Battery A Chicago Light Artillery
The Battery A Chicago Light Artillery Monument is located in the primary Civil War section near the Our Heroes: Civil War Monument. Installed in 1874, the monument was dedicated on Decoration Day of that year.
Chicago Tribune, May 31, 1874
COMPANY “A.”
After appropriate music by the band, the conductors of the exercises moved toward the beautiful monument, finished a week ago, which has been erected to the memory of “Company A,” and which the Rev. Dr. Ryder proceeded to dedicate. The monument is a solid sandstone, hexagonal structure, consisting of a draped field-piece surmounting an exceedingly solid base, bearing the names of the members of the company, as follows…
In his opening remarks, the Rev. Dr. Ryder stated that the company, the deceased members of which the monument was intended to commemorate, embraced the first soldiers who left Chicago to take part in the War of the Rebellion. The company was formed by Capt. James Smith, and left for the front on the 21st of April, 1861. In the will of the late Capt. Smith, a bequest of $2,000 was made for the purpose of erecting the monument. After making these remarks, Dr. Ryder made a dedicatory prayer.
This closed the services at Rosehill.
Like many of the other Chicago batteries, Battery A served in the western theater. Organized under Capt. Smith, Battery A was part of the first body of troops to leave Chicago after the firing on Fort Sumter in 1861.
The monument cost just over $3,000 dollars, $2,000 of which was willed to the fund by Capt. Smith. The remaining $1,000 was raised by subscription.
