All photos in this chapter are © by Joe Konz
Lawton was born in 1843 and grew up in Fort Wayne. He was 18 years old when he enlisted in the Army to serve in the Civil War.
Lawton also served in the Apache Wars (and led the capture of Geronimo) and the Spanish-American and Philippine-American wars. He died at the hands of a sharpshooter in 1899 during the latter conflict, the only American general killed in that war and the first U.S. general killed overseas.
Andrew O’Conner completed work on the sculpture in 1906, and it was dedicated the following year at the Marion County Courthouse in downtown Indianapolis.
Present at the dedication ceremony was President Theodore Roosevelt; Vice President Charles W. Fairbanks, a prominent Indianapolis attorney; and Indiana poet James Whitcomb Riley, who read a poem composed just for the dedication.
The monument was relocated to Garfield Park in 1915 and rededicated in 1917. Today it stands in a modest floral garden in the north lawn of the Conservatory.
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Lawton also served in the Apache Wars (and led the capture of Geronimo) and the Spanish-American and Philippine-American wars. He died at the hands of a sharpshooter in 1899 during the latter conflict, the only American general killed in that war and the first U.S. general killed overseas.
Andrew O’Conner completed work on the sculpture in 1906, and it was dedicated the following year at the Marion County Courthouse in downtown Indianapolis.
Present at the dedication ceremony was President Theodore Roosevelt; Vice President Charles W. Fairbanks, a prominent Indianapolis attorney; and Indiana poet James Whitcomb Riley, who read a poem composed just for the dedication.
The monument was relocated to Garfield Park in 1915 and rededicated in 1917. Today it stands in a modest floral garden in the north lawn of the Conservatory.
Each of the three photos of the statue here was taken at a different time, evidenced by the different contents of the flower garden.
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I was not aware of Garfield Park's Grove of Remembrance for many years. In fact, it wasn't until 2009 when I was out on an autumn shoot, exploring the park's northwest quadrant, an area I ordinarily had little reason to roam, that I came upon the sign depicted in the photos above and below.
The Grove of Remembrance encompasses a cluster of trees planted in intervals in the once open area west of the current Fire Station 29. The Grove was dedicated in October 1920 in honor of the 387 Marion County soldiers and sailors who died in World War I.
The original dedication, under the auspices of the Hamilton-Barry Service Star Legion, began with a procession beginning at the park's Shelby Street entrance.
According to local newspaper stories covering the dedication, the procession include a platoon of mounted police followed by a detachment of soldiers from Fort Benjamin Harrison and a school band of 30 pieces and 190 children who sang under the direction of Edward Bailey Birge. That would not be the only involvement of children on the dedication program.
Also in the procession was a group of 50 more children who formed the shape of a gold star upon arriving in the Grove. And 290 more children marked the points in the Grove where trees would be planted.
Guests of honor were national and state officers of the American Legion as well as officers of the American War Mothers, the Caroline Scott Harrison Chapter of Daughters of the American Revolution, Daughters of the Union, Boy Scouts, Service Star Legion and other patriotic organizations.
Rabbi Morris M. Feuerlicht gave the invocation, and the children's chorus and spectators joined in the singing of the National Anthem. The dedication speech was delivered by Hilton U. Brown, who was then general manager of the Indianapolis News. To start the Grove of Remembrance, 290 trees were then planted at the spots marked by the children.
For several decades afterward, annual remembrance observances, featuring patriotic speeches and music, were held in the Grove on Memorial Day.
In late September 1995, a rededication ceremony was conducted there, overseen by Ray R. Irvin, Indianapolis Greenways manager. It included remarks by then-U.S. Rep. Andy Jacobs, a Democrat from Indianapolis and a veteran of the Korean conflict, and Toby McClamroch, Republican majority leader of the Indianapolis City-County Council.
Also appearing were Corinne White Walker, vice president of the Indiana War Mothers; Marilyn Price, president of the World War I Auxiliary; and Lucille Wahl, who as a child and neighborhood resident had participated in the original dedication ceremony in 1920.
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A monument once marking the graves of Confederate soldiers who died while imprisoned at Union Camp Morton on the near Northside of Indianapolis and were buried in an old city cemetery, Greenlawn, inexplicably did not follow the soldiers when they were reinterred in Crown Hill Cemetery from 1928 to 1933.
Instead, as directed by an Act of Congress in 1928, the monument was placed at the south end of Garfield Park as shown in the photos above and below. The monument bears the names of the deceased soldiers from the camp, making its separation from their final graves befuddling to anyone who knows this history.
Once the monument landed in Garfield Park, it stayed there for more than 90 years. In that interim, there were several attempts to get the monument moved to Crown Hill Cemetery to be with the soldiers, where some people felt it belonged, but to no avail. At least not through the 20th century.
After the new millennium, new efforts surfaced to move the monument from the park to Crown Hill, but not primarily because of any sentiment that it belonged with the deceased Confederate soldiers in Crown Hill. The 2000s marked a new era -- nationwide -- in which many Americans voiced strong opposition to the continued public display of any monuments devoted to soldiers, officers or political leaders of the Confederate States of America. This sentiment grew even stronger in the late 2010s wave of Black Lives Matter.
So in July 2020, the monument was finally removed and, according to city officials, placed in storage until a decision could be made on what to do with it. I wonder if returning it to be with the soldiers and sailors in Crown Hill Cemetery has been considered?
Just asking.
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Next up, Chapter 33: Stone bridges
Previously in the Garfield Park in Pictures series:
