Correspondent photo / John Patrick Gatta Nelson Green of Southington places the replica sword he made in the bronze statue of the Civil War Monument during a rededication ceremony of the 135-year-old statue Saturday afternoon at the Trumbull County Veterans’ Memorial in Courthouse Square.

WARREN — After more than five decades of Warren’s Civil War monument missing a sword, Civil War reenactor Jim Rapone of Champion spearheaded a year-long effort to replace it.

With a replica sword forged, Rapone, along with other military veterans, Mayor Doug Franklin and likeminded history enthusiasts gathered for a rededication ceremony of the 135-year-old statue Saturday afternoon at the Trumbull County Veterans’ Memorial in Courthouse Square.

He said he hopes that this restoration will be a reminder for generations.

“It’s kind of sad that there were no children here. We need to educate young people about our history — good or bad — and we need to constantly remember and honor all those who wore the uniform of our country. I’m hoping that this will rekindle for people that drive by every day that this has been there 135 years.”

Dedicated on Sept. 23, 1890, with guest speaker President Rutherford B. Hayes in attendance, the statue depicts three military men. At the top of a long column a soldier holds a flag upright in his left hand with his right hand on his sword. On one side of the column a soldier stands with both hands holding the barrel of his rifle, while on the other side stands another soldier in a relaxed position, his left hand on his hip and, until Saturday afternoon’s ceremony, a hole where his right hand holds a sword.

Besides the name of battles that included Warren residents inscribed on the granite, a plaque on the monument states, “The citizens of Warren gratefully commemorate the patriotism and heroic bravery of the men who offered their lives for their country’s sake.”

Nearly 800,000 soldiers lost their lives during the conflict that ran from 1861 to 1865.

There are 300 monuments in Ohio dedicated to the 300,000 men in the Buckeye State who served.

A historical plaque was placed in 2012 to mark Camp Hutchins, a training base behind Warren G. Harding High School. Beginning in 1861, more than 800 soldiers trained for the 6th Ohio Volunteer Cavalry at the site. They went on to engage Confederate forces 50 times, including the battle of Gettysburg.

Besides Warren, there are five other Trumbull County cities who erected Civil War monuments — Bristol in 1863, Mesopotamia in 1867, Niles in 1882, Vienna in 1889 and Southington in 1910.

In his speech, Franklin spoke of his feelings on the rededication and its connection to the present.

“It’s not just an official duty. It’s deeply personal, and it’s also a sacred honor. When I look upon that monument, probably every single day, I don’t see cold stone as many people do. I see the faces of young men who once walked the same streets that we do today. They were just like us. They were plumbers, farmers, shopkeepers, but they answered the call that was greater than themselves,” Franklin said.

“Those men who marched from our town knew that a nation founded on the self-evident truth that all men are created equal could not survive, half slaves, half free. So, they didn’t just fight for a geographical union, they fought for a moral union, for the ideal of an America where the promise of liberty could truly begin to bloom for everyone.”

During the ceremony, military veterans were recognized for their service as was Nelson Green of Southington, who sculpted the sword, and Mark Knepper, another Civil War reenactor who offered an authentic sword to be modeled for the replacement.

Rapone, Green and Tom Veits of Southington, who acted as technical adviser, received certificates of appreciation from the Trumbull County Veterans Service Commission in downtown Warren for their efforts.

Dressed as Mary Todd Lincoln, Veterans Commission Director Cari Delgado read the invocation.

Kate Pfouts of the Trumbull County Historical Society gave a brief history of the monument. She pointed out that the dedication date of July 4, 1890, on it is incorrect because committee organizers were dissatisfied with the soldier’s rifle. They sent it back to Chicago to be reworked and it wasn’t returned until late August.

Similar to Rapone’s view, Pfouts read a quote from Lorado Taft, who sculpted the monument: “One thing that separates us from our Brother animals is the fact that we can send messages down through the generations. We can send greetings to a World Unborn.”

Working toward a solid future for the monument, Rapone said that in the spring of 2026, a compound will be used at the base of the statue where it separated.