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New sign reveals true Civil War story behind Central Cemetery |
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Written by DeadGirl
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Wednesday, 22 September 2004 |
By Susan L. Sherwood/ Staff Writer
September 22, 2004
A new sign was recently installed at Weston's Central Cemetery to commemorate the historical importance of the site.
The installation ceremony, held on Thursday, Sept. 16, was attended by George Amadon, the veterans' graves office; William O'Neil, head of the Park and Cemetery Department; Town Manager Carl Valente; and representatives from the Golden Ball Tavern and Weston Historical Society Museum.
The tale of the new marker began with Amadon's discovery of the weather-beaten original sign at the Historical Society Museum. About 12 by 18 inches in size, the sign told an interesting story about the two stately rhododendrons that stand on either side of the entrance to the cemetery.
According to Amadon, it said: "that a Reverend C.H. Topliff had brought them back from one of his trips down south to collect the remains of soldiers from Weston who had been killed in the Civil War and then planted them in memory of those men."
Looking into the story, Amadon discovered that Topliff had served as the minister of the First Baptist Church of Weston from 1853 to 1867 and played a prominent role in encouraging men to volunteer for the Union Army.
When one of those men, Ralph A. Jones, became the first Civil War soldier from Weston to be killed - he died at Antietam at the age of only 17 - Topliff went to the battlefield to identify and bring back the body of this young man.
In all, Topliff made three such trips to Confederate battlefields and returned with the remains of 10 fallen soldiers, for which he received $125 each from the town for the returned remains, Amadon says. And in 1864, he brought back the two Carolina rhododendrons that now stand silent witness to the ultimate sacrifice of these Weston men.
After Amadon discovered the old sign and investigated the history behind it, he enlisted the services of Weston's Country Garden Club to verify the plants' age and authenticity. He also approached Town Manager Carl Valente about having a new sign made to replace the weather-beaten original. Valente responded enthusiastically and, in turn, asked O'Neil to be responsible for the project.
O'Neil reproduced the white wooden sign, with hand-written black lettering, as closely as possible.
Amadon, O'Neil, and Valente all delivered short remarks at the ceremony. Topliff's church was represented by a Boy Scout troop. The observance ended with a bugler, who played "Taps."
Amadon, 86, a decorated veteran of World War II, is gratified that the new sign is now in place.
"My aim lately has been to bring the living history of the past to the present residents of the town. The actual meeting at the sign and the installation ceremony became a remembrance of the Weston men who were lost in the Civil War," he said.
http://www2.townonline.com/weston/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=89654 |
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