Location: Old Town Hall, 980 Main Street, Walpole
Coordinates: 42°08’44.8″N 71°15’10.3″W
Date dedicated: c. 1881
Design/Sculptor/Manufacturer: Unknown
Walpole’s Civil War memorial is no longer accessible to the public, but the tablets have been nonetheless been preserved. Walpole’s Old Town Hall was completed and dedicated on September 25, 1881.[1] Not long after its opening the town installed a set of marble Civil War memorial tablets in the building’s main hallway (the precise date of this installation is unclear). These tablets were dedicated, according to the primary inscription, by the citizens of Walpole to honor “the faithful services of their sons in aiding to suppress Rebellion and maintain the integrity of the nation have erected these tablets.”
The tablets foreground the twelve Walpole men who died in service, indicating the cause, date, and location of their deaths. Four of these men were killed in action or died of battle wounds. Seven died of disease. One died in the Confederate prison of Andersonville. Among those killed in battle was Private John McKew who served with the 35th Massachusetts Infantry. He was killed during the Union assault on Marye’s Heights outside of Fredericksburg, Virginia. The regiment was one of many ordered to take the heavily fortified ridge, facing devastating Confederate artillery and musket fire that inflicted severe casualties before they were forced to withdraw.
Additionally, the tablets list 138 men from Walpole who served. The largest contingent of these men, 29 in all, served with the 44th Massachusetts Infantry. The 44th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry was a nine-month regiment organized in late 1862, primarily composed of young men from Boston and surrounding towns, including Walpole. The regiment was deployed to North Carolina as part of the Union occupation forces and participated in several engagements, most notably the Battle of Kinston (December 14, 1862) and the Goldsboro Expedition, which aimed to disrupt Confederate supply lines. The 44th Massachusetts saw relatively light casualties compared to longer-serving regiments and was mustered out in June 1863, with many of its veterans later enlisting in other Union units.
Another significant group, 10 in all, served with the 23rd Massachusetts Infantry. The 23rd Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry was organized in late 1861 and served primarily in North Carolina and Virginia as part of the Union’s coastal campaigns. The regiment fought in several significant battles, including New Bern (March 14, 1862), Cold Harbor (June 1864), and the Petersburg siege, sustaining heavy casualties before mustering out in June 1865.
A Walpole resident recalled the war years in a history of the town:
The remains of E. Brigham Piper [the town’s first loss and the individual for whom the local Grand Army of Republic post was named], Martin Fisher, Lieut. Henry Godbold, and others early brought home here saddened but did not weaken our lively patriotism. Fairs, apple-paring bees, and lint depositaries busily furnished supplies for the hospital and the field. Hardly a family of any size but was represented in the ranks.[2]
The Old Town Hall itself has served many purposes since the 19th century. It originally housed not only town offices but also a great hall where dances, graduations, and community events took place in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. By the mid-20th century, Walpole’s government functions had outgrown the 1881 building. A new Town Hall and other municipal buildings were established, and the venerable Main Street structure was repurposed for other uses. In particular, Walpole’s police department gradually took over the Old Town Hall and utilized the building until recently. The building has also housed offices for various town departments and now private office space.[3]
Although they are no longer accessible to the public, through all these changes, the Civil War tablets were preserved. A 2019 reuse study for the building addressed the preservation of the plaques:
The town Civil War memorial tablets are important historical artifacts and should be retained and protected. These tablets should remain the property of the Town and be displayed in their original/present location. If the tablets cannot be protected or if ownership by the Town cannot be retained in their current location, then they should be removed and displayed in another Town owned building with appropriate signage.[4]
Either way, hopefully the tablets will someday be back on public display.
[1] Laura Drinan, Hometown Weekly, “The legacy of Walpole’s Old Town Hall,” February 28, 2018.
[2] Isaac Newton Lewis, A History of Walpole, Mass. from Earliest Times (Norwood, MA: Plimpton Press, 1905), 162.
[3] Drinan, “Walpole’s Old Town Hall.”
[4] Walpole Historical Commission, “They Danced till 4:30” – Old Town Hall Reuse Report (2019), 4.