August 23, 2014 at 3:18 a.m.

Monument stands in tribute

Postcards
Monument stands in tribute
Monument stands in tribute

By RAY COONEY
President, editor and publisher

In the center of Monument Park, an obelisk rises toward the sky. Below its base lie the remains of about 1,200 soldiers.
The memorial, bordered by Elm, Butler, 1st and Boundary streets in Fort Recovery, commemorates the loss of life in two key battles — The Battle on the Banks of The Wabash (1791) and The Battle of Fort Recovery (1794).
The second of those battles is considered a breakthrough to U.S. expansion west.
“There just aren’t any other places that could have a monument that symbolizes the same thing,” said Nancy Knapke, director for Fort Recovery State Museum. “It’s very unique in that way.”
There are paths from each direction leading to the west-facing monument, which is modeled after the Washington Monument at about one-fifth its size. The obelisk stands 101 feet tall, and medallions around the base honor Gen. Arthur St. Clair, Gen. “Mad” Anthony Wayne and officers who died in battles at Fort Recovery.
The citizens of the village worked for more than 100 years to get a memorial, Knapke said.

Congress approved the monument in 1908, and President William Howard Taft, an Ohio native, signed the legislation. It was constructed in 1912 and dedicated in 1913.
“The roots of our history are as deep as the monument is tall,” Knapke said.
The park, which also includes memorials to those who fought in other wars, serves as a site for events honoring veterans. Each Memorial Day it is decorated with crosses to commemorate soldiers who gave their lives in service.
“It’s a great tribute to all those who served in the military, to have a monument like that right there that we drive past on a daily basis,” said Fort Recovery VFW past commander and Korean War veteran Ken Lamm.
Plaques on each side give information about the purpose of the monument, the date erected, the battles and those who died.
“It marks the sacred spot where lie buried the fallen heroes who so bravely met and gallantly fought the savage foe, who as advance guards entered the wilderness of the West,” reads the plaque on the front. “It stands as a loving tribute of a people in grateful appreciation of the undaunted courage and patriotic devotion of the illustrious dead …”
PORTLAND WEATHER

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