Battle of Carthage Monument, Oak Hill Cemetery, 1600 Block of West Budlong Street (northside)

Introduction

Text-to-speech Audio

The monument, which memorializes the soldiers who died in the Battle of Carthage in July 5, 1861, was dedicated on August 16,1905. Located in the south west corner of Oak Hill cemetery, the monument was erected by the Carthage Soldiers' Memorial Association, of which Mrs. Cinderilla F. Mealey was President. The monument can be seen from Interstate 49 on the west side of Carthage when going north on the highway. Access to the 23 foot high Carthage limestone memorial is from Budlong Street and not from the cemetery's Oak Hill Cemetery Road main entrance. Land for Oak Hill Cemetery was donated by Dr. James Carter who lived on the east side of town above Carter Park (see Clio entry for Carter Park). Also, part of his home property is now the Battle of Carthage State Historic Site (see Clio entry for same).

Images

Battle of Carthage Monument in Oak Hill Cemetery. First memorial built to commemorate the event that took place in Carthage July 5,1861.

Close-up of committee's memorial's date block.

Backstory and Context

Text-to-speech Audio

Soldiers were never buried at this memorial. Those who died during the Battle of Carthage were first buried in what is now Central Park (see Clio entry for park, 700 South Garrison Avenue). Those remains were exhumed and reburied at the National Cemetery in Springfield, Missouri, when the City of Carthage decided to create Central Park.

According to a 1919 article of the Carthage Evening Press, the Soldiers' Monument Association of Carthage when first incorporated included: Mary Montague President, Cinderella Mealey, vice-president, Lucinda Hampton, secretary; George Howenstein, treasurer, Lou Reid, Anne Clayton, Siddie Garlock, Laura Douglass, Emma Twitchell, Lizzie Stafford, Emma Sanderson, T. B. Tuttle, L. V. Cupp, A. B. Parkell, and E. J. Montague. (1)

This entry created in honor of Carthage's 175th Anniversary Celebration exhibit featuring selected artifacts and archival pieces on display at the Powers Museum during 2017. Funding for Neighborhood History digital project was made possible by a grant from the Missouri Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities, Spring 2017.

Sources

Powers Museum Vertical Files: Oak Hill Cemetery

"Twenty-five Years Ago This Week." Carthage Evening Press, December 20, 1919, no page (1).

Image Sources(Click to expand)

Photograph by Michele Hansford, 2018.