Doubleday Hill Monument
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The Doubleday Hill Monument is an American Civil War monument located in Williamsport, Maryland, in what is now River View Cemetery. The monument is dedicated to Major General Abner Doubleday who passed through Williamsport. The monument is also known Doubleday Hill, and looks upon the Potomac River into West Virginia. As stated on the inscription of the monument, the monument purpose is to commemorate the crossing of the Potomac River, and occupation of the hill by Major General Abner Doubleday where he set up siege guns. Major General Abner Doubleday is also credited with creating the game of baseball, according to the engraving. The monument was created in 1897.[1]
The Doubleday Monument is a deviation from the popular form of monument of the time period. The Doubleday Hill Monument is a late 19th century monument. During this time monuments were dominated by one form, this form was the statue of a uniformed standing soldier. This form dominated between the years of 1863 through 1919. This popular form often depicted the uniform standing soldier “standing holding the barrel of a rifle that rests upright on the ground in front of him."[2] This depiction did not always occur but generally resembled the description.
The purpose of this monument differs from normal practices of the era that the monument was built. For example, monuments not placed in battlefield parks during the years of 1863-1919 had a normal practice that “honored soldiers and sailors from the town, county, or state in which the monument was erected.”[3] As seen on the inscription of the Doubleday Hill Monument the monument celebrates the occupation of the famous Major General Abner Doubleday, who was from Ballston, New York.
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Doubleday Hill Monument shown with Flag and Cannon -
Doubleday Hill Monument Sign
References
- ^ The Maryland Department of Veteran Affairs. Inventory of Monuments. http://www.mdva.state.md.us/MMMC/inventory.html. [April 28, 2010].
- ^ Thomas J. Brown, The Public Art of Civil War Commemoration.: A Brief History with Documents. (Bedford/ St. Martin’s Press, MA. 2004). 24.
- ^ Ibid. 36
Reference
Brown, J. Thomas. The Public Art of Civil War Commemoration: A Brief History with Documents. Bedford/ St. Martin’s Press, MA. 2004.
The Maryland Department of Veteran Affairs. Inventory of Monuments. http://www.mdva.state.md.us/MMMC/inventory.html. [April 28, 2010].