The Soldiers and Sailors
National Military Museum and Memorial is a National Register of
Historic Places landmark. It is the largest memorial in the
United States dedicated solely to honoring all branches of military
veteran and service personnel.
It was
conceived by the Grand Army of the Republic in the 1890s as a way
for Pittsburgh and Allegheny County to honor the dwindling ranks of
its Civil War veterans. The Memorial today represents all
branches of the service and honors both career and citizen soldiers
who have served the United States throughout its
history.
Architect Henry Hornbostel designed the memorial in
1907. Dedicated in 1910, the building is in the Beaux-Arts
style and is heroic in scale. It is located in the Oakland section
of Pittsburgh, at 4141 Fifth Avenue (although the walkway leading
to its main entrance is signed as "Matthew Ridgway Blvd." in honor
of the WWII and Korean Conflict hero who called Pittsburgh home)
and adjacent to the University of Pittsburgh campus and its
Cathedral of Learning. The building is set back from Fifth Avenue,
featuring expansive and well-kept lawns dotted with large cannons
and other war implements. Side streets flanking the building are
Bigelow Boulevard and University Place, directly behind is O'Hara
Street.
The
Memorial houses rare and one-of-a-kind exhibits that span the eras
from the Civil War to the present day conflicts. Since 1963 it has
operated the "Hall of Valor" to honor individual veterans from the
region who went above and beyond the call of duty. Today the hall
has over 600 honorees among them as Medal of Honor, The Kearny
Cross, Distinguished Service Cross, Navy Cross, Air Force Cross,
Silver Star and Distinguished Flying Cross winners.
The building
houses an auditorium seating 2,500, a banquet hall, and meeting
rooms, in addition to its museum. The expansive lawn of
the memorial sits on top of an underground parking garage operated
under a long-term lease by the University of Pittsburgh. (Source:
Wikipedia)
ALLEGHENY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA IN THE WAR FOR
THE SUPPRESSION OF THE REBELLION
1861-1865
This
magnificent Memorial was the result of efforts made by members of
the 28 Posts of the Grand Army of the Republic, located in the
County, who secured the necessary legislation leading to an
overwhelming majority vote of the electors authorizing the
purchase of the site and erection of the building in the City of
Pittsburgh, at a cost of $1,652,500.00.
The
authority for the purchase of the ground, erection of the
building, government and maintenance thereof, is found in the laws
of Pennsylvania, Act No. 106, approved by Samuel W. Pennypacker,
Governor, April 12th, 1905; and amended Act No. 208, approved by
John K. Tener, Governor, May 23d, 1913.
The
grounds on which the Memorial is located constiture an entire city
square, with a frontage of 280 feet on Fifth Avenue and extending
back 589 feet to Bayard Street.
The
vision of the authorities who were responsilble for the erection
of the Memorial gave the building a proper setting, the like of
which very few structures in this country possess.
Messrs. Palmer and Hornbostel of New York, were the
architects selected. The building was erected under the personal
direction of Mr. Henry Hornbostel, now of Pittsburgh, Pa; and
James Graham Chalfant, County Engineer, now deceased; with
Engineer David Leland Wright, Superintendent of
Construction.
The
building, a magnificent architectural structure, completed in 1919
and dedicated with appropriate ceremonies on Oct. 11th of that
year, is 240 X 210 feet and contains two large rooms for the free
use of the Posts of the Grand Army, the Union Veteran Legion, and
their Auxiliaries; and Auditorium having a seating capactiy of
about 3,000 and a Banquet Hall seating 900, with a fully equipped
kitchen, together with office, library, committee and other rooms.
A wide corridor extends around the entire Auditorium, upon the
walls of which are placed the mural tablets above referred to,
giving the organization, the name and rank of each individual
soldier or sailor from Allegheny County, who served in the Union
Army or Navy during War for the Supression of the Rebellion,
1861-1865. The contemplated mural decoration on the wall back of
the platform was omitted and in its place Lincoln's address at
Gettysburg was substituted. The size and dignity of the printed
address on the wall emphasizes this masterpiece of President
Lincoln.
On
the front of the building are two stone tablets bearing these
inscriptions:
|
"THE WAR FOR THE UNION
IS THE PEOPLES CONFLICT
TO MAKE CERTAIN
WHETHER
THERE SHALL BE PRESERVED
IN THIS WORLD
OF
GOVERNMENT
THE OBJECT OF WHICH
IS TO REMOVE
THE OBSTACLES
FROM
THE PATHWAY OF ALL,
TO OPEN THE AVENUES
OF
HONORABLE EMPLOYMENT
FOR ALL,
AND
TO GIVE ALL
AN UNFETTERED START
AND
A FAIR CHANCE
IN
THE RACE OF
LIFE"
Abraham Lincoln |
"ERECTED BY THE PEOPLE
OF
ALLEGHENY COUNTY
TO EXPRESS
TO POSTERITY
THEIR APPRECIATION
OF
THE COURAGE,
THE LOYALTY
TO THE GOVERNMENT,
AND<
THE DEVOTION
TO FREEDOM
OF
THE SOLDIERS
AND SAILORS
WHO ENLISTED
FROM
THIS COUNTY
AND
FOUGHT
TO MAINTAIN
THE AMERICAN UNION
1861-1865" |
The
figure of "Victory" over the main entrance and the two bronze
tablets in the main vestibule are sculptural works of note and
were done by Mr. Charles Keck of New York. One of these tablets is
to the memory of the corps of telegraphers from Allegheny County,
organized by Mr. Andrew Carngie, whose picture appears in the
center of the group; and the other tablet is a record showing
those interested in the creation of this monument.
The
following inscriptions appear under the walls of the
Auditorium:
|
"PITTSBURGH
SUBSISTANCE
COMMITTEE
ORGANIZED
AUGUST
1861
DISSOLVED
JANUARY 1866
SUSTAINED
BY
VOLUNTARY
CONTRIBUTIONS
OF
THE
CITIZENS" |
"409,745
SOLDIERS
ENTERAINED
IN
THIS
HALL
79,460
SICK
AND
WOUNDED
PROVIDED
FOR
AT THE
SOLDIERS'
HOME
TOTAL
489,205" |
These are copies of the original inscriptions placed
on the walls of the Old City Hall on Market Street, Pittsburgh,
commemorating the memory of the good men and women whose lot it
was to remain at home and who served the cause so
admirably.
The
memory of those who served during this war is appropriately
perpetuated through the recent erection of two bronze statues at
the main entrance to the building; the one to the right, a soldier
at "Parade Rest" and the other, to the left, a sailor on the "Look
Out," representing the Civil War period. These statues are of
heroic size, ten feet in height, resting on a six inch bronze
plynth, with a granite foundation; and were erected April 27th,
1923, and unveiled with fitting ceremony May 5th, 1923. The
sculptor was Frederick C. Hibbard of Chicago, Illinois. The
purchase and erection of these statues was made possible through a
special appropriation by the County, approved by the Grand Jury
and the Court of Quarter Sessions, as provided for in the Act.
They are indeed a worthy addition to this special
Memorial.
The
Memorial faces Schenley Park, while near by are the imposing
buildings of the Carnegie Library, Carnegie Institute of
Technology, University of Pittsburgh, General Albert J. Logan
Armory, Pittsburgh Athletic Association, University Club, Masonic
Temple and Syria Mosque, all of which are fine specimens of
architecture.
The
goverment of the Memorial, as provided for in the Act is by a
Board of Managers, conmposed of fifteen members, constitued as
follows:
ten
Civil War Veterans, two Judges of the Common Pleas Court (the
President Judge and the next in rank), and the three County
Commissioners. The Judges and County Commissioners are members by
virtue of their office or position. The ten veterans are empowered
to fill the vacancies in their numbers as these vacancies occur.
While these ten members of the Board are all veterans of the Civil
War, they may be replaced from other sources.
The
Board of Managers of Memorial Hall was organized March 27th,
1906. From time to time since its organization vacancies
caused by death or otherwise, were promptly filled, as provided by
the Acts of Assembly governing the Hall.
The
following named persons have been members and served for a time on
the Board of Managers:
Thomas J. Hamilton, Veteran, resigned, removed from
the County and State.
Samuel M. Evans, Veteran, now Superintendent of the
Building and Grounds.
Veteran Members Now Deceased.
| A. P. Burchfield |
C. O. Smith |
| Rev. T. N. Boyle |
F. L. Blair |
| Charles Davis |
Charles F. McKenna |
| John Stulen |
C. C. Fawcett |
| Joseph W. Boyd |
W. T. Bradberry |
| S. W. Hill |
Conrad C.
Arensberg |
| L. T. Brown |
|
Ex-Officio Members.
| Hon. Robert S. Frazer, now
Jusctice Supreme Court of Pennsylvania |
| J. Denny O'Neil, Ex-County
Commissioner |
| Frank J. Harris, Ex-County
Commissioner |
| Gilbert F. Myer, Ex-County
Commissioner |
| Robert S. Cain, Ex-County
Commissioner |
