NH Park Honors a Veteran

Today, November 11, is Veterans Day, a U.S. state and federal holiday that commemorates the 11th hour, 11th day, 11th month in 1918 that ended WW I. (This day has been posted about before, but worth a repost with new info.)

If you, or someone you know, has been in the military, Thanks for your service. In our family, that includes Navy veterans Patrick (Grenville), and his CT uncle and late father and uncle, also my late uncles who both served in the Merchant Marines. (My late parents contributed to WW II war efforts as civilians working in a naval shipyard in Washington State and a NJ aircraft factory as did many others then.)

Veterans Day recognizes all veterans, living and deceased. It differs from Memorial Day (celebrated the last Monday in May) which pays tribute to those who died in military service. In years past, it was often marked by parades and church services. This year, many (if not all) public observances have been cancelled. In many places, the American flag will be flown at half mast with a period of silence at 11 a.m. lasting 2 minutes. At exactly 11 a.m., the annual wreath-laying ceremony is held at the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National Cemetery, the resting place of over 400,000, most of whom served in the military. (A similar ceremony is held on Memorial Day.)

Veterans Day does not have an apostrophe although it's sometimes written as Veteran's Day or Veterans' Day. However, it's not a day that belongs to one veteran or multiple veterans. As a day that commemorates veterans of all wars, no apostrophe is needed. 

Some Background  . . .

The observance was originally called Armistice Day established in November 1919 under President Woodrow Wilson on the first anniversary of the end of WWI. In 1926, Congress passed a resolution for an annual observance; it became a national holiday starting in 1938. It became Veterans Day in 1954 after lobbying by veterans' service organization led to President Dwight Eisenhower signing legislation.

In 1968, Congress signed the Uniform Holiday Bill to ensure that a few federal holidays, Veterans Day included, would be celebrated on a Monday; however, many wanted to celebrate on November 11. In 1975, President Gerald Ford signed a bill returning the annual observance to its original date starting in 1978.

Great Britain, France, Australia, and Canada also commemorate WWI and WWII veterans of on or near November 11. Canada and Australia celebrate Remembrance Day, and Britain has Remembrance Sunday (second Sunday in November). 

The NH Veteran Connection . . .

On a fall day trip a few weeks ago, we visited Stark Park, a 30-acre city park located on the north side of Manchester, NH. It was once part of the larger farm property of General John Stark, New England’s famous American Revolutionary War hero. 

It's built around the original Stark Burial Plot on land that was once part of the Stark family farm and is the resting place of Stark, his wife, Molly, and some of their children. The headstones are set aside in a plot surrounded by a wrought iron fence. The fence was closed the day we visited.

The Stark family owned about 800 acres of land in what’s now northern Manchester. John Stark was buried here after his 1822 death, and the family erected a memorial obelisk in 1829 (shown below). Stark's great-grandchildren deeded a two-acre area surrounding the family cemetery to the city in 1876.

Public interest grew for a larger park to memorialize Stark. In 1891, the family gave another 28 acres to the city. The park was formally dedicated in June 1893 as one of the city’s first public parks and is now one of the oldest parks. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006.

The original design was a typical Victorian-era park, with winding lanes, and a mix of woodlands, lawns, and gardens. A colonnade of elm trees that lined borders of the park were lost to Dutch Elm disease in the 20th century. 

The centerpiece of the park is a large 1948 bronze equestrian bronze statue created by sculptor Richard Henry Recchia, a New England (MA) native. 

John Stark was born in Derry, NH, in 1728. He became a distinguished soldier and leader in the Revolutionary War and lead NH regiments in the famed Battle of Bunker Hill. Stark was said to ignore the usual chain of command and to point out problems, much to his superiors chagrin. This may have been why he didn't receive a promotion in the Continental Army. Stark resigned and retired with his wife to life on their farm. He didn't stay retired from the military.

In 1777, General Stark was given independent command of NH’s forces at the Battle of Bennington with orders to raise forces for the annoyance of the enemy. His troops stopped British supplies and troops from connecting with the main army at Saratoga, NY, which led to an American victory later that year. Bennington proved not only to be the turning point of the Saratoga campaign, but the turning point of the war. 

In 1898, Stark was invited to a reunion of Battle of Bennington veterans. Feeling too ill to attend, he sent a letter in reply, noting that he’d never forget troops he had commanded in Bennington. After the letter, Stark included a brief passage to be read as a toast to the veterans: Live free or die. Death is not the greatest of evils. In 1945, those words became NH’s official state motto as the end of WW II neared.

The now infamous words are inscribed on one side of the bronze statue. The other ↑ side contains a quite different phrase. After his (second) military retirement, Stark lived the remainder of his life in Derryfield (now Manchester) until his death at age 93.

In addition to the family burial plot and bronze statue, the park also has several models of cannons and a collection of cannonballs. I'm not sure of the origin and significance of these as there wasn't a sign or plaque nearby.

While this park is one of several NH memorials honoring General John Stark, his wife Molly has been equally honored, although now in Stark Park. The mother of 11 children, she nursed and treated soldiers under her husband's command, opening their home as a hospital. Molly has two parks named after her, one in Wilmington, VT, another in Stark County, OH. The Molly Stark Trail, (Route 9), which crosses southern VT is thought to be the route used by General Stark on his victory march home from the Battle of Bennington. Both have a DAR Chapter named after them: John in OH and Molly in NH. And, in Wilmington VT, there's a statue of Molly holding a gun and a baby.

(That last paragraph digressed from this post on veterans, but women who support those in the military are just as significant, with or without any memorials.)