Greensburg statue of Civil War soldier honors veterans of multiple conflicts

He’s the lone man standing at one of downtown Greensburg’s busiest intersections.

A statue of a Civil War soldier, perched atop a tall pedestal, now gazes out over construction activity spread across the remainder of the Courthouse Square space at Main and Otterman streets.

Situated on solid ground close to the oldest section of the Westmoreland County Courthouse, the base of the statue is surrounded by a protective barricade as heavy machinery is employed nearby to reconstruct the deteriorating parking garage that lies beneath the open corner between the courthouse proper and its more modern annex.

“We’re not doing anything to the statue other than protecting it,” said Greg McCloskey, the county’s public works director. “It’s on a piece of ground that’s not part of the parking garage. We kept it on the original property that had no structure underneath it.”

The statue has gone through a series of maneuvers to arrive at its current prominent spot.

According to a program from its original dedication on Memorial Day 1925, the statue initially was intended as a Civil War monument “in memory of the defenders of the Union.” Presented by the Westmoreland County Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Veteran Association, it was placed farther north and uphill along Main Street from the courthouse, on the grounds of what was then Greensburg’s city hall.

The ceremony was accompanied by a large parade, with marching units forming in a half dozen locations.

The statue “had cannons around it; it was really an impressive thing,” said Greensburg attorney Lou DeRose, who spearheaded the monument’s later move to the courthouse.

“It was a one-of-a-kind casting,” Matt Zamosky, the county’s Veterans Affairs director, said of the statue.

As initial fundraising and planning for the statue dragged on through the early years of the 20th century, DeRose said, the monument’s scope expanded to include the range of other wars in which Americans had fought.

“By then, we’d had the Spanish American War and World War I,” he said. “And it was back-dated to include the Mexican War, the War of 1812 and the Revolutionary War.”

Those conflicts and their associated beginning dates have been inscribed on the base of the monument, with later wars added through 1990’s Desert Storm.

The soldier statue remained on watch at its original post for close to 90 years, even as city hall was relocated farther south on Main Street and was replaced by The Westmoreland Museum of American Art.

But the soldier got his marching orders in 2013 when the museum embarked on a $30 million renovation and expansion.

DeRose, though not a veteran, has military ties in his family and was concerned about the fate of the monument. “I started making calls, and we formed a committee,” he said. “We were looking where to put it, and the overwhelming sentiment was at the courthouse.”

After a short period in storage, the 6-foot statue — without its pedestal — was displayed in the courthouse lobby while donations were sought to help fund its restoration and erection at Courthouse Square. Those donations included a $28,000 anonymous contribution.

Once restoration was completed by Jeannette’s Raimondo Restoration, the 20-ton monument was dedicated in its current location on Memorial Day 2015.

“I’m glad it’s where the county said to put it,” DeRose said. “Otherwise, it might have ended up on somebody’s sedan roof.

“I hope that it will be there for years to come at the improved plaza.”

McCloskey said the garage reconstruction is scheduled for completion in six months.