Location: Entryway to Bagg Hall, 6 Town Hall Drive, Princeton
Coordinates: 42°26’59.1″N 71°52’43.5″W
Date: 2023 (originals dedicated September 9, 1887)
Design/Manufacturer: Unknown
In 1887, the town of Princeton placed marble tablets in the entryway to Bagg Hall (the town hall, completed just a few years before) honoring those from Princeton who served.
According to a local history of Princeton, 123 men were credited to the town. Nineteen of them did not survive (2 killed in action, 1 died from wounds, 16 died from disease).[1] The marble tablets on Bagg Hall listed 80 who served. The discrepancy (a common one) likely stems from the fact that every town recruited men from other towns to fill their quota. So, while Princeton may have been credited with roughly 123 men, it seems that only 80 were actually residents of that town and were thus honored on the tablets.
Twenty-eight of them (by far the largest contingent) served with the 53rd Massachusetts Infantry. This was a nine-months unit sent to Louisiana. They took part in the Port Hudson Campaign and suffered considerably from unhealthy camps along the Mississippi River.
Due to some defect in the original tablets, both began to buckle and bend during the 20th century. This is the only such instance noted in the course of this project of memorial tablets warping so severely. One finally broke in 2021 and both were removed. They were promptly replaced by the local historical commission in 2023 using a variety of marble that is more durable than the original.[2] The result is a faithful reproduction of the prior memorial.
[1] Francis E. Blake, History of the Town of Princeton, etc. (Princeton, MA: Town of Princeton, 1915), 260-261.
[2] Princeton Historical Commission, Minutes for February 11, 2021