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Cumberland County to add names of Civil War veterans to Soldiers' Monument

The Sentinel - 8/20/2021

Aug. 20—Five names of veterans from Cumberland County who fought in the U.S. Civil War will be added to the county's Soldiers' Monument on the Square in Carlisle.

The county commissioners on Thursday voted to approve the modification of the county monument, and to accept a donation from the Cumberland County Historical Society to pay for the work.

The additions come on the 150th anniversary of the monument being dedicated in 1871.

County staff have been working with the historical society and local history author Randy Watts to identify Civil War soldiers from the county who were not on the monument when it was first erected, county Chief Clerk Stacy Snyder said.

The monument was originally constructed through a grassroots campaign featuring local fairs and fundraising events in the years following the war, according to research from the historical society.

The historical society will pay the cost of producing and installing the five additional placards to the monument; the maximum cost is estimated at $1,500.

The county also added in a press release that verification of a sixth solider is nearing completion.

The five soldiers to be added all served with the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment, which was mustered by the federal government and was one of the first to consist predominantly of Black troops, according to the Massachusetts Historical Society.

The unit is best known for the bloody assault on Fort Wagner, located on Morris Island in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina, according to the National Park Service. Approximately 280 of the formation's 600 men were killed, wounded, captured, or missing and presumed dead during the ultimately unsuccessful assault on July 18, 1863.

The five men whose names will be added to the monument are:

Henry King of Carlisle; killed in action, James Island, South Carolina, July 16, 1863

Augustus Lewis of Shippensburg; killed in action, Fort Wagner, South Carolina, July 18, 1863

Stewart W. Woods of Carlisle; wounded and captured, James Island, South Carolina, July 16, 1863; died in prison, March 15, 1865

Alfred (Alford) Whiting of Carlisle; wounded and captured, Fort Wagner, South Carolina, July 18, 1863; died in Alexandria, Virginia, June 26, 1865

Edward Parks of Carlisle; died of disease, Morris Island, South Carolina, October 3, 1863.

Email Zack at zhoopes@cumberlink.com.

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