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Soldiers & Sailors Monument�����������������������������������������
by Shaw Media
Soldiers & Sailors
MONUMENT
f you have attended any of the Princeton
Community Band concerts, you have sat in the park next to the Soldiers & Sailors monument. While listening to the patriotic music, have you ever looked up at the Civil War soldiers and winged victory on the monument and wondered about the history of the structure? The Soldiers & Sailors Monument is located on S. Main Street, across from the Bureau County courthouse in Princeton. The monument is constructed of marble, granite, and bronze. It is 50 feet tall, and the architect was Frederick C. Hubbard, a Chicago sculptor. On June 12, 1913, it was dedicated to the Bureau County veterans who enlisted in the Civil War. It is one of the largest winged monuments in the country. An article from the June 17, 1913, Bureau County Republican edition gives the following details: The grey granite was quarried in Hardwick, Vermont and the marble which lines the interior is from the quarries in Rotland, Vermont. The Bronze work is from the American Bronze foundry in Chicago. The foundation under the monument proper is solid concrete eight feet deep. The base is 24 feet square. At the top is the heroic bronze figure of “Victory,” represented by a winged goddess standing upon a globe and bearing in one hand a sword with its point to earth and in the other hand an upraised torch, signifying that the battle is over and victory is won. Upon the ledge at each side of the monument is a bronze statue, representing the branches of the service. The Infantry on the west side, Cavalry on the north, the Artillery on the south, and the Navy on the east side. Eight bronze tablets, two on each side of the monument, contain the names of all of the volunteers who enlisted from Bureau County, resided in the county since the Civil War and were living here in 1910.
The bronze figure of “Victory” is 15 feet high and weighs approximately 3,000 pounds. The other statues weigh about 900 pounds each. There are two tons of marble in the monument, and the granite is estimated to weigh 180 tons. The cost to construct the monument was $25,000. The dedication ceremony was held on June 12, 1913, and about 3,500 people attended. One hundred Civil War veterans were seated on the speakers platform.
