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Hingham Cemetery Veterans’ Area
Hingham citizen and Revolutionary War hero General Benjamin Lincoln was laid to rest in 1810 in the town’s old burial ground, now called Hingham Cemetery.* Following this precedent, the town chose Hingham Cemetery as the site of its important Civil War monument. It is surrounding this obelisk high on a hill overlooking Hingham Harbor that you will find Hingham’s only burial space reserved exclusively for its town veterans and their families.
The 30 foot high Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument made of Quincy granite was erected in 1870 to honor those Hingham men who died in the Civil War. Seventy-six names were engraved around the base—names such as Hersey, Lincoln, Wilder, Fearing, and Cushing. Nearby stand monuments to some of Hingham’s other patriots: Peter Ourish, the town’s youngest volunteer to the Civil War who fought in 15 major battles before succumbing at the age of 19; Massachusetts Governor John A. Andrew, who inspired the creation of the “Glory” regiment of Negro soldiers during the Civil War; The Massachusetts Governor John D Long, who served both as a member of Congress and as U.S. Secretary of the Navy under McKinley.
The Hingham Cemetery Veterans’ Area was created in 1994 with the unanimous support of Hingham’s Selectmen and citizens. In accordance with the original deed given to the town, no burials around the monument had been permitted up to this time. Today, in order to maintain the integrity and spirit of the original design of uninterrupted open space, only government-issued flat bronze or gray granite markers are allowed.
Burial space here is reserved for eligible veterans and their spouses and dependent minor children who die after the veteran. (Our Superintendent can supply the necessary eligibility criteria.) Both cremations and full burials are offered.
* General Lincoln was second in command under George Washington and received the British sword of surrender from General Cornwallis at the end of the war. |