Text by Kimberly Smith
Images from Presque Isle Historical Society and Maine State Archives
One might think that residents of Presque Isle – a fairly young community having been founded in 1828 and only formalized as a town in 1859 – being so far removed from the actual fields of battle did not feel much of an impact from the war. However, this is certainly not the case.
The 1860 U.S. census lists a population of 723 -- about half men and half women -- for Presque Isle. Based on actual enlistment and conscription (draft) records, it is known that 22 percent of the town's population, or roughly one-half of its men, left to fight in this war. Of those, one-third died during the war.
These numbers had a huge impact on those left behind. Women had to run 100- and 200-acre farms on their own as well as take on other largely male roles to survive.
With battles fought so far from home and with the high death toll, the Civil War saw another change for society. Many families did not have an actual body to bury. As such, families had to develop new ways to memorialize the loss of their loved ones.
Both the North and the South agreed that memorializing the dead was important. Following the war, monuments began to appear around the country. Of the 147 Civil War monuments in Maine, most were built and dedicated after 1890. Presque Isle’s Civil War Monument, or "Soldier’s Monument" as it was originally known, was the first in Aroostook County and one of the first in the state.
The monument, which sits in the Fairmount Cemetery, was erected in 1873 and was officially dedicated on July 4, 1874.
Women from Presque Isle took up a collection to build the monument and, in June of 1873, the selectmen were authorized to proceed with the building of the monument as well as select a site for it.
S.P. Bradbury of Bangor made the monument, which stands 15 feet tall, is Italian marble, sits on a four-foot square granite base, and is capped with an eagle.
The dedication ceremony began at 10 a.m. on July 4, 1874 with a mile-long procession of approximately 1,000 people. James Phair, a local Civil War Veteran and Presque Isle’s Postmaster served as the Marshall of the Day. The ceremony was presided over by Reverend Collamore Purington, who had served in the Civil War as Chaplain of the 7th Regiment.
The Civil War required a new way of thinking in so far as memorializing those who passed away as often times the bodies of soldiers killed in battle did not make it home. One common way to remember a lost loved one during this period was to make jewelry or wreaths from hair as a memento of a loved one.
The hair wreaths, such as the one shown here from Presque Isle, consisted of flowers formed by stitching the hair with fine wire over a rod that forms a series of loops, which were then formed into different flower shapes.
Most of the hair wreaths were formed into a horseshoe shape that was placed on a silk or velvet background inside a frame. When memorial wreaths were made, hair was collected from the deceased when possible and added to the wreath. The top of the wreath was always kept open as if ascending towards heaven.
Another means of memorializing those lost during the Civil War and Victorian Era was for women specifically to dress all in black. Many of these rules were established by European royalty and the "upper class" and then followed by the middle and lower classes.
Popular fashion magazines of the day such as Godey’s Lady’s Book and Harper’s Bazaar reported the latest trends and gave tips on proper mourning etiquette.
