confederate soldiers confederate navy civil war uniforms

Perhaps it is a desire to get closure on situations beyond our immediate comprehension. Most people have thin knowledge of American military uniforms during this time period and we humans have an interesting ability to make up answers for things not understood. Union infantry soldiers did not dress like our statue’s soldier. No members of the Soldiers’ Monument Committee were left alive to read, let alone correct his writing and his interpretation of the statue’s uniform was incorrect. “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.”Įven credible historians make mistakes and Banks was no exception. The following long sentence from page 426 of the Banks book reveals what might be the beginning of the folk lore. He also was the keeper of the ledger that was transcribed for this history of that monument. Captain Dennett lived within sight of the monument and was quite elderly at that time.

Charles Edward Banks (1854-1931) was working on his History Of York Maine, he wrote that the only York resident survivor of the Civil War known to him at that time (1931) was Captain John Dennett (1843-1933). 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.

This tall tale has been written about, spread via published books, word of mouth and now the internet. The belt buckle has “CSA” on it signifying Confederate States of America. Efforts to exchange the monuments never came to pass. “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. “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:

Confederate soldiers confederate navy civil war uniforms