rtlett. He was a student
at Harvard, not yet of age when the war broke out. In April he enlisted
as a private, was appointed Captain before going to the front, and in
his first engagement showed great coolness, bravery and judgment. He was
a strict disciplinarian and popular with his men. Before the close of
the war he had been brevetted Major-general. In peace he made his
influence felt in the interests of religion and education, and in the
elevation of politics.

Immediately after the war public attention in the town was turned
towards taking suitable action for honoring the memory of its sons who
had died on the field of battle. The result was a monument, one of the
most appropriate ever erected for a similar purpose. It is placed on the
Park, a short distance from the Athenaeum. A bronze statue of a
Color-sergeant, as if in line of battle, stands upon a square granite
pillar. He looks earnestly into the distance. The entire effect of the
expression of the countenance and the attitude conveys the impression of
intelligent self-reliance, a true type of our best volunteer soldiers.
On opposite sides of the pillar, are represented in bronze relief the
arms of the United States and of the Commonwealth.

On the others are two shields, engraved with the names of those in honor
of whom this memorial was erected. The shaft bears the following
inscriptions. On the west face:

"FOR THE DEAD, A TRIBUTE--FOR
THE LIVING, A MEMORY--FOR
POSTERITY, AN EMBLEM
OF LOYALTY TO THE
FLAG OF THEIR COUNTRY."

On the east face:

"WITH GRATEFUL RECOGNITION
OF THE SERVICES OF ALL
HER SONS WHO UPHELD THE
HONOR AND INTEGRITY OF
OUR BELOVED COUNTRY IN
HER HOUR OF PERIL, THE
TOWN OF PITTSFIELD ERECTS
THIS MONUMENT IN LOVING
MEMORY OF THOSE WHO DIED
THAT THE NATION MIGHT
LIVE."

At the dedication the national flags of the two political parties were
removed from the streets and with them the statue was draped. The town
was crowded with visitors, and a long procession marched through the
streets. A prayer by Rev. Dr. Todd, speeches by General Bartlett and
Honorable Thomas Colt, President of the day, and an oration by George
William Curtis accompanied the unveiling.

The four principal streets of the town, named from the points of the
compass, meet at the Park. North street contains the bulk of the stores
and business places. On the corner of West street is the building of the
Berkshire Life Insurance C