Originally erected in the Town square across from the Town office and adjacent to the Morrill/Durgin house, this monument was dedicated in 1911 as a memorial to the civil war soldiers of Gray. The funds for the monument were raised in part by the George F. Shepley Post, GAR of Gray, and approved for completion at a special town meeting in 1910. Moved to its current location at the corner Portland and Shaker Roads in December 1997.
9 Main St, Gray
43.88616, -70.33038
Names placed on monument to Gray’s Civil War veterans
by Sharon Bondroff
All the ingredients for a good time are actually coming to a head – a statue actually – this weekend in Gray. The town will celebrate its 225th anniversary with the fanfare expected of a summertime celebration – a parade, entertainment, tasty treats. But for many with an appreciation of history, a centerpiece of this celebration will be Gray’s Civil War monument. Have you seen this imposing figure? It sits amidst the everyday mayhem and madness of Gray Corner, just off Exit 11 of the Maine Turnpike. Built in 1911 to honor war veterans from the town, the monument is carved out of granite, in the shape of a Civil War soldier standing upon a large base.
Perhaps due to periodic road “improvements,” the soldier has been moved three times within the town center, most recently in 1997. By 1998, longtime resident Helen Davis was wondering why the names of Gray’s Civil War veterans weren’t etched on the monument. She’d seen names on monuments in other towns, and wanted the same for Gray. Granted, Davis was born in New Gloucester, but she’d been in Gray for a good half century, making her practically a native.
Practical woman that she is, she began doing the research, enlisting two friends and fellow members of the Gray Historical Society, Karen Taylor and Howard Black. The stalwart trio ran up to Augusta and down to Waltham, Mass., searching the archives for names of Gray’s Civil War veterans. The arduous details will not be recounted here; suffice to say, they tackled the job with aplomb and determination, eventually coming up with 221 names. Gracefully, and gratefully, the town paid for the etchings, a fitting tribute to Gray’s war heroes.
Truth be told, a stranger from the South is included among the names etched into the side of the monument. The inscription reads, “Unknown Confederate Soldier.”
The unfortunate fellow’s body was shipped to Gray in error, much to the dismay of Amos and Sarah Colley, who were expecting the body of their son, Lt. Charles Colley. Colley met his fate at the battle of Cedar Mountain in Virginia in 1862. Eventually, his body arrived back in Gray and received a proper burial. The Confederate soldier also received a proper burial in the village cemetery, so the story goes, in a donated grave, and with the Colley family’s blessing.
As would be expected, many of Gray’s veterans are buried in the village cemetery. Their headstones tell a bit of the story; a little research offers a bit more. For example, James K. Whitten, with the 32nd Maine, died in Andersonville Prison in Georgia in 1864. He was 17.
Granville Frank, also with the 32nd Maine, died that same year, during Gen. Grant’s campaign against Richmond. Greenleaf Herrick, on the other hand, died very early in the war, in December 1861, in Baltimore. Benj. Ramsdell, of the 20th Maine, perished toward the end, in 1865.
But there’s more to the saga. Sometimes a veteran was buried without a headstone marking the grave. Some of these men lived to a ripe old age while others died in service. Maybe the veteran had out-lived his family and no one was left to place the headstone. This may have been the case with Joseph Thompson Jr., of the 1st U.S. Artillery, or Levi Foster, who fought with the 30th Maine. Maybe the veteran was elderly and poor, interred by the town, as in the case of James Hodgkins, formerly of the 13th Maine. On the other hand, records tell us Edward D. Benson of the 30th Maine died in Maryland in October 1864. Someone paid to ship him home and to bury him; yet he never received a grave marker. We will probably never know why.
But their graves – three in the village, one in a South Gray cemetery – are now marked, thanks to the efforts of Howard Black, who discovered their whereabouts through diligent research, and then lobbied the U.S. government for the headstones. So in the midst of Gray’s anniversary hoopla, the Gray Historical Society and the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, Haskell Marston Camp 56, will formally rededicate the monument. After a small ceremony at the base of the statue, around 11 a.m.
Saturday, participants will walk over to the Gray village cemetery, just a few steps away, for an old-fashioned, 19th-century style picnic. Time was, families would picnic in cemeteries, near the graves of their dear departed. Time was, families would picnic in cemeteries, near the graves of their dear departed. “This is what people did to observe Memorial Day,” says Stevens Dana Bunker, state commander, Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War. “We’re doing this to honor Union veterans.
We want the public to come by and bring their picnic lunches. We’ll have artifacts they can see and handle. Some folks will be dressed in period clothing, both as soldiers and civilians.” History lives in town monuments and graveyards, as well as in distant battlefields. The statue, much as the cemetery, reminds us that the town of Gray is more than a crossroads for travelers, or a dot on the Maine map. The tiny town sent a lot of men to war, leaving their mothers and wives to worry and, later, to grieve.
On the occasion of Gray’s 225th anniversary, it’s a fine time to give these Civil War veterans their due, and to thank Helen Davis, Karen Taylor and Howard Black for giving us the opportunity.
Press Herald · Thu, Jun 19, 2003 · Page 74 · (Portland, Maine)
