#2. Civil War Monument

From the Police Gazette Boxing Corporation, cross Main Street and enter park at the crosswalk, walk diagonally towards center (notice other memorials in park).

On August 20, 1915, this monument to the Civil War was dedicated to the town of Belfast by William Muldoon (1852 - 1933). Muldoon, a native of Belfast, was an undefeated Greco-Roman wrestling champion of the day, and a renowned trainer, one who eventually whipped some fairly famous people into shape—Teddy Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and Harry Houdini among them. In 1920 he was named the first chairman of the New York State Athletic Commission.

The monument itself contains a tall granite obelisk-like shaft topped by a ball and an eagle with spread wings. The four sides of the shaft are engraved with the names of four Civil War battles sites where Belfast soldiers took an active part: Wilderness, Five Forks, Cold Harbor, and Gettysburg. Above are bronze tablets on a the four sides on which are raised letters setting forth the names of all the soldiers from this town and vicinity, living and dead. One of the names includes William Muldoon's eldest brother, John Muldoon (1841 - 1873). John Muldoon served valiantly in regiment during the Civil War. He has been singled out as having captured an enemy flag and two prisoners while seriously wounded at the Battle of Royal Front, Virginia. John subsequently died of his wound in 1873.

Click here to view a list of Civil War veterans: https://www.alleganyhistory.org/images/stories/Research/Research_Pdf/Veterans_Pdf/belfast2_pdf.pdf

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