The Gettysburg Address will also be read aloud at the ceremony.
“After that’s done, we’ll move up to Monument Park and do a flag retirement ceremony,” Manning said. “Every year on Flag Day, the American Legion has a ceremony where we actually burn and retire a flag and it’s a nice ceremony, so that will be the final event.”
Though the monument displays names of soldiers who participated in various wars, the theme of this Saturday’s ceremony will lay heavily on the Civil War, as thousands from Saratoga County served in that war.
“The theme of the speeches will center around the Civil War and what that meant to our country and what these guys were fighting for,” Manning said. “They weren’t fighting for their own freedom—they already had their own freedom. They were fighting for the freedom of everybody and to substantiate the whole concept of our forefathers that this country was created so that all people could be equal.”
Manning said he hopes that the restoration of the monument and this weekend’s ceremony will help Saratoga County residents remember the importance of those who gave their lives for their country.
“It’s important to the veterans in this town and hopefully bringing it into their view again will bring it back into the importance in the lives of the people who live around here,” Manning said. “We’re hoping to bring a spirit of patriotism back into the town.”
For more information and details on the June 15 ceremony, call (518) 885-7236. The monument is located at the intersection of Front Street and Low Street in Ballston Spa.
