Civil War Memorial in Holyoke Massachusetts
This statue was made by Henry Jackson Ellicott in 1876. It was dedicated on July 4th of that year. It symbolizes Columbia in the traditional classical attire but with the implements of Nike the Greek Goddess of Victory. Columbia holds her shield at her side and her laurel wreath only half high. She also faces to the south. These characteristics imply that the defeat of the South was hard fought and tiring. But she wants the South to rejoin the North and will not gloat over a victory. Her garments and her star-rimmed cap are those of Columbia – the symbol of America. Columbia here has a belt bucket with US printed on it. Liberty never had these symbols. Columbia was the female symbol of America from the 1730s to the early 1920s. Thus this statue is Columbia with Nike symbols and not Lady Liberty.
This statue was restored in 2022. LINK to news – LINK to repairs report. In 1959 and in 1962 chemical cleaning of the copper was attempted.
The Civil War Memorial honors those that died in that war that lived in Holyoke. Officially, it is called the Soldiers Monument of Hampden Square. Thomas Holman the second one down on the eastern side and James Burr the 5th one down are the only ones buried in Holyoke. The rest are buried at the war sites.
In Memory of Our Volunteers Who Died for the Union 1861-1865
Names of the Civil War deaths of Holyoke with death dates and locations.
| statue in Veterans’ Park | Columbia |
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