Civil War Monument Fund Growing

The ad-hoc Civil War Monument Committee is still working to raise money to put up a new Civil War monument on Memorial Boulevard. Today I spoke with Tom LaPorte and Peter Imperator, two guys who are dedicating a lot of time to this cause.
They told me that while they still need more donations to complete the project, that things are going really well. Both of them said they're impressed with the generosity of the people of Bristol.
It looks like they might be able to get an even more impressive monument than they'd hoped when they started this effort. They hope to find some donors who can give labor or materials to landscape the area around the monument and maybe put in brick, stone or cement around it.
There is already a Civil War monument in Bristol, in West Cemetery, but committee members say its days are numbered because it is so old and made of brownstone. In any case, the names on the stone are fading and they feel it is important to keep those for all to see.
Look for committee members at the Mum Festival and hand them a few bucks if you can.
I wrote about this in a story for Thursday's edition of The Bristol Press, so look for it at www.bristolpress.com if you want to read more.

A New Civil War Monument

These guys pictured above were Bristol's last four surviving Civil War veterans, according to my friend Tom LaPorte, who spends enough time in the Bristol Room at the main library to know such things.
Tom tells me the photo was taken on May 30, 1926 in front of the West Cemetery Civil War monument. From left to right are: George H. Bates, George B. Chapin, Walter H. Hutchinson, and Edward H. Allen.
I talked with Tom and other members of a special committee earlier this week about plans to raise money for a new Civil War memorial, to be placed on the Boulevard and dedicated Memoria Day, 2011.
This dedicated committee, led by Peter Imperator, is starting to raise money for the monument. They told me the beautiful brownstone monument pictured above, and dedicated in 1866, less than a year after the end of the Civil War, is in danger. The stone rots from the inside out, they said, and the crumbling of the memorial is not a matter of if, but when.
They figure they need about $15,000 for a nice monument, with a brass plate for the names, which are eroding from the brownstone. If you can spare a donation, it's a noble idea.
I wrote a story about it for The Bristol Press and think it might be running in Saturday's edition. (www.bristolpress.com)