Tompkins County Veterans' Memorials Tour Preview

1

Groton Rural Cemetery

The grave plots of military veterans surround the U.S. Navy cannon at the Groton Rural Cemetery. Since 1900, the cannon has been on loan from the Grand Army of the Republic. The cannon was used on the U.S.S. James S. Chambers during the Civil War, according to Groton Historian Rosemarie Tucker.Look for the plaque from the 2006 rededication of the monument. The memorial serves "to commemorate the memory of all men and women who served our country in times of war, and especially to those who were wounded or died as a result of that service. May this cannon remain here in perpetuity."LISTEN HERE

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2

Terrence C. Graves Memorial

The polished black granite Terrence C. Graves Memorial pays tribute to the Medal of Honor awardee who lost his life rescuing fellow soldiers during the Vietnam War. Groton Historian Rosemarie Tucker chronicled the life of Terrence "Terry" Graves for the Names on the Land--Tompkins County project. Read more at: https://tcnames.com/tag/memorial/.LISTEN HERE

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3

The American Legion

Two military veterans' monuments anchor the front of Groton's Carrington-Fuller American Legion Post 800. One memorial honors the men and women who served in World War II, and the other lists the Groton soldiers who gave their lives during war service up until 1988, when the monument was dedicated.LISTEN HERE

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4

Civil War Nurses Memorial

On the campus of Tompkins/Cortland Community College, the Civil War Nurses Memorial was dedicated in September 2016 to honor specifically the Tompkins County women who tended wounded soldiers during the Civil War and more generally to the thousands of women who served in that role.For more information, read Tompkins County Historian Carol Kammen's article about the dedication and the contributions of women Civil War nurses: http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/research-collections/state-history/news/civil-war-nurses-memorial-honors-local-women-and-others-whoLISTEN HERE

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5

Dryden Village Green

Flagpole and monumentLISTEN HERE

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6

Willow Glen Cemetery

Flagpole and monumentLISTEN HERE

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7

Green Hills Cemetery

There are many veterans' graves dotted throughout Dryden's Green Hill Cemetery. Notable gravesites include those of Civil War nurse Julia Cook (?-1908) and Civil War U.S. Colored Troop (USCT) soldiers Edward Sorrell (1824-1864) and John Sorrell (1847-1903). Edward Sorrell died during the Civil War at Graham's Neck, South Carolina. The Sorrell family gravestone monument can be found in Section 2 of the cemetery.Tompkins County Historian Carol Kammen has written about Julia Cook and other Civil War nurses from Tompkins County, and her essay can be found at the New York State Museum's Office of State History.The Sorrells were two of the 26 African American men from Tompkins County who enlisted in the USCT during the Civil War. Kammen wrote a play, I Am a Man, Too, based on their experiences, and that play was adapted into the 2015 film, Civil Warriors, directed by Deborah Hoard and Che Broadnax. More information about the African American soldiers who fought in the Civil War can be found at Ithaca Heritage. LISTEN HERE

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8

Caroline War Memorial

During World War II, a group of women formed the Brooktondale Bugler Association to keep Caroline soldiers fighting overseas informed of local news. The group published a bi-monthly newspaper and sent it to service members from the area. After the war, the Bugler group donated extra funds to help establish a memorial to those Caroline soldiers killed during World War II.The memorial has since grown, adding a plaque in honor of those who servedin the Vietnam War.LISTEN HERE

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9

Anabel Taylor Hall

Erected in 1953, the World War II Memorial in the rotunda of Anabel Taylor Hall commemorates more than 500 Cornellian casualties in that conflict.Since then, the list of casualties from the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and more recent conflicts have been added.See the Cornell University Veterans Memorials website for more information about veterans' memorials on the Cornell campus:http://veteransmemorials.cornell.edu/ LISTEN HERE

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10

War Memorial at Lyon and McFaddin Halls

Dedicated in 1932, this Gothic Revival-style cloister between two towers honors Cornellians who died in World War I. The names of major battles are carved above the cloister windows, and insignias of different units in which Cornellians served are scattered throughout the memorial.A plaque above the door at the north end of the cloister honors "the useful services of Mary Stuart Seaman in Belgium and France from the outbreak of hostilities until the end of the war." Seaman served in field hospitals in Europe and received commendations from the governments of both Belgium and France. Her husband, Louis Livingston Seaman, donated money for the memorial. A Cornell graduate, Dr. Seaman saw distinguished service in seven international conflicts, according to a 1926 Cornell Alumni News article.LISTEN HERE

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11

Baldwin Memorial Staircase

The Baldwin Memorial Staircase was named in honor of Morgan Smiley Baldwin (1894-1918), a 1915 Cornell graduate who enlisted in World War I and died after one of the Battles of the Hindenburg Line in France. He is buried in the Somme American Cemetery in Bony, France.Baldwin's father donated the funds to construct the staircase, which was dedicated in 1925.Discover what was in the "time capsule" buried under the staircase's cornerstone.LISTEN HERE

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12

Old East Cemetery

There is a boulder monument with a Daughter of the American Revolution (DAR) plaque attached to it at the Old East Cemetery. The plaque lists four Revolutionary War veterans: Jesse Clark (d. 1837), Asa Hollister (d. 1839), Ichabod Backus, and Oliver Hatch (d. 1839; according to Landmarks of Tompkins County (1894), Hatch served in the Revolutionary War for seven years and settled in Groton in 1795.). Research by Groton Town Historian Rosemarie Tucker has discovered that Nathan Davis, a fifth veteran of the Revolutionary War, is also buried in this cemetery. There may be others.The cemetery was once part of the Congregational Church which had been located on what is now the northwest corner of Salt Road and current NYS Route 222. The first burials were in 1806 and the last was in 1881. Many of the gravestones are broken, but some of the oldest slate and marble headstones are intact, with the traditional carvings viewable. For more information about those buried in this old cemetery, the history of the cemetery, and the history of the former Congregational Church, contact Rosemarie Tucker at roseingrotonny@gmail.com.LISTEN HERE

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13

Doctor Tarbell and Mary Conant Tarbell Grave

Doctor Tarbell (1838-1895) fought in major battles during the Civil War, including Bull Run, Antietam, and Chancellorsville. After escaping from a prisoner-of-war camp, Tarbell returned home to Groton, New York to marry his childhood sweetheart, Mary Conant (1838-1899). The wartime letters exchanged by the couple inspired a 2013 exhibit, I Shall Think of You Often: The Civil War Story of Doctor and Mary Tarbell, at the New York State Museum.LISTEN HERE

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14

Grand Army of the Republic Monument

The Sydney Post 41 of the Sons of Union Veterans maintains the Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.) Memorial at the Ithaca City Cemetery. According to Barbara Ebert's history of the cemetery, the organization was given the lot in 1878, intended for the burial of “indigent members of the Post.”The local GAR group has sponsored observances at the memorial. On Memorial Day in 1917, just after the United States entered World War I, the traditional parade wound through Ithaca streets and ended at the Ithaca City Cemetery veterans' monument. A May 31, 1917 Ithaca Journal article described the event. The Ithaca Band played patriotic tunes and a bugler sounded out "taps." One speaker read "The Blue and the Gray" poem and another the Gettysburg Address. One speech pointed out the relevance of remembering the past conflict:"As we live over again in thought those times which tried men's souls, and re-read the story of those four years of dreadful struggle from Fort Sumter to Appomatox, we of the younger generation find within our hearts a holy longing to be worthy of the priceless inheritance into which we have entered--the land where our fathers died, but in which their spirit lives." LISTEN HERE

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15

Charles S. Shaw Grave

Charles S. Shaw (d. 1901) served during the Civil War in the 26th Regiment of U.S. Colored Infantry.LISTEN HERE

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16

Lt. Earl W. Benjamin Jr. Oak Tree

A stone plaque at the base of a majestic oak tree honors the service of Lieutenant Earl W. Benjamin Jr. (1921-1944), who was killed in action during the Battle of the Bulge on December 27, 1944.LISTEN HERE

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17

James T. Van Slyck Grave

Revolutionary War veteran James T. Van Slyck (d. 1837)LISTEN HERE

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18

St. James AME Zion Church

The 26th Regiment United States Colored Infantry Memorial honors 26 African American men from Ithaca and Corning who volunteered to fight for the Union cause in the Civil War.After President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation in 1862, the U.S. government actively recruited African American soldiers. The 26th Regiment was formed in 1863 and fought in several battles in the South.According to the National Archives, some 190,000 African American soldiers served in the Army and Navy during the Civil War. African American women, although prevented from enlisting, contributed to the war effort as nurses, spies, and scouts. LISTEN HERE

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19

Dewitt Park

The War Memorial at DeWitt Park honors soldiers from Tompkins County killed in conflicts from the Civil War to the most recent battles in Southwest Asia.Cornell architecture professor LeRoy Burnham (1879-1952) designed the World War I Roll of Honor monument that anchors the east side of the veterans' memorial. The World War II monument echoes Brunham's design. The central flagpole monument recognizes those soldiers killed in more recent conflicts, including the names of veterans of the Korean War, Vietnam War, and Southwest Asian conflicts. DeWitt Park itself, surrounded by distinguished civic and religious buildings, is historically significant and anchors the DeWitt Park Historic District.LISTEN HERE

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Old Immaculate Conception School

A flagpole monument in front of the Immaculate Conception School memorializes a 1957 graduate of the school, John C. Smith, Jr. On June 8, 1967, Smith died while serving aboard the U.S.S. Liberty in the Eastern Mediterranean.LISTEN HERE

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21

Ludlowville Park

In beautiful downtown Ludlowville stands a park given to the Town of Lansing by the International Salt Works. At this park is not only the impressive Ludlowville Falls, but also a memorial to the boys who served in World War II.LISTEN HERE

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