Wise Monument Rededication Ceremony: Sunday, November 9th

November 3, 2008 – 5:01 pm

On Sunday, November 9th, 2008 at 10:00 AM, there will be a rededication ceremony for the Wise Monument at Riverside. The monument was restored by the Fairmount Historic Foundation through funding provided by the Colorado Historical Society.

The Colorado National Guard presided at the dedication of the monument 120 years ago and will participate at the rededication as well. Ceremony participants include: The Adjutant General of Colorado, Major General H. Michael Edwards; Colorado Army National Guard Commander, Brigadier General Thomas Mills; the Colorado Historical Society; and the National Anthem, will be performed by the Denver Municipal Band Brass Quintet. The ceremony is free and open to the public.

About William Wise

William (Billy) Wise arrived in the Pikes Peak region in May of 1859, and is listed as a true Colorado Pioneer. William had immigrated from Germany as a teenager, and after an enlistment in the army, had moved to the region as an entrepreneur.

When the Civil War broke out, William enlisted in the Denver Home Guards, a militia unit. When the term of service for the Denver Home Guards expired in the spring of 1862, William helped raise a company for the 2nd Colorado Volunteer Infantry. The Company was mustered in with Edward Berthoud as Captain, and William Wise as 1st Lt. The 2nd Colorado Volunteer Infantry, and 3rd Colorado Volunteer infantry regiments were mustered into U. S. service, even though neither one reached full strength. The two infantry regiments were combined and re-designated 2nd Colorado Volunteer Cavalry, and served with distinction in the volatile Missouri region until the War was over.

William returned to Denver, and opened a restaurant, appropriately named Billy’s Restaurant. William married Anna Schlesinger, and their first child, Lillie, died in infancy early in 1867. Their second child George, was born in Cheyenne. Like his father, George was a well liked and respected young man in Denver. George served as a page in the Colorado Senate, and was a member of the Colorado National Guard when he died just shy of his 20th birthday in 1887. The graves of William, Anna, and George are memorialized by a magnificent soldier monument, whose face is in the in the likeness of George.

Wise Monument at Riverside Cemetery, Denver

Wise Monument at Riverside Cemetery, Denver

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