Kensington Soldier's Monument

The Kensington Soldiers' Monument is a historic war memorial located at 371 Percival Road, on the grounds of the Kensington Congregational Church in Berlin, Connecticut.  Erected in 1863, it is one of the oldest memorials to the American Civil War in the United States, and the first to be erected in Connecticut.  It is a modest brownstone obelisk, with an accompanying cannon.  It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2013.

Description and history
The Kensington Soldiers' Monument is located in front of the Kensington Congregational Church, at the junction of Percival Avenue and Sheldon Street in Berlin's Kensington neighborhood.  The memorial is a brownstone obelisk  in height, mounted in a two-part base  in height.  Each face of the obelisk is engraved with inscriptions, that on the southeast naming the four Kensington men killed in 1863, and that on the southwest naming eight more killed in 1864 and 1865.  Two plaques have been attached to the monument, identifying it as the first monument in the nation dedicated to Civil War dead.

Impetus for the erection of the monument originated with the Rev. Elias B. Hilliard of the Kensington Congregational Church in 1862, upon learning of six Kensington dead in Civil War battles.  The monument was designed by Nelson Augustus Moore, a prominent Connecticut sculptor, and was cut in a Berlin stone yard from brownstone quarried in Portland.  It was formally dedicated on July 28, 1863, with a speech by United States Senator Lafayette Foster.  It is distinct from many later Civil War memorials, which tend to include figures of soldiers.  A period cannon was placed in front of the monument during semi-centennial commemoration of the monument in 1913.

See also
 National Register of Historic Places listings in Hartford County, Connecticut

References

Category:Monuments and memorials on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut
Category:National Register of Historic Places in Hartford County, Connecticut
Category:Buildings and structures completed in 1863
Category:Berlin, Connecticut