MANKATO — Ten years ago Friday, sculptor Alan Gibson, monument maker Tom Miller and members of the Daughters of the American Revolution were among the crowd of about 150 at Lincoln Park who watched the unveiling of a new Boy in Blue statue.
A woman in period dress sang a historic song while she dropped carnations into the basin of a fountain that, combined with the statue of a young soldier in uniform, comprise a replica of a Civil War monument.
Friends of the Boy in Blue Civil War Memorial members are organizing a celebration of the 10th anniversary of the dedication of the monument 5-7 p.m. Friday near its location in the historic neighborhood park at 811 S. Broad St.
The open house also will serve as a commemoration of the 160th anniversary of end of the American Civil War.
The original Boy in Blue monument, which was dedicated in 1893, stood in the park for several years as a tribute to the more than 2,500 Minnesota soldiers who died while serving in the Civil War.
Organizers’ original intention for the replica was to bring back to Mankato a place to honor those who served in the war between the northern and southern states and offer a space to reflect on the nearly 720,000 Americans who died in battle or from disease and infections.
In the decade since the monument’s dedication, their focus has expanded. The group organized a campaign for a walkway of engraved pavers that surrounds the statue/fountain. Names of Civil War veterans are engraved in granite on the memorial pool base. The nonprofit also began collecting obituaries for the county’s more than 300 Civil War veterans.
An index of the obituaries is available to the public, thanks to the work of member Julie Schrader who researched and compiled the information. Schrader also co-authored a book on the history and re-creation of the memorial. Fellow member Bryce Stenzel is co-author.
Friends of the Boy in Blue Civil War Memorial also is seeking descendants of those Civil War veterans from Blue Earth County. For more information, email: contact@boyinblue.org or visit boyinblue.org.
Cake and lemonade will be served at the Friday gathering. If the weather is inclement, the event will move to Morson-Ario-Strand VFW, 1900 N. Riverfront Drive.