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A restoration project is currently underway in Sherwood
to move and repair the Civil War Veteran statue that has
set so proudly in the Sherwood Cemetery since 1909. The
Sherwood Veteran of Foreign Wars Post 5665 is
spearheading the restoration project.
Replacing the base with a seven-foot matching gray
pedestal and moving the soldier 100 ft. north west will
cost an estimated $34,290, quoted by Homier's
Monumental, Inc. of Defiance. According to
Ron Luderman, commander for the post, "Work will begin
this spring when the weather breaks."
The soldier, valued $60,000 and made of granite must be
remounted and according to local legend, the concrete
for the base was hand mixed and poured by Civil War
veterans living in the area at the time. The base is
crumbling and needs replaced, the solider itself just
needs a good cleaning and remounted. By moving the
location of the monument closer to the front of the
cemetery will increase the visibility of the monument
from 127 as traffic flows through our town. A new flag
pole, lights and a stone base surrounding the monument
are also planned
Donations from service
organizations, small businesses, the township trustees,
village council, 4-H groups and private individuals have
been collected, raising more than $22,000 so far.
Materials and labor have also been donated by Pahl's
Ready Mix in Bryan and Salyer's Construction. The
community is coming together with overwhelming support
but more donations are needed.
Luderman and others have been surprised that
fund-raising for the project is going so well, however,
more donations are still needed. Luderman said he is
certain it will be tougher to raise the other part of
the funds needed.
If you would like to help, a tax-deductible
donation to help replace and move the memorial can be
mailed to: Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5665, P.O. Box
4587, Sherwood 43556-0587. Checks should be made payable
to Veterans Memorial. If you need additional
information, call the Sherwood VFW post at 419-899-2775
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1918 gathering in the Sherwood Cemetery |
"Tomorrow will be the big day at Sherwood"
Thus
the Defiance Daily Crescent News did inform its
readers that the dedication of the Soldier's
Monument that would take place on July 3, 1909
promised to be a community event honoring the
sacrifices of the past and that future
generations would respect and remember. |
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Eventually eighty-five of Ohio's eighty-eight
counties were motivated by the individual and
collective impact of the Civil War to erect at
least one monument or marker to that conflict.
While different designs or motifs were used for
these memorials, by far the most common design
theme was "soldier at parade rest" believed to
have been selected on September 16, 1867 by the
Antietam National Cemetery Board for the U. S.
Soldier Monument to be erected on that
battlefield. The design was submitted by the
James G. Batterson firm of Hartford, Connecticut
and became the standard for many such memorials
across the country. It is likely that Sherwood's
granite soldier was supplied by that firm.
The "soldier at parade rest" design features an
anonymous infantryman wearing a long overcoat
and standing with one foot forward, the butt of
the rifle between his feet, hands grasping the
muzzle, left over right, bayonet suspended from
his waist belt, and the coat's hood falling over
the shoulders as a cape. He wears a mustache and
a uniform
hat - known as a "kepi" when worn by officers
and called a "bummer" when worn by enlisted men.
Sherwood's granite soldier stands 6 feet tall,
facing west atop a 15 foot concrete base and
pedestal. Various pedestal designs, sizes and
materials were used below the statue, and
inscriptions reflected local sentiments.
Inscribed on the front of the Sherwood pedestal
is
MEMORIAL TO THE HEROES OF 1861 TO 1865 WHO
GAVE THEIR LIVES
THAT OUR NATION MIGHT LIVE |
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