Two Rivers' Civil War Monument

On June 9, 1900, a statue of a soldier standing silently with his gun was placed in the middle of Washington Street in Two Rivers. The day it was positioned there, swarms of people turned out to see it. The complete monument being twenty-one and a half feet high, and the silent metal soldier on top, standing eight feet high, looked southward down Washington Street after being erected.

The Soldiers Monument, as it is titled, stands as a “memory of those who fought in defense of the union- 1861-1865”, as the inscription on it reads. Leaders thought its placement in the middle of Washington Street was the perfect place for generations to view it for years to come.

The soldier is a Union soldier notably. According to a Manitowoc Herald Times article from January 6, 1976, “Early historic records show that 140 men from Two Rivers served in the Union ranks during the Civil War.” The article states that “The monument was to be a lasting memorial of their loyalty to the Union".

The mayor of Two Rivers, Peter Gagnon, made a proclamation that factories and businesses be closed in order to make the occasion “a valuable lesson in patriotism and a day long to be remembered.” There was a parade filled with carriages which carried speakers and officials. Militias from other cities came to the event. The National Band, firemen, and the Coast Guard were all present for the ceremony. 

Since the monument was erected on that June day in 1900, it has since been moved. There was for a while a bit of a mystery as to how it got to where it is today. The Manitowoc Herald Times article about the monument on January 6, 1976 states that the monument moved from its original location to its present location sometime between 1935 and 1939. An official from city hall said, “Every time we had an inkling as to the date, we check it out, and there wasn't anything in the Council proceedings." There were many theories as to why it was moved but none were confirmed at the time of the article of the statue’s publishing in 1976. The Manitowoc County Historical Markers and Memorials booklet lists the reason for the statues moving as “a street improvement project in the 1930s”.

A canvas to see how many were in favor of the monument was done a few months before its construction. “Prior to 1900 there was popular sentiment strongly in favor of the proposed monument”, the 1976 Manitowoc Herald Times article said. The funds for the statue were raised by the Joseph Rankin Post of the Grand Army of the Republic.

This June 9th marks the 120th anniversary of the statue’s placement in Two Rivers.