GAR Memorial - Fairview Cemetery - Denison, TX
N 33° 46.471 W 096° 33.592
14S E 725960 N 3739831
A memorial to the soldiers and sailors of the Grand Army of the Republic stands in the northwestern corner of Fairview Cemetery, Denison, TX.
Waymark Code: WM12CWB
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 04/30/2020
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This is one of only three known monuments to the Union in Texas. It's not uncommon to find Union soldiers buried across the state, well outnumbered by their former Confederate opponents, and here, we have a small plot. Besides the memorial, there are six visible headstones for Union soldiers buried here, and according to the City of Denison, there are two or three more marked graves in the plot. Additionally, there is at least one headstone out in the cemetery marking the final resting place of a member of the GAR. Throughout the cemetery, there are many veterans from both halves of the fractured United States who have been united in the finality of death.
Located in the northwest corner of the cemetery, the statue and base are both made of stone. The limestone base was probably a local production, while the statue may have been manufactured by one of several companies who created these types of monuments. The statue's dimensions are about 6'x 2' x 1' 2", and the base is approximately 10' x 4' x 3'. There are inscriptions on two sides of the base. On the front is:
GAR
1906
Erected by Nathaniel Lyon
Post No. 5.
Department of Texas
In Memory of
The Loyal Soldiers
and Sailors
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On the lower edge of the proper left side of the base is:
Assisted by
Women's Relief Core
No. 2
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The Smithsonian's Art Inventories Catalog describes the soldier:
"Full-length figure of a Union soldier. He wears a uniform, cap and an overcoat. He has a moustache. The cape of his coat is thrown over his proper right shoulder. He holds the barrel of a gun with both hands; the butt of the gun rests on the ground in front of him. The stone sculpture stands on a stone pedestal base which rests on a single step."