ROCKLAND, Maine — The relocation of a monument to honor local people who served in the American Civil War has ignited a verbal skirmish among local officials.
Two former mayors squared off Monday night as the Rockland City Council voted unanimously to approve the relocation of the Camp Knox Memorial from the crest of Talbot Avenue to land nearby owned by a local veterans group.
Former Mayor Brian Harden, who is president of the Rockland Historical Society, sharply criticized the council for the proposal which he became aware of only Monday afternoon. The city council voted during the Monday night meeting to add the item to its agenda. The members then voted to approve it.
Harden said the memorial is not just to honor the members of the 4th Maine Regiment that later fought in many Civil War battles but also to recognize the location where the regiment had an encampment from May 12 through June 17, 1861.
“You’re changing history,” Harden said about moving the memorial from its location across the street from where 1,200 people held camp to train before heading off to war. The encampment was in a field between Talbot and Rankin Street.
Former Mayor Michael McNeil, who represented the Midcoast Area Veterans Memorial organization, disputed that assertion and said that the move was needed so that the monument was in a place where it could be viewed safely.
The memorial was placed at the crest of Talbot Avenue in 1932. McNeil said plows come close to hitting it during the winter and the monument is in pretty rough shape.
“This memorial needs to be treated with respect and care,” McNeil said.
The Midcoast Area Veterans Memorial is a volunteer non-profit group. The group obtained a perpetual easement in July 2011 on a parcel of land a few hundred yards from the Camp Knox Memorial adjacent to where the Winslow-Holbrook-Merritt American Legion post is located.
The veterans group created a 34-foot-long concrete wall, which was dedicated in August 2012, that honors veterans from all wars. The wall is filled with black granite tiles with the names and often photos of veterans.
The Midcoast Area Veterans Memorial also relocated a few years ago the memorial to honor veterans of the Korean and Vietnam wars. That monument had been located next to Rankin Street at the intersection of Union Street.
McNeil said the footing for the monument has been prepared and that the relocation should occur soon.
City Councilor Louise MacLellan-Ruf said the relocation respects veterans, respects history and will put the memorial in a safer location.
MacLellan-Ruf said the council discussed the matter at its meeting last week but that it was not added to the published agenda because the clerk was out of the office last week and the item was unintentionally omitted from the agenda.
Councilor William Clayton said he hoped that any news story about the move would not be focused on the disagreement but about honoring the people from the Civil War. He said this debate was similar to one when the council agreed to move two Civil War cannons from the impoundment lot behind city hall to downtown Chapman Memorial Park where they can be viewed by the public.
The veterans group will pay for the moving expenses and future maintenance.