Connecticut's Civil War Monuments

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Town Green
123 Maple Street
Ellington, CT

Dedicated: May 31, 1926
Type: Granite stele with bronze plaques
Supplier: Henry L. Norton
Foundry: Albert Russell & Sons
Height: 5', 5"

Ellington's MONUMENT TO ALL WARS is significant historically because it is a symbol of the honor and respect paid by the community to its sons who served in wars of the United States up to 1926.

The following number of individuals listed for each of three wars is an indication of the changing size of the community over the centuries:

American Revolution	79
Civil War	147
World War I	103

Ellington was a farming community that experienced a period of growth in the 19th century only to decrease in size in the industrial age of the 20th century.

It is symptomatic of how hard old practices die to observe that in 1926 the phrase "War of the Rebellion" still was used as the name of the 1861-1865 conflict.

The monument cost $1,667.97 in cash expenditure, plus donated time and materials. The crosswalk that divides around the monument was part of the original work.

Ellington's MONUMENT TO ALL WARS is significant artistically because it is a well-designed combination of granite and bronze, forming a handsome and dignified memorial. The rock-faced granite is heavy and permanent in effect. The smooth recessed panels for the plaques are carefully planned and shaped in relation to the plaques. The two curvilinear lines at the top of the plaques and the top of the panels faithfully follow one another. The plaques carry the name of their foundry, Albert Russell & Sons of Newburyport, Massachusetts, a desirable identity feature not always present in plaques.

Little is known of Henry L. Norton, the supplier; conjecture suggests that he may have been an agent.

For a similar treatment, see WAR MEMORIAL MONUMENT, Ridgefield.

Ellington's MONUMENT TO ALL WARS is a rock-faced tan granite stele with a bronze plaque on each face. The monument is located at the east end of the west section of the Town Green. A north-south walk runs from one street to the other, dividing around the monument to give access to both sides. It is dedicated to Ellington men who served in all wars through World War I.

Each side of the monument has a recessed smooth-finished central panel with curvilinear top. The plaques are similarly shaped to fit into the panels, surrounded by 4" margins on all sides. A curvilinear laurel branch at the top of each plaque is shaped to follow the curve of a central Seal of the United States and curl around Seals of Connecticut (left) and Ellington (right) at the margins. The two plaques are the same except for their lettering.

Steles memorializing World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam Conflict are 15' to the west, near a flagpole.

Lower right corner both plaques, lightly incised small caps:

West face, raised caps:

East face:

Town of Ellington Annual Report, 1926, p. 47.