With the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, many young men of Bristol Township enlisted after President Abraham Lincoln called for defense of the Union. Losses at the Battle of Shiloh in Tennessee in April 1862, along with deaths at the Battle of Perryville in Kentucky, the Battle of Cedar Mountain in Virginia, and other theaters of war later that year, deeply affected the community. In response, local citizens raised funds for a lasting public memorial in the Town Park, and in 1863 the town square was transformed by a marble monument set on an elevated mound at its center. Designed by local artist Frank J. Hammond and manufactured by Myers, Uhl & Company of Cleveland at a cost of $500, it bears the names and service records of Bristol Township's fallen, displays symbols of the various military branches, carries the foundation inscription "Defenders of the Union from Bristol, Ohio," and honors the sacrifices of fourteen citizens: Jacob A. Kagy, Charles A. Brooks, James Sage, Jr., Charles Munson, Truman E. Chaffee, Calvert C. Miller, Henry M. Collar, George H. Crozier, James B. Thorp, Jacob Ryan, Almanza H. Chaffee, James D. Hottel, Lester F. Sprague, and George F. Sprague.
