Stop for a second and try to remember the last time you stood in front of a hulking granite or iron monument and read the inscription engraved or cast in bronze on its face.
Take, for example, the tribute to Abednego Ramsdell. A Swampscott plaque mounted on a boulder near the corner of Cherry and Essex streets pays tribute to Ramsdell as “the first Lynn man to die in the American Revolution.”
The monument stands near where Ramsdell’s home was located on what was formerly known as the “old Essex turnpike.” The plaque informs the reader that Ramsdell was mortally wounded in the battle of Lexington and it states that the monument was erected by the Sons of the American Revolution on the 300th anniversary of the “settlement of the Third Plantation.”
Esteemed town historian Louis Gallo recounted Ramsdell’s fate in a 2013 article. Ramsdell had just returned from fishing near Phillips Beach on April 19, 1775 with friend Joe Richards when Richards’ father said riders galloping through Swampscott and other communities had sounded the alarm about the British marching on Lexington and Concord.
Ramsdell, who had brothers named Shadrack and Meshack, grabbed his musket and a bread loaf and headed off to join what amounted to a guerilla counteroffensive against the 18th century’s best-trained and equipped army.
Gallo writes how Ramsdell and Joe Richards joined up with other fighters near Arlington. British troops attacked the small force and Ramsdell was killed.
Gallo with his adept penchant for historical detail describes how Richards “overloaded” his weapon and it blew up in his hand. Undeterred, he used it to club a British soldier poised to plunge a bayonet into Ramdell’s body.
The date referenced on the Ramsdell monument — 1629 — and the “Plantation” reference roughly parallel the period in history and name used to describe Plimoth Plantation.
Plimoth Plantation museum operators in July announced a name change to the Plantation reference.
“We recognize that the commemoration of 400 years of shared history is complex and we embrace this moment as an opportunity for reflection and learning,” Museum operators said in a statement.
Their words encapsulate the inherent contradiction contained in all monuments. They are erected with durable materials to share the triumph or tragedy of one generation with future generations. Each generation views the past through the lens of the present and sees the faults, contradictions and evils defining people long dead.
For instance, Swampscott residents discussing plans for a Vietnam War memorial on the library grounds in 1983 reportedly discussed the merits of ” … a small, unobtrusive memorial for those residents who unfortunately were involved in an unpopular war.”
Just as beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, history is subject to revision by those alive to rewrite it.
Thor Jourgensen can be reached at [email protected].
