Soldiers' Monument

"The primary inscription of the monument located in West Bridgewater’s Central Square reads, “In Memory of the Citizens of this Town in Memory of Her Sons Who Lost Their Lives Defending the Government during the War of 1861-1865. Let Us Have Peace.” The speaker during the dedication exercises was Horace Binney Sargent (1821-1908), a distinguished veteran who was Commander of the Massachusetts Department of the GAR. As eloquent as his words were, the significance of the occasion were perhaps best summed up by the president of the day, Rev. D.H. Montgomery. The fallen, he said, 'all fought a good fight—all died that the republic might not suffer harm, and that in the blood they shed this nation might be baptized into newness of life. This sculptured shaft of granite will perpetuate their memory and will testify to this and to succeeding generations…Let us bear in mind that they took the sword not to make war but to secure peace—that true and permanent peace which rests on equal justice to all. What they bequeathed us, it is for us and for our children to maintain.'"

https://macivilwarmonuments.com/2018/05/19/west-bridgewater/