Davis Monument
Location: Acton town common, opposite Town Hall on Main Street (Route 27)
This 75' stone monument was erected in 1851 in memory of Acton's citizen soldiers who lost their lives on April 19, 1775. The remains of Captain Isaac Davis, James Hayward and Abner Hosmer were removed from what is now Woodlawn Cemetery and placed in the base of this monument in 1851.
The monument was built out of granite quarried from Acton, most taken from the land nearby where Rev. Woodbury, who was instrumental in getting the funds for the monument, lived. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts supplied $2,000 toward the monument's construction, and the town of Acton provided $500.
The monument was built out of granite quarried from Acton, most taken from the land nearby where Rev. Woodbury, who was instrumental in getting the funds for the monument, lived. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts supplied $2,000 toward the monument's construction, and the town of Acton provided $500.
|
The inscription, cut into the northwest side of the monument (opposite Town Hall) reads:
THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS, & THE TOWN OF ACTON, COOPERATING TO PERPETUATE THE FAME OF GLORIOUS DEEDS OF PATRIOTISM, HAVE ERECTED THIS MONUMENT IN HONOR OF CAPT. ISAAC DAVIS, & PRIVATES ABNER HOSMER & JAMES HAYWARD, CITIZEN-SOLDIERS OF ACTON & PROVINCIAL MINUTEMEN, WHO FELL IN CONCORD FIGHT THE 19TH OF APRIL A.D. 1775. ON THE MORNING OF THAT EVENTFUL DAY THE PROVINCIAL OFFICERS HELD A COUNCIL OF WAR NEAR THE OLD NORTH BRIDGE IN CONCORD & AS THEY SEPARATED DAVIS EXCLAIMED, "I HAV'NT A MAN THAT IS AFRAID TO GO." & IMMEDIATELY MARCHED HIS COMPANY FROM THE LEFT TO THE RIGHT OF THE LINE, & LED IN THIS FIRST ORGANIZED ATTACK UPON THE TROOPS OF GEORGE III IN THAT MEMORABLE WAR, WHICH, BY THE HELP OF GOD, MADE THE THIRTEEN COLONIES INDEPENDENT OF GREAT BRITAIN, & GAVE POLITICAL BEING TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. ACTON AP. 19TH 1851. |
|
The cornerstone was laid on August 20, 1851 with a ceremony involving two ministers and a large choir. When the monument was completed, a dedication ceremony was held on October 29, 1851. Many people from surrounding towns were present. After a procession to move the remains of the three who had fallen on April 19, 1775 from the cemetery to Acton Center, speeches were given (including one by Governor Boutwell) and a meal was provided for over a thousand guests under a large tent.
For further information on the monument and its dedication, see:
Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System (MACRIS) Act_902
Fletcher, James. Acton in History, Compiled for the Middlesex County History, Philadelphia: J. W. Lewis & Co., 1890. Pages 274-277
Phalen, Harold. History of the Town of Acton. Cambridge, MA: Middlesex Printing, 1954. Pages 160-170
"Acton Monument," Boston Post, August 23, 1851, page 2.
"Acton's 110-year-old Monument," Yankee Magazine, April 1961, page 69 & 114.
For examples of newspapers from out of state that reported on the monument's completion and dedication, see:
Baltimore Sun October 31, 1851, page 1
Brooklyn Evening Star, October 30, 1851, page 2
New Orleans Times-Picayune, November 7, 1851 page 1
Raleigh, NC Semi-Weekly Standard, November 8, 1851, page 3 (cited the Boston Courier of October 30)
For further information on the monument and its dedication, see:
Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System (MACRIS) Act_902
Fletcher, James. Acton in History, Compiled for the Middlesex County History, Philadelphia: J. W. Lewis & Co., 1890. Pages 274-277
Phalen, Harold. History of the Town of Acton. Cambridge, MA: Middlesex Printing, 1954. Pages 160-170
"Acton Monument," Boston Post, August 23, 1851, page 2.
"Acton's 110-year-old Monument," Yankee Magazine, April 1961, page 69 & 114.
For examples of newspapers from out of state that reported on the monument's completion and dedication, see:
Baltimore Sun October 31, 1851, page 1
Brooklyn Evening Star, October 30, 1851, page 2
New Orleans Times-Picayune, November 7, 1851 page 1
Raleigh, NC Semi-Weekly Standard, November 8, 1851, page 3 (cited the Boston Courier of October 30)