Kensington Congregational Church Working to Re-Dedicate Civil War Monument

The Kensington Congregational Church is well underway in its refurbishing of the Civil War Monument that sits on church property.

The Monument was the first permanent Civil War monument and is still the oldest permanent Civil War monument in the United States. 

On Sunday, July 28 at noon, the monument will be re-dedicated to mark its 150th anniversary.

"It was refurbished a couple of years ago and has been preserved and cleaned so that the writing is very clear," said dedication chairman Mike Cavaliere. "We are in the process of making a memorial garden around the monument. There will also be pavers and bricks around it. People will be asked if they want to buy bricks to be installed with their name or a loved ones name on it. The old fencing will be back in place where it was and hopefully it will all be done by July 28." 

The re-dedication will be highlighted by Civil War Re-enactors, the Berlin VFW and Berlin American Legion, Connecticut National Guard Color Guard, singing groups Ringtones & Traveling Prayer, Civil War Historian Professor Matthew Warshauer, Charles Rathbone, descendant of N.A. Moore (designer of the monument) and Jamie Simpson Longley (descendant of Elijah Bacon, Civil War Congressional Medal of Honor recipient.)   

The monument was first dedicated on July 28 in 1863. Nelson Augustus Moore, a local artist and church member, designed it

The ceremony includes Civil War re-enactors, Berlin VFW and Berlin American Legion and the Governor’s Foot Guard Color Guard. Speakers will include: Rev. Olivia Robinson, Kensington Congregational Church minister, Professor Mathew Warshauer, of Central Connecticut State University and Charles Rathbone, descendant the monument’s designer, Nelson Augustus Moore.

There will be musical selections by The Ringtones and Traveling Prayer. There will be a wreath laying and 21-gun salute to the fallen Civil War soldiers.

"We have the added honor that this has been listed as a national historic site and we are now in the National Historic Registry," Cavaliere said. "We will have a time where we hang a plague at some point, maybe even on that day.

"We have invited many members of political office, from the Governor to members of U.S. Congress to our local politicians. We have asked the Mayor and Town Council to attend as well. We have not heard from anyone, however. They tend to let you know right before the actual event so we're just waiting for them to RSVP. We hope the community turns out for the ceremony. We drive by it every day but we really don't know what a historic site this is. We hope this gives the residents of Berlin another reason to be proud of the town."