The Civil War memorial framed by a flowering chestnut tree on the Common.(Photo by Lisa Aciukewicz)

The national observance of Memorial Day began on May 30, 1868 and was originally a tribute to the Union and Confederate soldiers who died in the Civil War. During and after the war, Harvard also made its own provisions to show gratitude and lasting remembrance to soldiers who sacrificed their lives in the War Between the States.

When the Civil War split the nation apart 150 years ago, Harvard did its part, sending its quota of men to battle every year and taking care of their families at home. According to Henry S. Nourse in his History of Harvard, a town meeting on April 29, 1861, resolved to support President Lincoln and his principles and to "frown indignantly upon" those who would sympathize with the South. The town then voted to appropriate the sum of $4,000 in order to pay bounties over and above payment from state or national government to those soldiers who volunteered their services to "suppress the present rebellion." Moreover, the town voted to compensate volunteers for their time drilling at home preparing for active duty and to provide for needy families of those volunteers who joined the Army. For the duration of the war, as call after call for volunteers came, Harvard met its yearly quotas and continued to generously support the soldiers and their families. Unfortunately, these noble acts placed the town in debt for the first time in its history.

Right after the war, the town began an annual appropriation of from $25 to $50 for the celebration of Memorial Day. In 1864 a group of citizens formed an organization to raise $300 to erect a memorial to the 15 Harvard men who had died in active duty during the Civil War. Since the memorial was not erected until 24 years later, one assumes that the money was difficult to raise. It appears that many groups gave whatever they could over the years. Nourse comments that among contributions to the fund for this monument was "the sum of $88.60 from the ladies, the proceeds of an art exhibition October 29, 1885." Finally, in 1888 the town's efforts came to fruition in the dedication of a monument which eventually cost $1,208. It was originally proposed to place the monument in the burial ground, but when the time came, the town authorized its present location, on the Common. On Memorial Day of that year the monument was dedicated with what Nourse calls "appropriate ceremonial."

The Civil War monument stands at the southeast corner of the Common, across from the old library. A female figure draped in white marble, head bent downward, rises atop a polished granite pedestal on a square base of hammered granite. She represents Memory in the act of strewing flowers upon the names of the soldiers inscribed in stone below her. Such a figure seems unusual for a war memorial, most others in Massachusetts being obelisks or a soldier figure representing all the soldiers lost in the war. She is impressive in her uniqueness, and she speaks poignantly of both the sorrow of the war and the lasting tribute to the dead soldiers.

On the south side of the pedestal is the inscription: "Harvard erects this monument in grateful remembrance of her soldiers who gave their lives to their country in the war for the defence of the union." Below these words crossed swords are chiseled above the dates 1861–1865. On the other three faces are the names of the 15 soldiers from Harvard who died in the war.

Another memorial to the Harvard soldiers of the Civil War is, unfortunately, far less visible to public view. When the Free Public Library was built (1887), provision was made for memorial tablets to bear the names of all the soldiers of the town. These marble tablets were affixed to the vestibule wall on either side of the entrance to the library, each bearing two columns of names "incised and gilt" (Nourse). Above the lists was the legend: "Harvard to her brave sons who fought for the union in the war of the rebellion." On the left tablet were 68 names of soldiers, and on the right, 64 soldiers and two volunteer nurses. When the entrance to the library was moved to the side of the building in order to make the building handicapped-accessible, the tablets were relocated to the lower level. They now bank the doorway from the Hapgood Room to the hallway and stairs, still intact but greatly diminished in their presence.

The Harvard Historical Society owns several artifacts from the Civil War. Chief among them is a ledger of "American Civil War Soldiers," listing the name, former occupation, date and age of enlistment, and, in most cases, the ultimate fate of all those who fought in the war. Also in the Society archives are the original letters that Charles Sprague, a young soldier of 24, sent home from the battlefield. They are poignant accounts of a young man's experiences with the horrors of war.