Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Calvary Cemetery's Civil War Monument

From the Newtown Pentacle:

21 Roman Catholic Union soldiers are interred amongst the 365 acres of first Calvary Cemetery in Queens, nearby the cuprous waters of the much maligned Newtown Creek.

The soils of Calvary, a vast cocktail of loathsome and ghoulish ichor, contain many Civil War dead- as well as citizen soldiers from every conflict since. Forgotten and long neglected, the obelisk and its attendant bronzes are in a tremulous condition, etched at by a century of pervasive industrial pollution arising from Newtown Creek, and the greater city beyond.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Beautiful cemetery that obviously needs taken care of.

Anonymous said...

isn't there a nearly identical monument at Greenwood?

georgetheatheist said...

"Ichor"? "Tremulous"? This site is soooo educational.

Newtown Pentacle said...

Yes, there is a nearly identical monument in Green-Wood, anon 2.
from the post:
"The statues here at Calvary’s Soldiers Monument seem to have been the original castings of a much reproduced statuary design. Placed here in 1866, they predate the identical statues found at Green-Wood Cemetery, and exact issuance of the mold has been confirmed in New England, North Carolina, and all over New York State."
and from nycgov
"The monument features bronze sculptures by Daniel Draddy, fabricated by Maurice J. Power, and was dedicated in 1866. Mayor John T. Hoffman (1866-68) and the Board of Aldermen donated it to the City of New York."
Power used the casting mold to pop these guys out as orders came in. Calvary's are first run.

Anonymous said...

Isn't there money in the City Treasury chest to clean these statues so our future generations can see an important part of American history. Instead of lining developers pockets...the City Council people should step up to the plate and do something!!!!!

Newtown Pentacle said...

funny thing is, in context of this being Queens Crap, is that the one who spearheaded construction of the memorial for Tammany- and who cheaped out by having them made of copper plateed zinc instead of bronze- he was most likely a guy named Tweed.

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/22/nyregion/standing-tall-once-again-this-time-real-bronze-brooklyn-cemetery-civil-war.html?scp=2&sq=Calvary%20Cemetery%201866&st=cse