Civil War Monument - Chestertown, MD
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bluesnote
N 39° 12.536 W 076° 03.961
18S E 407962 N 4340503
A civil war monument, that is divided by north and south veterans, located in Chestertown, Maryland. It also purposely omits black veterans.
Waymark Code: WM15JYM
Location: Maryland, United States
Date Posted: 01/14/2022
Views: 1
The monument reads:
Erected by James A. Pearce June 1917 in commemoration of the patriotism and valor of a once divided but now reunited county. To the soldiers of Kent in the Confederate Army 1861-1865
Captain William I. Rasin; Macall M. Rasin; George T. Hollyday; Sol. Wright; George W. Rolph; Lieutenant H. C. Blackiston; James A. Kennard;
Killed at 1st Manassas: Thomas H. Gemmill;
Killed at Winchester Virginia: J. Chapman Spencer
Killed Greenland Gap Virginia: James J. Spear; Dewitt C. Spear; Edwin W. Spear; Reverend William B. Everett; Hugh M. Wallis; Levi Perkins
Killed at Winchester Virginia: Doctor William H. Lassell; Reverend James T. Lasselll Samuel J. Kelly Wounded at 1st Manassass and died: John H. Kennard; William T. Wallis; H.C. Wallis; Fred K. Baker; George M. Beasten; Luther Handy; Harry McCoy; Meford Hynson; Josiah L. Dulaney; James S. Price; Henry Willison; Samuel G. Gleaves; William C. Price;
Killed Appomattox Virgnia: Benjamin C. Vickers;
Killed Shiloh Tennessee: Ferdinand B. Prince
Under the Sod, The Blue and Gray
Waiting Alike the Judgement Day
A nearby plaque explains the history of the monument and says:
In June 1917, Judge James A. Pearce commemorated the Civil War soldiers of Kent County by erecting a monument to honor the patriotism and valor of a once divided, but now reunited country. The rough-cut and polished granite monument behind you displays the names of soldiers representing the United States on one side and the Confederacy on the other. Looking closely, you will see some of the same family names on both sides—brother against brother, father against son. Pearce said that the purpose of the monument was “to pay just tribute to men whose convictions of right and duty in a great crises of our country’s history led them to devote their lives, their fortune and their sacred honor to the cause each believed to be just and righteous.”
Pearce omitted African American soldiers, reflecting the prejudice of his day. More than 400 black Kent County residents, both slave and freemen, fought in the war, and slaves received their freedom if they agreed to serve. Most joined the United States Colored Troops, all-black Federal Army regiments commanded by white officers. Some served in the more unsegregated Federal Navy. County residents, both black and white, later rectified Pearce’s omission by erecting a granite obelisk honoring the black soldiers. A dedication ceremony, led by members of the Parker White American Legion Post 143, was held on Memorial Day 1999.
Taken from the guide book, "The CIVIL WAR MONUMENT in front of the Kent County Court House was erected in 1917 by Judge James Alfred Pearce to honor the soldiers of Kent who fought for the Blue of the Gray. The inscription for the Federals faces north and the Confederates south."
-- page 368, Maryland: a Guide to the Old Line State.
Book: Maryland
Page Number(s) of Excerpt: 368
Year Originally Published: 1940
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