History
In 1865, the Michigan Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument Association was established by Governor Austin Blair in order to collect funds for a monument commemorating Michigan's sailors and soldiers killed during the Civil War. Voluntary subscriptions from citizens were collected and sculptor Randolph Rogers, who had created similar Civil War commemorative monuments in Ohio and Rhode Island, was chosen as the artist for the monument. The state's foremost Civil War monument was unveiled on April 9, 1872. Attending the dedication were Generals George Armstrong Custer, Philip H. Sheridan and Ambrose E. Burnside.
In 2005 a re-dedication ceremony was held following the completion of the new Campus Martius plaza in downtown Detroit. The time capsule contained in the monument was opened, and the list of Michigan War Dead was updated to reflect all those killed from the Civil War up to April 2005 in Iraq and Afghanistan. Civil War re-enactors, members of the Grand Army of the Republic and associate organizations, representatives from the Detroit City Council, the Michigan National Guard, and the Second Baptist Church men's choir participated in the ceremony.
The Michigan Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument is situated within the traffic circle of the intersection of Woodward Avenue, Michigan Avenue, Monroe Street, Fort Street, and Cadillac Square. The property is open to the public. The monument was repositioned on Campus Martius Park traffic circle for the restoration of the park.
Read more about this topic: Michigan Soldiers' And Sailors' Monument
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