If you look directly in the middle of the town park, you will find the Civil War monument. On August 13th, 1915, this monument was dedicated to Belfast by William Muldoon, a Belfast native, who was a Greco-Roman wrestler and went undefeated. He is known for training John L. Sullivan and even fought Teddy Roosevelt.
The monument contains an obelisk-like, granite shaft and is topped off by a ball and an eagle. On all four sides of the monument there is a copper plate with raised lettering that includes all 218 of the names of soldiers who fought in the Civil War from Belfast or the surrounding area and the battles they fought in such as The Wilderness, Five Forks, Cold Harbor and Gettysburg. The monument also features William Muldoon's eldest brother, John Muldoon, who died fighting in the war. He was singled out as having captured the enemy’s flag and two prisoners while seriously injured at the battle of Front Royal in Virginia.
Each year the town gathers in the town park for a Memorial Day ceremony in remembrance for the sacrifices these men and women made.
-by Damien Rinker, Belfast Central School Class of 2024, read by Aran Heaney