Alexander Memorial
Introduction
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The Alexander Memorial was dedicated in 1928 and named in honor of a Civil War veteran who was active in raising funds for this all-veterans memorial.
The memorial is the site of regular antiwar demonstrations.
Backstory and Context
Text-to-speech Audio
This monument was financed by veterans' groups in Monroe County and dedicated on the southeast corner of the courthouse in the heart of Bloomington as a memorial in honor of the sacrifices of local soldiers and of their families in past wars. The monument is named for Captain Williamson M. Alexander (1836-1921), a Civil War veteran who was active in raising the needed funds for the monument and died before the structure was completed.
In recent years, local citizens have begun to raise necessary funds to restore the limestone reliefs, which have been badly damaged by time, weather, and pollutants. A regular weekly anti-war demonstration has taken place at the base of the monument for years, and the corner was also the site of recent Black Lives Matter protests that took place in the wake of the death of Minneapolis resident George Floyd.
Sources
Smithsonian American Art Museum and Its Renwick Art Gallery, "Alexander Memorial (Sculpture)," https://www.si.edu/object/siris_ari_337082
Aaron Cain, "Crawling to the Aid of a Fading Monument," https://indianapublicmedia.org/arts/crawling-aid-fading-monument.php
"Capt. Williamson M. Alexander," findagrave.com, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/52010039/williamson-m_-alexander