A committee was formed in 1865, under the suggestion of Josiah F Peck Sr, known as the Bristol
Soldier’s Monument Committee. The
purpose was to raise money to create a memorial to its veterans. It was decided that all of the town’s 3500
residences should donate one dollar towards the Monuments creation. The committee also set up a subcommittee to
organize a Strawberry Festival to raise additional funds. On October 16th 1865 Peck reached
an agreement with James G Batterson; a cemetery memorial salesman from
Hartford, Connecticut, to furnish and set up the Soldiers’ Monument in Bristol.
The Monument
was to be six feet wide at the base, and thirty-five feet high. It was to be made out of Brown Portland Stone,
quarried in Portland, Connecticut. There
was to be an inscription for the soldiers from Bristol who had fought and died
in the late war to save the Union. At
the top of the Monument, facing east is an eagle carved out of the brownstone. It is located in the West Cemetery, on the
highest hill in the cemetery.
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