Sweet Auburn: The Magazine of the Friends of Mount Auburn Mount Auburn and The Civil War | Page 3

President’s Corner
Mount Auburn Cemetery was just 30 years old when the Civil War began in 1861. With the
sesquicentennial anniversary of the Civil War unfolding since April 2011, we dedicate this issue of
Sweet Auburn to highlighting some of the important connections between the Cemetery and the War.
In our lead article, Harvard Professor John Stauffer (pp. 2–3) illuminates the critical role played
by Massachusetts and its abolitionist senator Charles Sumner (interred in Lot 2447 Arethusa Path at
Mount Auburn) in ending slavery and winning the Civil War. One of the highlights of our Civil War
sesquicentennial celebration was the restoration in 2011–12 of the memorial for Colonel Robert Gould
Shaw, who led the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment and died in battle with his men.
The restoration was made possible by a gift from a Shaw family member, and the dedication of the
monument in 2012 was attended by Governor Deval Patrick and members of today’s 54th
Massachusetts Volunteer Regiment, a National Honor Guard unit re-designated by order of the
Governor in 2008. Members of the 54th Regiment, Company A, founded in 1992 to bring the
original regiment’s history to life via presentations and participation in public events, were also in
attendance, making it a memorable occasion (see photos below).
Monument preservation has been one of our top priorities in these years of remembrance and reflection. With funding from the Massachusetts
Sesquicentennial Commission of the American Civil War and matching funds from private donors, in 2013–14 we completed conservation
work on 17 additional monuments commemorating the lives of individuals who served in the Civil War (see pp. 4–5).
One of Mount Auburn’s most significant monuments is the Sphinx (pp. 10–11), commissioned by Cemetery founder Jacob Bigelow and
sculpted by Martin Milmore in 1872 to commemorate the abolition of slavery and preservation of the Union. Mount Auburn’s horticulture
staff recently installed a Victorian-style landscape around the Sphinx to provide a more inspirational and historically appropriate setting for
this important work of art (p. 12).
Individual stories help humanize the war and deepen our understanding of the Cemetery’s rich connection with local history and families.
Thanks in part to research by our dedicated volunteers, including this issue’s highlighted volunteer Steve Pinkerton (p.18), we now know
that over 900 men and women who served and sacrificed during the Civil War are buried or commemorated at Mount Auburn Cemetery.
Civil War historian Carol Bundy has written the moving story (pp. 6–7,) of poet James Russell Lowell, whose life was deeply affected
by the deaths of his three nephews in the war. Rob Velella (pp. 8–9) examines the war’s impact on American culture and literature through
the words of poets interred at Mount Auburn. And Mitchell Adams describes the remarkable career of his great-grandfather Zabdiel Boylston
Adams (Lot 2700 Elder Path), a surgeon-soldier in the war (p. 13).
The Civil War helped bring us together with our community as well. Mount Auburn was one of 19 sites that benefited from Watertown
Helps Out, a town-wide volunteer day. Volunteers placed flags on the graves of Civil War Veterans at Mount Auburn, drawing local attention
to our nation’s past.
Spring 2015 will bring to a close our Civil War commemorations but not our larger mission. We look forward to continuing to comfort
the bereaved, commemorate the dead in a landscape of exceptional beauty, and inspire all who visit.
David P. Barnett
President & CEO
The 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment was formed in February 1863 by abolitionist Governor John Andrew. The enlistment of African-
Americans into this unit was so robust that by May 1863 a second regiment, the 55th, was formed. Both regiments mustered out at the end of the Civil War.
In 2008, by order of Governor Deval Patrick, the Massachusetts National Guard’s Honor Guard was re-designated as the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer
Regiment (Selected Honor Guard). In addition, a local group of re-enactors—the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Regiment, Company A, founded in 1992—
helps bring the regiment’s history to life via presentations and participation in public events.
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