City Memorials

Perhaps the most colorful replacement to a ward honor roll, this memorial started as a stone monument sponsored by the 3rd and 4th Ward Republican Committees in 1967. In 1972, flags were added to the monument. According to a plaque at the site, there were at first ten flags: United States, New York State, City of Amsterdam, Italian, Irish, Lebanese, Lithuanian, Polish, Puerto Rican, and Polish. An eleventh pole and flag, Israeli, was added soon afterwards. Each foreign flag represented an Amsterdam ethnic community that gave its sons and daughters to the service and also helped raise funding for the memorial.

The nearby intersection of Edison Street and Vrooman Avenue has been designated [Anthony] Draus Drive and [Karol] Krajewski Corners after two of the primary organizers who created the monument.

The land for the monument was reserved from the sale of the former Vrooman Avenue School.

The South Side (5th Ward) was the first ward to create a temporary honor roll and the first to prepare for a permanent replacement. In July 1944, the Common Council voted to demolish a storehouse on Bridge Street and dedicate the land for a permanent 5th Ward Memorial. A door-to-door canvas commenced immediately. By 1946, a beautiful cobblestone monument had been hand crafted by resident William Nicholas. Plaques to honor all those who served would come later, as would the statue of a military chaplain which surmounts the monuments donated by Mr. and Mrs. Angelo Petitti, in memory of their son Private Anthony J. Petitti, who was killed in action while serving with the Army Air Forces in the Pacific, in May 1942. The park was officially dedicated on Sunday, July 28th, 1957: there was a large parade and the main speaker was Peter Dellesandro, of Latham, New York, Medal of Honor awardee.

Additional plaques would be added later to honor those who had served (or were killed in action) in Korea and Vietnam, and to those who helped build and maintain the park, particularly to Richard Dantini and long-time 5th Ward Alderman Angelo Sardonia, and one to Donato Persico (see below).

In front of the monument are two M1A1 75mm Pack Howitzers. These cannons were designed to be light enough to fly on gliders or dissembled for mule packages or airdrops. Both served in action in World War Two, but one is extremely rare, having been manufactured in 1935, the first year of casting at Watervliet Arsenal.

The land the park is built on was originally "Brockway's Basin" which was filled in after the Erie Canal was moved into the Mohawk River in 1915. It gave the 5th Ward one of its earlier names, Port Jackson - The first or last place after or before Schenectady that canal boats could turn in to load, unload, resupply, or refit.

In 2017, after decades of building and maintaining the memorial, the South Side Veterans Association turned their funds and the responsibility for the park over to the city.

This monument is a triptych (three panels) that includes a central inscription flanked by the emblems of the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, and U.S. Air Force. (There is no emblem for the U.S. Coast Guard, but in wartime, it is part of the U.S. Navy). The walls are stucco, which echoes the historic building slightly beyond it.

At the location of the original World War Two honor roll, the land was donated by Bigelow-Sanford in 1946. In 1963, a campaign started to restore the original honor roll which culminated in 1967. After that, an effort was pushed to create a permanent replacement which came to fruition in 1973.

Near the location of the original World War II honor roll, this monument was one of the last replacements erected, and is very simple: a simple granite rectangle on a rusticated base. It is inscribed simply "In Honor of all Eighth Ward Residents Who Served That Our Country May Forever Remain Free." It was dedicated on November 11, 1978.

Perhaps the most evocative, and unique (in at least Upstate New York), is this monument on the south side of Veterans' Field. It was originally conceived as a rather typical veteran memorial, with service emblems and a photoengraved stone with servicemen in contemporary uniforms (this stone was eventually sold by the manufacturer to the Town of Florida Veterans' Park, complete with quotes selected by the Amsterdam Veterans Commission).

Then, the City Historian suggested to the Amsterdam Veterans Commission to think smaller and more focused: to concentrate on what is the fundamental act that unites all veterans and separates them from civilians, and what is it that veterans would want to say to civilians to better understand them. The desire was for a monument to make people stop and think, not just look.

And so on the front is an amalgam of the enlisted and officer oaths of office, the one essential thing that binds all veterans together and forever separates them from other community members. We didn't know when we put up our right hand to swear in if we would be storming Normandy or Mosul, or processing mail-in Alabama, but we all promised that:

I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic; That I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; That I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; And that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter.

So Help Me God.

The reverse contains two sections of the Military Code of Conduct:

I am an American fighting in the forces which guard my country and our way of life. I am prepared to give my life in their defense.

I will never forget that I am American, fighting for freedom, responsible for my actions, and dedicated to the principles which made my country free. I will trust in my God and the United States of America.

Also on the reverse is the official seal of the City of Amsterdam and the inscription: "In Honor of All Amsterdam Veterans. Erected by the People of Amsterdam AD 2012, AUC 127." AUC is an ancient Roman abbreviation meaning in the year since the founding of the city. The monument was literally paid for the people, with alderman and members of the Amsterdam Veterans Commission collecting and washing out recyclables to fund it. Around the monument are pavers in memory of Amsterdam veterans purchased by their families. Landscaping was provided and is periodically renewed by the Amsterdam Home Depot.

Around 1918, the city acquired the former property of George Kelloggs at the intersection of West Main and Pearl Streets. Part of the property (the former stables) was converted into a new central fire station; another into a park known as Kelloggs'. This was renamed Bergen Park in 1921 in memory of James T. Bergen, First Lieutenant of Amsterdam's Company H, 2nd New York Infantry, who shipped out with the unit in 1917 - but not before marrying his girlfriend.

Bergen had fought with the company as part of an Australian corps in a British army in Belgium and stayed with them as they were transferred to Northern France to participate in the 1918 Somme Offensive. On the morning of October 17th, 1918, near St. Souplet, at approximately 5:20 am, he was leading another company of the 105th Infantry (as his regiment had been redesignated) when he was killed in the first German counter barrage during an attack towards the Le Selle River. He had just been promoted to Captain that day. In his pocket was a photograph of the son he would never see: John Junior, born September 2nd, 1918. American Legion Post 39 chose to name themselves after Captain Bergen when it was founded in 1919.

James T. Bergen was born in Amsterdam on October 25th, 1886. A student and parishioner of St. Mary's, after graduation he was an insurance agent. His body was not returned to Amsterdam until 1921: it lay in state at the Amsterdam Armory on April 10th, guarded overnight by members of Company H. The next morning, his coffin was transported by horse-drawn caisson to St. Mary's church in a full procession, and thence to burial at St. Mary's Cemetery by the same.

In 1936 and 1956, the Common Council considered converting the park to a parking lot. In 1956, it was proposed to name a portion on the east side of City Hall as Bergen Park. Neither proposal passed, faced with strong veteran opposition. In 1967, it was announced that the park would be sacrificed to the construction of a new Route 5 arterial. In 1974, the Common Council considered renaming another city park to Coessens - Bergen Park after the two parks lost to redevelopment, but it did not.

At some point afterward, the city designated a small strip of land near the intersection of Market and Main Streets as Bergen Park.

A small label on the current signage (about the size of a small mailing label) indicates that it was donated and erected by Jack and Lisa Putman of the Putman Insurance Company in memory of Harry D. Putman in 2006. Harry Putnam had served with James Bergen on the Mexican Border in 1916 protecting the U.S. border against Pancho Villa's raids. He later shipped out with him with the Amsterdam National Guard company for service in France in World War One. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross (the nation's second-highest award for battlefield valor) (as well as the British Military Medal) for rescuing comrades from under direct enemy fire in the same general action that cost Bergen his life. Later, he would command the American Legion post named for his friend, found a successful insurance firm that still exists today, and serve as a City Alderman.

The lobby contains a plaque containing the names of all those who served in the 27th Division (New York) in World War One. Future plans call for the creation of a military/veterans hallway with photos and art related to the history of Amsterdam. A marker is also slated to be installed in the upper stairwell to ABLE NAN BLACK 45 ALTERNATE: the telephone code name for the civilian Ground Observers Corps which manned an early warning station in the 1950s on the roof of City Hall before the radar defenses of North America were developed.

Originally Ross' Flat, site of circuses, bonfires, and one of the foulest murders in Amsterdam history, this site on the eastern edge of the city came into public hands around the time of the First World War and was designated East End Memorial Park after the war. During the 1920s and 1930s, the park was developed with a skating rink, baseball fields, a football field, a cinder track, and other amenities. In 1933, the park's name was changed to Mathew J. Coessens Memorial Park, named after the first Amsterdamian to die in combat in World War One; the designation was delayed while it appeared that the lower campus of Mohawks Mills might wish to acquire the property. The monument to Coessens was dedicated in April 1935, and a similar plaque and column honoring all the war dead were dedicated on Armistice Day, 1938. Payment for the two monuments came from the same war chest funds that built the West End World War Memorial.

Matthew Coessens was a popular and good student at St. Mary's Institute when he convinced his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Francis Coessens of 31 Morris Street, to allow him to enlist in the Regular Army one month after the United States entered World War One. At seventeen, he would be one of the youngest soldiers from Montgomery County. Before shipping out for Fort Ethan Allen, Vermont, for training, he was presented with his high school diploma, although the term had not yet ended.

He was eventually be assigned to Company A, 16th Infantry Regiment, in what would soon become known as the 1st Division ("The Big Red One"). After completing his initial training he joined his unit in France in November, 1917, just after the 16th became the first American infantry to engage the enemy. After participating in a series of defensive battles, in May 1918, the 16th was part of the Allied counteroffensive, capturing Cantigny, an action in which Coessens was cited for bravery. According to a letter sent to his parents by his company commander, on July 18th, 1918, Company A was southwest of Soissons when it "went over the top" from the trenches at 4:30 am. By 7 am, it had crossed a wheat field under heavy fire, taken the first German line, and were hung up getting through heavy wire entanglements which were covered by artillery and machine-gun fire. According to his captain, this is when Coessens was killed. Oddly, official records state that Coessens was severely wounded on the 18th, but list him as 'killed in action" on July 22nd. Either way, he was the first Amsterdamian to die in combat in the "Great War." Perhaps his commander was attempting to spare the family from the thought that Coessens had lingered for several days.

His highest honor was the words of his commander who stated that "he was a soldier the Army could ill-afford to lose," that he was up to any task, and that his mates found his character a relief from the unpleasantness of life in the trenches. Matthew Coessens was buried in France until he could be returned to his family in May of 1921. His funeral was at St. Mary's and his pallbearers were fellow Institute classmates who had also served in the World War.

Interestingly, the Coessens memorial includes the phrase "…And his companions who made the supreme sacrifice 1914 - 1918;" This appears to recognize Amsterdamians who served in Allied forces (e.g., Canadian) before America entered the war in 1917.

In 1967, eleven acres of the park were sold to create an industrial park; now, only the children's wading pool and the two memorial markers remain.

This plaque, mounted on the south-east abutment of the bridge carrying Florida Avenue over the South Chuctanunda Creek, commemorates where New York Militia forces, under command of Brigadier General Robert van Rensselaer, halted by the creek on the night of October 18th, 1780, to await moonrise before climbing Chuctanunda Hill in an attempt to engage British, Tory, and Native American forces raiding in the Schoharie Valley. The bronze marker was a donation from the Amsterdam Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and was unveiled in 1927.

In 1951, representatives of the city's veterans' organizations requested that the city dedicate a park to the Grand Army of the Republic. This organization of Union veterans, the forerunner of modern veterans' organizations, had been a powerful social and political influence for decades after the Civil War, but by the 1940s its membership was all but gone. The Common Council concurred and the south lawn of City Hall was so designated. A dedication ceremony was held on May 25, 1952: it rained so hard it had to be moved to the lobby of City Hall. On June 28th, 1953, a plaque recording the designation was unveiled on the brick wall.

Decades later, for reasons not now known, the plaque was removed and placed in Recreation Department storage. Before it was, city employee Anthony Legierro undertook to repaint and reseal it. Several years later the City Historian came across it and arranged that it be placed on a granite tablet. This was done in May of 2016.

The designation of GAR Park many have helped save City Hall. Back in 2010-11, a debate broke over whether it would be cheaper to move and rent or build a new location. The economics of this were never good, and they got a lot worse when it was pointed out that half the property could not be sold: parks are inalienable under the state constitution.

Amsterdam's 9-11 Memorial depicts a singular local aspect of that tragedy in a way that many other monuments don't, and those remembered include the service members who died that day. Beyond that, the flag displays include the U.S. Navy's first naval ensign, which was ordered to be flown on all U.S. warships after that date until the end of the Global War on Terrorism, and the traditional signal for naval hospitals and hospital ships which was changed from "I am standing by to assist" to the more proactive "I am steaming to assist" after the attack.

In addition, an old naval tradition dating back to the ancient Greeks was followed when the flag poles and memorial lamp posts were "stepped" (erected): gold coins from the U.S. Mint representing each of the stricken locations were placed underneath their bases.

In addition to the history displayed on the bridge, the proposed flag poles for the site include a provision for flying under the city flag the U.S. Navy signal flags for N (November) - U (Uniform) - G (Golf) and B (Bravo), the radio and visual signal call sign of the USS Amsterdam (CL-101), a light cruiser named for the city that served in the latter days of World War Two.

William Hasenfuss, Jr. was a bright young man interested in communications and aviation when he graduated from Wilbur Lynch High School in 1939. He was a natural candidate for the U.S. Army Air Corps, in which he enlisted shortly afterward. By December 1941, due to his experience and the rapid expansion of the service, he was to be promoted from Private First Class (or Technician 1st Class) to Staff Sergeant and to have a Christmas furlough home. The latter never happened.

On December 7th, 1941 the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Their first targets were the airfields that could counterattack their own fleet. One of these was Hickam Field, on which the biggest bomber was a B-24, the only one in Hawaii, on which Hasenfuss was conducting preflight checks. He became the victim of one of the first bombs of the first battle of the war in the Pacific: not just the first Amsterdamian, but also one of the first Americans to die.

In July 1942, the playground on Upper Locust Avenue formerly known as Patricks' Field was redesignated William E Hasenfuss, Jr. Memorial Field. Later in the war, when the USS Amsterdam (CL-101) was christened and launched, it was Sergeant Hasenfuss' mother who swung the champagne bottle.

In July 1942, the playground on Upper Locust Avenue formerly known as Patricks' Field was redesignated William E Hasenfuss, Jr. Memorial Field. Later in the war, when the USS Amsterdam (CL-101) was christened and launched, it was Sergeant Hasenfuss' mother who swung the champagne bottle.

In the early 1950s, a much-respected city recreation director, Alex Isabel, died unexpectedly and fundraising began to create a little league field on the northern portion of Hasenfuss' Field; this was soon accomplished. There is a story in that Mrs. Hasenfuss was approached by the organizers or city officials and asked if she minded if the field was renamed for Isabel: "After all, what did your son really do for the city?" She is said to have replied: "He died for it." Whether this is true or not, the Acting Recreation Director stated in 1953 that only the baseball diamond would be named Isabel field, and early references are to "Isabel Field at Hasenfuss Field."

When the memorial stone was emplaced is not yet known, but it describes him as a member of the U.S. Air Force, which did not exist until 1947.

There are three road intersections in the city named for veterans:

• Marnell Square (where Bridge Street meets the Mohawk Valley Gateway Overlook) is named for Technical Sergeant Richard Marnell, who won the Distinguished Service Cross (the second-highest U.S. decoration) for heroism in infantry action outside Nancy, France, in 1944.
• Petrone Square (Main and Church Streets) is named for the son of Italian immigrants who graduated from West Point, became an early Army rocket pioneer, and later launch director of NASA's Mercury, Gemini, and early Apollo Missions, and director of the later Apollo, and Sky Lab missions.
• Persico Square is named for Donato (Dan) Persico, the second to last man to be rescued from the sunken submarine USS Squalus in 1939. In the first use of a deep-sea rescue vessel, the lines snagged and he almost didn't make it up; after four failed attempts, the bell had to be hand-hauled up on its single remaining connector He later served in World War Two and Korea, retiring as a Master Chief Torpedo Man and returned to Amsterdam to marry his sweetheart.

On Saturday, June 25, 1972, despite rain and overcast, the flag was raised and the monument to Frank John Sirchia was dedicated and blessed on land that had been formerly the grounds of City Memorial Hospital which had been converted to a playground when the hospital had moved up to Route 30. A flight of jets from the 49th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron from Griffiss AFB flew over in a "missing man" formation.

In July 1969, Frank J. Sirchia AMVETS Post 32 requested the Common Council to rename the playground after the soldier who was commonly believed to be the first Amsterdamian to be killed on the ground in France after D-Day. The groundbreaking was in April 1971, and the design and construction were primarily done by the AMVETS. The original specifications were for a hexagon concrete basis, a rise of tapestry brick topped by the precast concrete base, topped by a tower of multi-color glass which would be lit internally at night. At what point this tower was replaced by the plain granite obelisk seen today is not yet known.

The plaque on the monument states that he was killed on June 6th, 1944 on Normandy Beach. This is not so. As a member of the second wave of the assaulting 29th Infantry Division, he hit Omaha beach around 11 at the height of the fighting on the most dangerous beach of D-Day. In the days that followed he and comrades of Company I, 3rd Battalion, 115th Infantry had pushed the beachhead out, capturing Isigny, crossing the inundated area and the Elle River, and were pushing on to the key city of St. Ló running up against the bocage (hedgerow) county and heavy German artillery and machine-gun fire from the same. It was here, on July 16th, that Sirchia was killed in action. The news of his death came after his parents had received a letter dated June 12th stating he was heavily engaged but well, but before the news was received of other Amsterdamians who died on D-Day or shortly thereafter.

Sirchia was born in Amsterdam on March 1, 1924, to Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Sirchia of 12 Bayard Street (just around the corner from the memorial). He attended public schools and was an honor graduate of Technical High School. Before he was inducted in March 1943, he was an employee of the Amsterdam Glove Company.

This bridge, on Fourth Avenue over the Chuctanunda Creek, was the first convenient (and safe) connection between Amsterdam's Polish and Park Hills neighborhoods. Originally built in 1931, it was rebuilt in 2004. At first, there were two bronze plaques at the southwest shoulder of the bridge: one that stated that it was dedicated in the name of Brigadier General Casmir Pulaski of the Continental Army and listed the construction participants, the second added detail to Pulaski's story. The second plaque was replaced by another giving the details of the rebuild in 2004, and the original went into storage at City Hall, where it is periodically displayed.

Pulaski was a Polish nobleman and revolutionary that fought against Russian domination of Poland. Forced into exile, he was recruited by Benjamin Franklin to serve American independence. Credited with saving George Washington's life in battle, he organized the Pulaski Legion and is considered the "Father of the United States Cavalry." He was mortally wounded leading a charge against the British near Savannah, Georgia, and died on October 11th, 1780. He is one of only eight foreigners granted honorary U.S. citizenship by Congress.

In 1920, Sanford and Sons carpet mills purchased fifty acres to create a recreational facility for its employees. Its successor, Bigelow-Sanford, continued this until it ceased manufacturing in Amsterdam in 1955. The land and improvements were thereafter donated to the city. It was redesignated as Veterans Field in 1971.

On the northern, higher rise of Veterans' Field (sometimes called Veterans' Park), is a monument dedicated to and listing in alphabetical order those who died in service during World War II. Its central panel calls for "Honor and Glory to Our Dead Heroes." Two flanking panes list the dead. The basic monument is polished black marble (with rusticated edges) and polished granite inserts.

In front of the memorial is a 57mm M1 anti-tank gun, built-in 1943 based on a British design, and used in all theaters of World War Two by the U.S. Army.

On the south side of the park is Amsterdam Veterans Memorial (see above)

In addition to the several Liberty Loans that were raised in the city during the First World War, citizens were asked to contribute to a "war chest" to provide comfort to American and Allied soldiers. At the end of the war, there was enough of a surplus to build this park as well as the East End Memorial Park (later, Coessens Park).

It was dedicated on November 29th, 1925. Rising from a granite exedra base with reliefs of flames, eagles' heads, and a wreath, with a bronze plaque, listed all from Amsterdam who served in the war. A life-sized infantryman sculpted by David Cunningham Lithgow surmounts the monuments.

Park lighting was added in the later 1920s and additional plaques in the 1940s. Well into the 2000s additional names were being added to the memorial. Also in the early 21st Century a fountain and larger flagpole were added.

In 1930, the name of the park was officially changed to "World War Memorial Park" but this next caught on with the public. In 1934, to the great embarrassment of the community, someone took down the American Flag and ran up the red banner of revolution. In 1970, arterial construction slated its destruction but public outcry saved it.

An important feature of the original park was a captured German cannon, locally called "Big Bertha:" this was most certainly not. Dicke Bertha was a much larger cannon, whose specifications exceeded even local exaggeration: only two were removed to the United States at the end of the war and both have been accounted for. It was most likely a long barrel 15cm schwere Feldhaubitze (lg 15cm sFH 13), the standard heavy gun of the German field artillery. When it was proposed to scrap it in World War II to "send it back to its creators in bombs and bullets," many veterans objected but the mayor and director of civil defense prevailed. It was sent to a Cherry Street scrapyard where it was chopped up; its ultimate destination is unknown.

At the request of the city, in 1950, the U.S. Army supplied a replacement. This cannon, commonly misidentified as a French 75mm, is actually a U.S. Army 3-inch Field Gun, M1903/5. Similar in appearance and purpose to the French 75, these were left behind in the overseas movements of World War One to standardize equipment and ammunition. Ironically, Amsterdam received a much rarer piece: over 3,500 15cm sFH 13 were built, but only 350 M1903/5. Of the latter, only a handful survives, most in indoor museums: Amsterdam's is one of the only surviving outdoor examples, and its appearance is a testament to the efforts of the city's Recreation and Public Works staff. It is scheduled to be repainted with its original colors in the near future.

Private John J. Wyszomirski of Jay Street, Amsterdam (sometimes also given as January Wyszomeirski) was originally a member of Company H (Amsterdam) 105th Infantry, 27th Division, but was serving with Company M, when he died in France on October 31, 1918.

After training at Camp Wadsworth, Spartanburg, South Carolina, his unit deployed to France in May 1918. One of only two American divisions released to Allied control, it served in an Australian Corps in a British army in Belgium, first in defensive sectors, and then in the Ypres-Lys offensive. Transferred to Northern France, it fought in the Somme Offensive to break the Hindenburg Line at Bony, St. Quentin Tunnel, and Quillemont Farm. It later fought at the Le Selle and St. Maurice Rivers on the line of advance to Cambrai. Two days after he was mortally wounded his unit was pulled out of the line and did not return to battle before hostilities ceased.

The post will celebrate the 100th anniversary of its founding in 2019. Although only open to the general public on certain occasions, the "new headquarters" (1975) contains items regarding Wyszomirski and the post's first one hundred years.

Located in the south-central section of the cemetery is an elevated plateau in the middle of which is a column topped by an American eagle and erected in 1872. The northern face of the base is inscribed in memory of those who died in the "War of the Rebellion," The other three faces list battles regiments with a high proportion of Amsterdamians fought. Most are immediately recognizable to any student of American history: West Point (Virginia), Fredericksburg, and Spotsylvania. One, Olustree (Florida), little known today, was of the bitterest one-day battles of the war, in which the 115th New York State Volunteer Infantry (NYSVI) fought. The other wasn't actually a battle: Andersonville, the notorious Confederate prison, represents the plight of Amsterdamian who were POWs. Noticeably absent is any mention of Harpers Ferry, at which the brand-new 115th was surrendered as part of a Union army through no fault of its own. Paroled, it was sidelined as non-combatants until released from same. It thereafter fought with a vengeance to prove its valor, becoming known as the "Iron Hearted Regiment." It became a "flying squad" of the Union armies, sent wherever the action was difficult or unusual.

Aligned with the northern face of the base are stairs leading up to the rise. At the other cardinal points are stones that memorialize service members buried elsewhere or whose bodies were not recovered. There are two circles of stones around the monument: in the inner circle are soldiers who died in the war, the outer, those who died after the war but wanted to be buried with their comrades. On line with the axis of the northern base and stairs in the inner circle is the headstone of Captain Elisha S Young, commander, Company D, 32nd NYSVI, who was killed in action at West Point, Virginia in 1862: the first Amsterdamian officer to die in the war. The first Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) post of Union veterans formed in Amsterdam was named for him after many of its founders had been involved in creating the memorial.

In the north-central section of the cemetery is a very unusual appearing Civil War cannon next to a pile of cannon balls and a flagpole.

Soon after the creation of the cemetery in 1899, local Civil War veterans determined to create a monument to their comrades as they had done previously at Green Hill Cemetery. They secured a cannon from the Washington Navy Yard, and the money to ship it was raised by a series of travelogues given by Reverend Putnam Cady, of the Emmanuel Presbyterian Church on Guy Park Avenue. These were not just normal travel talks: Cady was a pioneer of archeology in the Holy Land, and one of only a few Americans elected to the Royal Geographical Society.

The monument was dedicated on October 16, 1906.

The cannon began life as an 11-inch Dahlgren spherical shell gun; after the war, the navy needed to reequip with rifled shell guns, but there was limited funding available, so some 11-inch guns were converted to 8-inch rifles. These resemble their original designs but are not. Very few modified guns still exist. This one sailed twice around the world before coming to rest here. The breach has a red ring painted around it and the spherical shells piled nearby (actually for the original, not a modified gun) are painted in an early "idiot-proofing" measure: See red, load red.

Also on the south side of Green Hill cemetery, but further east is a grouping of headstones of soldiers and sailors who served in the Spanish American War. It is marked by a flagpole flying an American flag. In the center is what appears to be an oversized machine gun, and in some ways it actually is. It's a U.S. Navy Mark VI one-pounder rapid-fire gun, designed by the inventor of the modern machine gun, Hiram Maxim, and built circa 1895, by Vickers, Sons, and Maxim. It could fire 100 37mm rounds per minute to a range of 4,500 yards. When it was placed there is uncertain, but probably not earlier than 1910, when the U.S. Navy began replacing these with more modern ordnance.

It's possible the donor was Stephan Sanford, the mill owner, in conjunction with the local post of the United Spanish War Veterans which named its organization in honor of him. Although Sanford had left West Point to help run the family mill and never was commissioned, he was called "General" around the city and much regarded by Spanish American War veterans.

Amsterdam's "castle" sits on a hill on the South Side, visible from many parts of the city. Built-in 1894, it was the home of what was originally called the 46th Separate Company of the National Guard of the State of New York. Situated and fortified so that its volunteer members could rapidly assemble, arm, and deploy to protect the Mohawk River bridge and rail yards in case of social or labor unrest. This was never needed, but the command (under several changing designations) was called out numerous times for state service elsewhere, and for federal service in the Spanish American War, on the Mexican Border (1916), and in both world wars. Military activities continued there into the 1980s when force reductions made the structure surplus. After two sales as a private residence, it is now being rebuilt as a high scale "destination event" bed and breakfast. It is anticipated that the lobby and certain rooms will retain their original ornate character.

The armory is listed on the National and State Registers of Historic Places.

53 Church Street was once the circa 1860s home of a prominent city businessman and his physician brother. Since 1961, it has been the headquarters of PAV, established by returning Polish-American veterans in 1946. Once, just one of over twenty veterans' organizations in the city: now it is one of only two.

While normally only open to members and guests, several times a year the public is invited in and it's possible to see over seventy years of veteran activities and memorabilia. Chief of these is the Lista Honorowa, (Honor Roll) hand-painted on wood for the Filius Polonais (Sons of Poland) in 1919. Always visible out front of the post is a stone honoring the Henry Schotte Post 118 of the Military Order of the Purple Heart (MOPH), which met for many years at the PAV.

The Henry F. Schotte Chapter was founded locally before the Second World War, although the national organization was not chartered by Congress until 1958. Henry F. Schotte was the son of prominent Amsterdam banker, contractor, and businessman Kuno B. Schotte (1872-1954) (President, Grieme Lumber and Supply, Green Hill Cemetery, Chamber of Commerce; contractor for the YMCA, Children's Home, Home for Elderly Ladies, and many mill buildings; and Vice President, Montgomery County Trust Company bank). Private Henry Schotte, a first-generation German-American, was killed in action on July 20th, 1918, while assigned to Company K, 18th Infantry, 1st Division, near Chateau Thierry, in one of the first American ground combats of the First World War.

Schotte grew up on Minaville Road and was living with his bride in a new house on Grieme Avenue when he volunteered for the Regular Army in order to see action as soon as possible. At the time of his death, he was believed to have been killed on the same day and in the same battle as Matthew Coessens, for whom Coessens Park was named (Coessens actually died two days earlier). Schotte is buried in Green Hill Cemetery.

The "Liberty" stained glass window (sometimes called the "Freedom" window) was dedicated and blessed on Sunday, June 10th, 1945, in honor of those who were serving or missing or killed, followed by a solemn mass. Many military, veteran, and religious organizations participated, and a drum and bugle sounded off during the elevating of the chalices.

In the southeastern portion of the cemetery, there is a flagpole and two stones on one base, one in English, and one in Polish, dedicated to the dead of World War One. In front is a semicircle of headstones, including that of John Wyszomirski, for whom American Legion Post 701 is named. The stones were dedicated May 30, 1928, by the Saint Michaels' Society (St. Michael's Roman Catholic Church) On the same base is also a salute or signal gun, sometimes also called a yacht cannon. It was designed with a top-loading breech that accepts small-caliber blank charges and was fired by a lanyard pull on a trigger.

When the local Ukrainian social organization shuttered its club house operation, one of its leaders designed and invested in the placement of three large tablets in Saint Nicholas' Ukrainian Catholic Cemetery. The third stone honors Ukrainian-American veterans. All were erected and dedicated in 2011.

Now the city's middle school, formerly its high school. Two memorial stones are placed by a tree and a flag near the stairway leading up the hill to the front entrance. One states that the Student Council of the Class of 1968 dedicated the grounds to those who gave their lives while serving in Vietnam. The other lists the names of fourteen alumni who were killed in action during the years 1966 - 1969.