Times Observer photo by Josh Cotton This is how the Warren Ledger described the Civil War monument in the Tidioute Cemetery - “The monument stands about twenty feet high and is a beautiful work of art. The figure of the soldier on top standing erect as a sentinal (sic) on guard, is almost perfect. “

It will always catch my eye when I can make a connection to a tangible vestige of the Civil War in the county.

All the more so when I make the connection with newspapers that date from the 1880s.

By now, it must be clear that making those connections fascinates me. There is so little that one can touch now from America’s great struggle that the things that remain deserve special notice or, at a minimum, to be documented so someone sleuthing the internet in five years can uncover the work I’ve done.

Believe it or not, that’s happened twice in the last month or two where I’ve heard from people (one in SC and another in Kansas, maybe Oklahoma, I don’t remember where exactly) asking questions about work I’ve done on the 111th Pennsylvania Infantry (Alexander, Cobham). One was an author writing the Battle of Resaca where Cobham was a key figure. (He’s promised to send a copy of his book when he’s done so likely more to come on that).

I was in Tidioute last week at the Tidioute Cemetery for the photo in the July 3 Diversions of James Magee’s grave. Magee was a Revolutionary War veteran so the story was timely.

Times Observer photo by Josh Cotton The battles where Tidioute men fought are a key part of the base of the monument.

But the Tidioute Cemetery also contains one of the most well-preserved Civil War monuments I’ve seen. It’s in better condition than some of the monuments can find on Civil War battlefields.

And while it was raised to commemorate service and lives lost in the War Between The States, it’s also now over 135 years old in its own right. What was meant to commemorate has certainly crossed the line into a historical resource to preserve in its own right.

So I dug into the record — specifically, newspapers from the time — to see what I could learn about the formation of the monument. Between that and Schenck’s History of Warren County, here’s what I’ve found.

“The post of the Grand Army of the Republic in Tidioute has decided to erect a new monument in the Tidioute cemetery, in honor of those of its citizens that died in the war of the rebellion,” the Warren Ledger reported on March 27, 1885.

The Grand Army of the Republic was the predominant Civil War veteran’s organization. Think VFW and you’d be about right.

“The money for the monument has been raised, the monument has been purchased, and the inscription is now being cut in the stone. The dedication will take place on Decoration Day.” Decoration Day is what we now call Memorial Day.

Organizers hoped to get former wartime Gov. Andrew Curtin to give the speech but that didn’t come to fruition. The paper reported that “special trains will be run from all the neighboring towns” for the dedication.

The planning for the ceremony was reported closer to the day in the May 26, 1885 edition of the Warren Mail.

“Col. Cobham Post, G.A.R. of Tidioute, attended the M.E. Church last Sunday, and listened to a sermon by Rev. J.C. Oliver,” the report states. “Decoration Day the Post will proceed to the cemetery at 2 p.m. where it will be received by the citizens, the teachers and public schools of Tidioute and vicinity, and by other organizations. The Soldiers’ Monuments will then be presented to the Post and dedicated in due form, after which the usual memorial day services will be held.”

The Warren Ledger’s June 5, 1885 edition led with a story under a bold headline – “A TRIBUTE OF GRATITUDE – HOW TIDIOUTE HONORS HER DEAD SOLDIERS.”

For anyone who thinks I’m yelling at them in caps I’ll add this disclaimer – caps in the original.

“The new Soldiers’ Monument at Tidioute was decided by Cobham Post, 311, Grand Army of the Republic, on Saturday afternoon,” the Ledger reported. “A large crowd gathered in the cemetery on the hillside north of the town, soon after one o’clock, and awaited the procession, which formed on Main street in the following order….”

FIle this under the “odd historical items we can know 136 years later but here’s the procession: Marshal H.H. Cummings, the Pleasantville Band, the president for the day, speaker and chaplain, the Pleasantville and Tidioute GAR posts, IOOF Lodge, three hose companies with the Tidioute Band mixed in and “citizens in carriages.”

“Upon arriving at the cemetery the procession formed about the monument, and listened to music by the Tidioute Cornet Band. Major Curtis, President of the day then formally presented the monument to Cobham Post, which received it through the Post Commander, Capt. J.M. Clapp, who was assisted in the ceremonies of dedication by Adjutant J.C. Long, Senior Vice Commander, Rob’t Taggart, Comrade Couse, Officer of the Day Schnley, the Chaplain, Rev. S.H. Prather, and by the choir,” the report states.

The speaker was “Prof. S.A. Whitcomb” who “in reviewing the cause and incidents of the war, pointed to the new monument as an evidence that the republic was not ungrateful to those who had died in her defense.”

I didn’t have any luck trying to figure out who this might have been but it certainly wasn’t Gov. Curtin.

Without a photo of the monument, the reporter spent some significant column inches trying to describe just what it looks like.

“The monument is of white bronze, and was erected at a cost of about $1,200, the money for which was contributed by the citizens of Tidioute.

“The monument stands about twenty feet high and is a beautiful work of art. The figure of the soldier on top standing erect as a sentinal (sic) on guard, is almost perfect. It faces south, overlooking the Allegheny.

The author then went into a description of what is on each panel of the memorial.

Up front: “On the south tablet is the G.A.R. badge and the following words: Erected A.D. 1885, under the auspices of Col. Geo. A. Cobham Post, 311, Grand Army of the Republic, Col. and Brevet Brig. Gen. George A. Cobham, 111th P.V., killed while gallantly leading his regiment at Peach Tree Creek, Georgia, July 20, 1864.”

The names of the battles that Tidioute soldiers fought in are cast in the bronze on the sides of the monument and two additional panels give the names of those from Tidioute who died. Co. F of the 145th Pa. – recruited almost entirely from Tidioute – contains the majority of the names but other regiments are represented including the 111th, 58th, 57th 74th New York and several where regimental affiliation was not known.

Schenck’s History of Warren County was published in 1888 so this monument just made it under the line for inclusion.

“It stands in the center of a plot of ground set apart for the purpose years ago by the projectors, in the ceme- tery. The circle is about sixty feet in diameter, and is finely graded from the circumference up to the monument,” he wrote. “The structure itself is imposing and beautiful.

It is from the Monumental Bronze Company of Bridgeport, Conn., and is built of white bronze, one of the most durable substances known. Its height from base to top is sixteen feet and eight inches, while the base stands about four feet above the surrounding ground. The base is fifty-two inches square. On the several tablets are appropriate inscriptions….”

We don’t know what the mood of the dedication was or the words that were said but a two paragraph synopsis of Memorial Day festivities in Warren would seem to give us a good look at what the feel must have been.

“Oakland Cemetery never looked better than it did last Friday afternoon when the Decoration Day procession turned in at the big gate and filed in to the open space fronting the speaker’s stand at the foot of the hill. They were all there – the old veterans, looking just a trifle grayer than last year; the Grand Army men from Clarendon and Warren, stern, grave men and the militia boys, eager, brave and manly. Perhaps the militia boys may follow in their footsteps yet: it is hard to tell…. The exercises of the day were plain and simple. There was a prayer by the Rev. A.W. Ryan, plenty of good music by a picked choir, and a long, ringing speech by Gen. McCreary of Erie. Then the procession wound its way up the hill, and decorated the graves of the dead soldiers, firing a volley over each grave. When that was done the column moved back again, with quickened step to lively music.

From the Warren festivities, I leave you with this description of what the procession in Tidioute must have also been like.

“The old ‘vets,’ as they like to be called, are getting pretty well along in life but they march with a firm step as though the best part of their lives had not been left on southern battlefields a score or more years ago.”