17 tons of Vermont granite were quarried for this poignant statue of a woman laying a wreath on the sea. It stands amid the bustle of Hampton Beach, a silent reminder of lost mariners. The 12 foot statue of a mother rests on a six foot base and stares out to sea. Sculptor Alice Cosgrove selected the following inscription for the memorial from a 1714 poem -- Breathe soft, ye winds, Ye waves in silence rest. Cosgrove was commissioned in 1955 to create the work. She described the figure this way – “As she looks across the waters, she asks that the winds and waves be gentle, as a mother who covers her sleeping child at night.’ The memorial is also inscribed with the names of 248 local war dead. A highly detailed summary of the memorial is available on the Lane Library web site.
On Sunday, May 23, 1993, at 8:30 a.m., a rededication ceremony was held at the Memorial, when 42 additional names were added to the tablet, including Merchant Mariners whose names were not included in the original roster. Three of those additional names from Hampton were Norman M. Dearborn, USA, for whom Dearborn Avenue is named, Neil R. Underwood, Jr., AAF, for whom the Underwood Memorial Bridge at Hampton Beach is named and Richard T. Raymond, USMM, for Raymond Lane. Another notable name is Harlan Pease Jr., Medal of Honor, for whom the Pease International Tradeport is named.
HOURS: Public sculpture
ADMISSION: Free to see
ADDRESS: Hampton State Beach Hampton, NH 03802
DIRECTIONS: The statue is at the center of the beach facing the sea near the Hampton Beach Chamber of Commerce kiosk
LINKS:
The Complete Story,
