Article originally Published 10/5/11 by NeighborNewspapers.com.
STANDING FOR PEACE
Local military group celebrates historic peaceful mission
By Gloria Love
On Oct. 10, 1911, after Atlanta was razed, after the war and the restoration, more than 50,000 took to Peachtree Street to celebrate a mission of peace.
Confederate and Union soldiers marched side-by-side to Piedmont Park to dedicate a new statue, the Peace Monument, said Lt Col. John Green, of Stone Mountain, a member of the Buckhead-based Old Guard Battalion of the Gate City Guard.
From left, John E. Green and Houston Spencer prepare to rededicate the Peace Monument for its 100th anniversary in Piedmont Park.
Photo Credit
Staff/Nathan Self
The statue was commissioned in honor of the original Gate City Guard, which toured the North in 1879 as part of a “Friendly Invasion.”
Founded as a private militia in 1854 to help the city’s fledgling police force suppress unruliness on Decatur Street, the guard fought in the Civil War and was placed under the governor’s control after the restoration, said Col. Houston Spencer Jr., of Marietta, commander of the Centennial Legion of Historical Military Commands.
The guard’s northern invasion was well received, he said.
An 1879 report from the time in the Baltimore Sun reads: “Never before, perhaps, in the history of Baltimore, was a more cordial and general welcome extended by its citizens to a visiting organization than that which received the Gate City Guard of Atlanta yesterday. The throng filled the station and the neighboring streets, all eager to get a glimpse of the gallant Georgians.”
“That’s what they were going up there for, to bring the nation back together,” Green said. “And they did.”
The historical military group will rededicate the Peace Monument Oct. 15 in memory of the original guard, as it has done every year for the last 100 years.
Green said the group hopes the event will help educate residents about the guard’s contributions.
“It’s history and it’s a shame the kids today are not taught history the way they should be,” he said.
Members from the historic units present at the original dedication are scheduled to attend, Spencer said.
The group has planned a 2 p.m. parade followed by a military ceremony in front of the monument located at the 14th Street entrance of Piedmont Park.
The day also will include speeches and the dedication of wreathes from other historical societies.
Parking and a shuttle service will be provided by Peachtree Christian Church beginning at noon.
If you go
What: Peace Monument rededication
Where: Piedmont Park, 1071 Piedmont Ave., Midtown
When: Oct. 15 at 2 p.m.
Cost: Free