RESTORATION OF THE Soldiers and Sailors Monument on Wakefield’s Upper Common.
WAKEFIELD — Artists from Watertown’s Daedalus, Inc. have made incredible progress in the restoration of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument on Wakefield’s Upper Common. The team has used photos and historical data to guide them in their work on the four military figures which were removed from the site last fall. The team is reconstructing missing elements, like arms and hands, repairing damage and reinforcing the figures for increased stability. Restoration and refinishing of the sixty-foot granite monument’s iron fencing and lower cannons at will also take place.
Created by artist and Civil War Veteran Melzar Hunt Mosman, the monument was unveiled to the Town on June 17, 1902 with great fanfare. According to the Wakefield Historical Society, it “was dedicated to the memory of the men who fought and died in the Civil War, but in the four figures (naval, infantry, artillery and cavalry) surrounding the column, it has come to symbolize the generations of men and women from this town who have served their country in the armed services.”
A rededication is planned once the work is completed. To learn more about this project, visit wakefield.ma.us/civil-war.
