In 1879, this plot of land was conveyed to the city for a monument to those who served in the Civil War. One major donor to the fund was Mrs. Abigail Farwell. The site reminds us of the role Augusta citizens, and all Maine citizens, played in the Civil War. Memorial Park is part of the nineteenth century gathering grounds for men going off to the Civil War. The dominant statue in the small square is a tribute to the Civil War soldiers, although the women who were involved in the war are not memorialized. The statue, with a granite shaft for its base, is topped with the winged female image “Victory,” based on Nike (also known as Victoria), the Greek goddess of Victory. The “Victory” in Augusta carries a weapon and not the wreath of laurel, as Nike is often depicted. This winter view of Monument Park conveys the solemn tone of the purpose of the park--to remember those who fought and died in war. The World War I monument is to the right, and the majestic Civil War monument to the left. Smaller monuments in the park, not visible in this photograph, memorialize World War II, the Korean War, and Vietnam.
Maine women, and certainly Augusta women, played an important role in the Civil War. Some followed the soldiers and some even took on male disguises to be able to engage in battle, but most stayed behind to keep family and farm or business going, or to nurse the returning wounded. Many raised money and prepared clothing, bandages, and other items for the fighting men.
In 1861, the Maine legislature, meeting in Augusta, voted to authorize finding volunteers (over a three year period) to send to the war and for the state to loan the federal government $1 million. Maine ended up sending nearly 73,000 soldiers. The city council of Augusta, also in 1861, voted to approve $10,000 to provide for the families of its volunteers.
In 1861, ladies in Augusta sent the Third Volunteer Regiment of Maine off to the Civil War with a generous feast of doughnuts--over 40 bushel--that they passed out with cheese. The event was so notable that the Baltimore American made note of it in an article a few weeks later. Augusta women, however, offered much more than cooking skills to support the Civil War. Augusta was the site of he only Federal Hospital in Maine--Cony U.S. General Hospital, located at Camp Keyes, which then covered the area that now hosts the major shopping plaza on Western Avenue. The hospital operated for about a year and a half (from June 1864 to November 1865) and treated over 2,000 patients. Thirty-three matrons and female cooks (paid between $8-$18 per month) and fifty-two contract nurses (paid $24 per month) were employed there. Few identities are known, since hospital records do not show the names of the women who served; however, we do know that Eliza Ann Leeman worked as a matron from August 1864 to April 1865. Eliza and her family are buried in Mount Hope Cemetery in Augusta. Mary A. Brown, of Brownfield, helped process paperwork for new recruits in Augusta while she stayed here and lobbied for permission to join her husband, Ivory Brown, on the front lines. Mary saw active warfare, but survived it all and lived to be nearly 100.
Augusta M. Foster, of Augusta, was a “Daughter of the Regiment” for a Maine Civil War Regiment, although there is conflicting evidence about which specific one she served. A “Daughter of the Regiment” was not an official title, but rather referred to women who associated themselves with a regiment and provided care and assistance to the soldiers, particularly to the wounded. Augusta saw battle, and actually had her horse shot out from under her. She returned home after the war and lived out her years on Kendall Street on Sand Hill, near St. Augustine’s Church. The letter she wrote in application for a government pension survives in Civil War pension papers. Portions of it are quoted in Linda Sudlow’s A Vast Army of Women, a book that brings to light the contributions of Maine women to the Civil War. It is assumed Augusta Foster is buried somewhere in the city of Augusta, although her gravesite has not been identified. She died in 1901.
Monument Park has become a memorial to Augusta soldiers from World War I (both the men and women who served) and to those who died in World War II, the Korean War, Vietnam, as well as those from the Civil War.
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