* Civil War Monuments Program at Fort Devens Museum

Fort Devens Museum Program
Takes Stock of Civil War Monuments
 
What monuments did Massachusetts communities create to remind people of those who fought in America’s Civil War and of the war itself, that tremendously bitter conflict that all but tore the heart out of the United States?

To find out the answer to that question and others related to Civil War monuments in Massachusetts, come to Fort Devens Museum for the Saturday, September 20, program, to start at 1 p.m. The Museum is open that day and every third Saturday of every month from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Located at 94 Jackson Road, off Route 2’s Exit 37 or accessible also by entering Devens from West Main Street in Ayer or along Barnum Road off the Route 2A traffic rotary near the Harvard town line.
Presenting this program will be John Balco, who, over an extensive time period, visited                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                          Civil War monuments and gravesites of individual soldiers such as those awarded the Medal of Honor. He has compiled a summary of his findings in eleven volumes, which he plans to turn over to the Mass. Military Museum
In anticipation of his presentation, he wrote, “As the 150^th anniversary of the Civil War draws to a close, it is well to see how Massachusetts remembered its soldiers and others who participated in the conflict. Monument are a source of collective memory and shared experience. This presentation summarizes a study of over 400 Massachusetts monuments to Civil War soldiers and civilians, each having a powerful story of memory and experience. It traces how time changed perspectives of the War and how monument styles mirrored cultural shifts. Included are their locations, the people behind them, Confederates in Massachusetts, women who contributed to the cause, and Medal of Honor recipients.”
Balco’s made his career in geology. He said he became interested in Civil War history and reenacting when he moved from Massachusetts to Washington, D.C., “in the heart of Civil War country.” He became a reenacting member of the 33^rd Virginia, Stonewall Brigade. He continued to pursue his interest when he moved back to Massachusetts, reenacting as a member of the 28^thMassachusetts Irish Brigade. For years he carried out first-person impressions of U.S. Grant. He is a member and past president of the Central Massachusetts Civil War Roundtable. In the 1960s he served with an armored unit at Fort Devens and now resides in Bolton.
This program is offered free of charge, but donations are most welcome. Light refreshments will be served. For more information please call or email the museum at 978-772-1286 and info@fortdevensmuseum.org. Additional information about the museum can be found on our website at www.fortdevensmuseum.org.