The Wounded Color Sergeant Civil War monument, sculpted by Mrs. Theo A. Ruggles Kitson, is located on Veterans Memorial Green.  The monument was dedicated on July 25, 1914, with an oration by U.S. Representative and future Governor of Massachusetts, Samuel W. McCall (Browne, 2021). The monument was financed in part by $8000 bequeathed to the town by Justin Allen, M.D. who died November 5, 1908.  Dr. Allen wished "...to erect a monument suitable to commemorate the lives of the citizens of Topsfield who enlisted in the U.S. army in defence of the country in the Great rebellion of 1861-1865" (Dow, 1940, p. 230).

In 2010, an inscription with Kitson's name and the name of the bronze statue, "The Wounded Color Sergeant", were added to the back of the statue (Mickey, 2010).      

Photo: Elizabeth Thomsen

References

Browne, P. (2021, November 13). Topsfield. Massachusetts Civil War Monuments Project. Retrieved May 4, 2023, from https://macivilwarmonuments.com/2021/11/13/topsfield/

Dow, G.F. History of Topsfield, Topsfield, Mass.: Topsfield Historical Society, 1940. 
View Library Catalog record; read online at the Internet Archive.

Mickey, E. (2010). Memorial artist honored nearly a century later. Salem News. Retrieved from http://www.salemnews.com/local/x1255112077/Memorial-artist-honored-nearly-a-century-later

Thomsen, E. (2008) The Wounded Color Sergeant monument [image]. Retrieved from http://www.flickr.com/photos/ethomsen/2662247712/in/set-72157622653839314

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Topsfield Times: A Community and Local History Resource

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