Phoenixville Borough Council voted unanimously Tuesday to endorse a plan to revise the Civil War memorial at the southwest corner of Reeves Park, allowing a community group to begin fundraising for new artwork and educational resources at the monument.
The project is led by Diversity in Action — Phoenixville, which plans to replace a painting by Joseph Hennesy inside the memorial with revised artwork chosen through a juried competition. The group also aims to install interpretive signage, native plantings, and a sitting bench, and add digital educational materials.
Tim Dougherty, a board member of the group, presented the proposal during the August 11 borough council meeting. He said the memorial was erected in 1963 for the Civil War centennial with broad community participation and is anchored by the Griffen Gun, which was donated by the Phoenix Iron Company.
Dougherty said the Hennessy painting depicts a Union soldier and a Confederate soldier as brothers, reflecting a reconciliation narrative encouraged by the federal government at the time. He said that framing omits slavery as a root cause of the war and emancipation as a key outcome, and it leaves out Black Phoenixville residents who served in the Union Army. Black Civil War veterans are buried in the nearby Morris Cemetery, he mentioned.
"How might our monument represent all of us, not just some of us?" Dougherty said, describing Diversity in Action's goals.
