Leeds Historical Society members gather at the base of the Leeds Peace Monument on Flag Day. Third from right is Walter Howard, direct descendent of the Howard brothers who donated the monument to the town in 1895.

Leeds residents celebrate Flag Day

LEEDS – Members and friends of the Leeds Historical Society gathered at the Leeds Community Church to celebrate Flag Day on June 14.

Laura Juraska, Leeds Historical Society president, led the group in a discussion of the origins and meaning of Flag Day and presented information on the society’s plan to erect a flag pole by the Peace Monument on Monument Hill and the efforts of the group to raise funds for the pole.

The monument was erected in 1895, a gift to the town from General O.O. Howard and Brigadier General Charles Howard in memory of their brother, the Rev. Rowland Bailey Howard.

The brothers were born in Leeds. Oliver Otis and Charles Henry served in the Civil War, while Rowland Bailey was active in the U.S. Christian Commission and the American Peace Society.

Before his death in 1891, Rowland Howard dreamed of creating a monument to the peace of 1865 which he hoped would be “not precisely to the peace cause in general, but in commemoration of the great consummation, bringing, as we trust, a lasting, perhaps an everlasting, peace to our country…”

On the approximately 30-foot high granite monument are slate plaques listing many of the 161 names of local men who served in the Civil War.

The monument is different from Maine Civil War monuments for a number of reasons. The monument was privately funded; it is located on one of the highest points in town, accessible only by a short hike; and it is dedicated to the peace that followed, not the war.

At the close of the meeting, Walter Howard, direct descendant of the Howard brothers, and his wife presented the Leeds Historical Society with a flag to fly next to the monument once enough money has been raised for a 35-foot flagpole. The group then adjourned to the North Road trail where it made the ascent to the top of Monument Hill to see the Leeds Peace Monument.