Vigo County Historical Society
Historical Treasure Article
Historic Treasure of the Week -
May 29, 1983
By Elizabeth Tuttle
Vigo County Historical Society
Memorial Day service focused on soldiers
The historical treasure of the week is a papier mache statue of a Civil War soldier in full uniform, holding his rifle upright. It was donated to the Vigo County Historical Society by Robert L. Smith and was from the estate of Ralph A. and Elizabeth A Smith.
The accompanying card states: “Statue of Civil War Soldier. It depicts Robert Letcher Smith who enlisted from Prairieton in 1861 and served with the 1st Kentucky Cavalry and an Ohio infantry unit. The statue was made by Lawrence Ball of Prairieton out of papier mache in the 1890’s.”
Robert Smith served as a drummer boy with the Northern Army. After the war he joined GAR Post 394 - Department of Indiana.
According to an article written several years ago, services were held every Memorial Day at the Prairieton Methodist Church. The statue was placed on a table and around it were placed vases of flowers representing the army, navy, infantry and cavalry. The four oldest daughters of veterans would have red, white and blue ribbons around their necks and shoulders as they placed the bases around the statue.
The statue is on display in the Military Room of the museum.
The Historical Museum of the Wabash Valley, 1411 S. Sixth St., is open from 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.