On Memorial Day, Mountain Grove to celebrate 100th anniversary of Union Soldier monument

Ralph Green, Springfield News-Leader
·1 min read
The GAR monument in Mountain Grove.
The GAR monument in Mountain Grove.

During a ceremony on Memorial Day, Mountain Grove will celebrate the 100th anniversary of a Grand Army of the Republic monument on the square downtown.

The monument, which depicts a Union soldier, was dedicated on May 30, 1922. The 100th anniversary ceremony will be held May 30 at 11:30 a.m. on the southeast corner of the square.

The monument is unique because in addition to honoring the Union, it also has text referencing the World War and back-facing text honoring nurses with reference to the Spanish-American War.

The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Revenue Cutter Service (Coast Guard) who served the Union during the American Civil War.

Ralph Green is a business reporter with the Springfield News-Leader. Contact him at RAGreen@gannett.com, by phone: (417-536-4061) or on Twitter at RalphGreenNL

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Mountain Grove celebrates 100th anniversary of Union Soldier monument