Woonsocket was the first town in Rhode Island to erect a soldier’s monument to honor the soldiers of the Civil War. Woonsocket residents were active participants in the Civil War. Thirty-nine residents died in the conflict. In 1870 a $5,000 monument, made of Westerly granite and Cumberland stone was designed by J.G. Batterson of Hartford. The monument has a large base and shaft, topped by the figure of a Civil War soldier. The names of those killed in battle and the battles in which they participated were listed on the monument.

There was much discussion about the site for the monument. The columns of the Woonsocket Patriot contained arguments of some townspeople, that to put the monument in Mechanics Square, the proposed location, would do injustice to the imposing monument. They argued that in years to come, buildings that would arise in the square would dwarf the monument and it would become hemmed in. Thus, its beauty would be lost to passersby.