Folk Lore
Photo Credit: Comdr. C.J. Jewell USN, 1911. http://www.maine.gov/civilwar/images/York02.jpg
This is the Soldiers’ Monument at the triangle formed by the intersection of Route 1A and Long Sands Road, known in the nineteenth century as “the Parade.” This Monument was dedicated in 1906 and depicts a correctly dressed, Army infantryman of the Spanish American War. This view, taken shortly after it was erected, shows the originally bucolic background of the monument, later replaced with commercial structures in the twentieth century.
From the Old York Transcript & Courant May 1911 Memorial Day edition we find this tribute: “No town in the country could have a better place for a site for a monument of this kind. The monument committee wanted to have an original statue not a shop worn design.”
"The traditional beliefs, customs, and stories of a community, passed through the generations by word of mouth.” The folk lore surrounding the Soldiers’ Monument goes something like this:
“The granite sculpture on top of this monument is dressed in a Confederate soldier’s uniform because there was a shipping error and our monument was sent down South somewhere so we got a Confederate soldier instead. Efforts to exchange the monuments never came to pass. The belt buckle has “CSA” on it signifying Confederate States of America. “
This tall tale has been written about, spread via published books, word of mouth and now the internet. The carved text on the center polished section (the die) reads: “Erected in 1906 To Sons of York who served their country in Army and Navy for preservation of the Union.” To the lore monger, this means only that the statues were mixed up and not the whole monument.”
York’s most quoted historian is Col. Charles Edward Banks (1854-1931). On page 426 of his two-volume set History Of York Maine, Banks wrote the following long sentence which reveals he knew the truth about the Soldiers’ Monument statue.
“As visible evidence of the town’s grateful appreciation of the services of her sons on the field of battle, and the service of the survivors, a handsome monument to their memory graces the Town Square, surmounted by a statue of a soldier shown in the uniform with the accoutrements of the Army of the Union.”
Most people have thin knowledge of American military uniforms during the 1905 time period when the Soldiers’ Monument was ordered by The York Village Association of Veterans and Sons of Veterans. These Civil War veterans who ordered the monument had just witnessed the beginning and end of the Spanish American War, the Philippine Insurrection and the Boxer Rebellion. All they had to show for their war efforts and sacrifices of over 40 years ago one large, Civil War era naval cannon. With this new monument they managed to cover all the bases.
The author and transcribers hope the information provided herein answers questions for some and raises questions for others who are driven to seek more. Good luck and don’t forget to tell us when you find something interesting.
- From The Soldiers' Monument by Michael Dow