Location: Town Common, River Road and Main Road, Gill
Coordinates: 42°38’27.7″N 72°29’56.7″W
Date dedicated: May 30, 1947
Design/Sculptor/Manufacturer: Granite from Rock of Ages Quarry, Barre, Vermont
[Following the World Wars, many towns erected “honor roll” monuments featuring plaques that commemorate local soldiers from multiple conflicts. Although these memorials are not dedicated solely to the Civil War, they typically include the names of those who served or died in that war. While such inclusion may extend beyond the strict scope of this project, it would feel incomplete to exclude them—especially in towns without a separate Civil War monument—when they serve as the primary means of honoring that generation’s sacrifice.]
The Gill War Memorial was placed in 1946 and dedicated on Memorial Day 1947. Funding came from a number of grass roots efforts including a series of town hall dances organized by the Gill Community Club.[1] At the March 1947 town meeting, voters approved funding for a dedication ceremony and the installation of a flagpole beside the monument. Town Clerk Earle F. Squires oversaw the planning and coordination of the event. According to The Recorder of Greenfield, the monument was the first in Franklin County to honor those who served in the recent World War.[2]
The town selected Frederick Snyder to deliver the dedicatory address—a distinguished journalist from New York City, he had served as a war correspondent in both World Wars and was a widely respected speaker across the country. The day’s program featured a parade, a flag-raising ceremony, a presentation on the town’s involvement in various wars, musical performances, a benediction, and Snyder’s keynote address.[3] Roughly 1,000 attended the ceremonies.[4]
Ralph M. Stoughton, delivering the historical remarks, shared a story from the early days of the Civil War, noting that the site had seen a flagpole raised once before. In 1861, following the firing on Fort Sumter, a Gill veteran of the Mexican War, Henry R. Scott, carved a 76-foot flagpole by hand. The women of Gill sewed an enormous national flag, which was proudly flown from it. Scott later enlisted in the Union cavalry, serving for three years.[5]
Stoughton later published a history of Gill in which he described the process of creating the war memorial. According to Stoughton, Gill’s planned 150th anniversary celebration in 1943 was postponed due to World War II, and in its place, the town dedicated a new war memorial in 1947. The idea for the monument was introduced at the 1943 Town Meeting, and a committee led by Frank Zak was appointed to oversee the project. After considering and rejecting a local boulder due to cost, the committee obtained a six-ton white granite block from the Rock of Ages Quarry in Barre, Vermont, thanks to the help of a local monument dealer. Funded by both private donations and town appropriations, the memorial was completed with a large bronze tablet inscribed with 241 names and formally dedicated on May 30, 1947.[6]
The monument’s primary inscription reads: “Dedicated to the Soldiers and Sailors from Gill Who Served in the Wars of their Country.” The monument lists 37 men from Gill who served, with stars marking the four who gave their lives in service.
\The largest group of recruits, 12 in all, served with the 10th Massachusetts Infantry. Of these, 9 were members of Company G, the “Greenfield Guards” a pre-war militia unit. The 10th Massachusetts, formed in 1861, served throughout the Eastern Theater of the Civil War, fighting in major campaigns including the Peninsula, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, and the Wilderness. The regiment suffered especially heavy losses at Malvern Hill, Salem Heights, and Spottsylvania, where it supported the assault on the Bloody Angle. After final action at Petersburg in June 1864, the unit was mustered out the following month.
[1] Springfield Republican, April 4, 1946, 8.
[2] The Recorder, May 24, 1947, 5.
[3] The Recorder, May 24, 1947, 5.
[4] The Recorder, May 31, 1947, 6.
[5] The Recorder, May 31, 1947, 6.
[6] Ralph M. Stoughton, A History of the Town of Gill, Franklin County, Massachusetts, 1793-1943 (Greenfield, MA: E. A Hall & Co., 1978), 306 – 307.