Tablet #1 - Civil War
1861 - 1865

Tablet #2 -World War I
1917 - 1918

The committee on Memorial Tablets appointed at the town meeting, Rev. Edgar Warren, Horace M. Lane and Howell M. Lamprey, have held several meetings and are making good progress. According to the vote of the town, two tablets are to be erected each 38 inches wide by 64 inches high made of the best bronze.

Tablet number one will contain the names of Hampton men who served in the Army and Navy in the Rebellion, one hundred and fifteen in number, as taken from Dow's History [of Hampton -- 1638 - 1888].

Tablet number two will contain the names of the Hampton men who served in the great war, about forty in number. As the list of names on the second tablet is so much shorter, it will leave space for an inscription commemorating the valor of the men of Hampton who served in the Indian wars, the Colonial wars, the Revolution and the War of 1812, more than five hundred in number. These tablets are to be placed in the porch of the Lane Memorial Library, one on the east wall and one on the west. Here they can be seen at all times by those who are interested in them.

The committee hopes to have the tablets completed and ready for dedication by Columbus day, which comes on the 12th of October. By this time it is hoped that all the Hampton boys will be back from overseas. The tablets will be unveiled and dedicated with appropriate ceremonies, and a specker of State and National prominence will be invited to deliver the address.

The Attorney General has handed down an opinion that the names of residents of the town at the time of the war and the names of minors whose parents were residents. This will exclude from the roll the names of some Hampton boys now residing elsewhere, but doubtless their names will be recorded in other towns.

Tablet number two will contain the names of Hampton men serving in the world war, and also the inscription commemorating the early patriots. At the very outset, the committee were confronted with a perplexing question, whether the names of the young men serving in Students Army Training Camps should be placed on the tablets or not. On this question they find a difference of opinion. Some say that these names should not be placed on the roll; others that they belong there.

The committee, after giving the matter careful consideration and hearing both sides, have reached the following conclusion: The World War was different from any previous war in which this country participated, in the fact that it was fought largely by men drafted into the service. Other wars have been fought principally by volunteers. In the great war, the United States called into the service such men as she needed and assigned them to such work as she thought they could best perform. The boys in the Students Army Training Camps were as much in the service of their country as if they belong to the Expeditionary Force and had crossed the seas. They were mustered in by the United States, were uniformed and fed by the United States, and were paid by the United States. Had the war lasted a year longer, the most of them would have been called over seas. Therefore the committee believe that their names should be placed on the honor roll.

While the committee believe that no discrimination should be made against any class of men, they believe that there may well be a distinction, and that the men who actually went across should be recognized in some way. Accordingly they propose to divide the names on the roll into 3 groups, which a blank line between each group. The first group will contain the names of the men who served in the expeditionary force, arranged in alphabetical order. The second group will contain the names of men who served in training camps. And the third group will contain the names of men who served in students training camps. It is hoped this arrangement will be satisfactory, but the committee are ready to consider any arguments against it.

Following is the substance of what will appear on the second tablet. It is printed for inspection and suggestion. If you detect any errors or omissions be sure to report them to the committee, for after the tablets are cast, changes cannot be made.