Location: Perkins Park, 42 North Main Street, Brockton
Coordinates: 42°05’11.0″N 71°01’12.3″W
Date dedicated: November 12, 1907
Architect/manufacturer/sculptor: Long and Saunders (contractors)

During the war, Brockton was known as North Bridgewater. The name changed in 1874. The Women’s Relief Corps of that city secured the necessary $4,000 for the monument through subscription. The nucleus of the fund was provided by Galen Manley (a successful commercial farmer of Brockton) and the rest raised by the WRC chaired by Mrs. Mary E. Alger. She personally raised nearly $1,000.

About 5,000 people assembled for the dedication ceremony. As the Springfield Republican reported, “The whole city unit[ed] in one of the most inspiring ceremonies in recent years. Public buildings were gay with flags and bunting. The stars and stripes waved from every peak.” The statue is unusual in that it depicts a soldier in the act of loading his rifle, rather than the more common pose of parade rest.  And unlike the usual statues of older, whiskered men, the Brockton soldier appears far more youthful. Research to date has not revealed the identity of the sculptor.