There is a stone soldier in South Park who stands solitary watch above Brinkerhoff Avenue; he has stood alone for over 100 years, yet he stands for 976 men who put their lives on the line to make America free for all people.
Each of those men deserve to be remembered, and this granite sentry is the one who acts as a bookmark on the page of history in our community where heroic service is commemorated from the Civil War.
That monument of tribute and homage was placed in the city in 1908, on a day marked by dignity and solemn honor; by music and parades; by tears and flowers.
Fortunately for us, the memory of that day was captured in photographs so that we—more than a century later—can take part in the formal remembering of the 120th Regiment of the Ohio Volunteer Infantry.
Images and photos in this article come from the collections of Phill Stoodt, and the Sherman Room of the Mansfield/Richland County Public Library.
