Plummer Memorial Plaque, Affixed to the Charles W. Plummer Memorial Bridge, at the intersection of Little River Road and Potomska Road at the confluence of the Little River and Buzzards Bay., Dartmouth

Source document Quoted word for word from HALS MA-10. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

The Plummer Memorial Plaque is a historic bronze tablet commemorating the sacrifices made by Second Lieutenant Charles Warner Plummer and his uncle Lieutenant Henry Rodman Plummer during America s involvement in the First World War This bronze plaque is important, because it commemorates the World War I military service of two locally significant men. Description: The Plummer Memorial Plaque is affixed to the Charles W. Plummer Memorial Bridge, which spans a tidal estuary and tidal river known as Little River that flows into Buzzards Bay. The memorial bridge links Little River Road and Potomska Road. The bronze plaque is rectangular in shape, approximately 12 H by 24 W with low-relief lettering featuring tradition typeface with serifs.

It reads: IN MEMORY OF, THOMAS RODMAN PLUMMER CHARLES WARNER PLUMMER WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE WORLD WAR,

Buried in France

The plaque has a low relief ogee- molded perimeter, yet it has no additional ornamentation. The bronze surface has aged and patinated to verdigris finish given its exposure to natural elements. It is in fair to good condition. Since it has been covered by a plexiglass cover that is clouded and scratched, which obscures and renders the lettering illegible. History: The Plummer Memorial Plaque commemorates the sacrifices made by Second Lieutenant Charles Warner Plummer and his uncle Lieutenant Henry Rodman Plummer during America s involvement in the First World War The current bridge was constructed in and replaces an earlier concrete bridge.

The fabrication and installation date of the bronze commemorative plague is also undocumented; however, its reference to The World War (rather than the First World War) provides a clue that it was conceived and installed before the start of the Second World War. PLUMMER MEMORIAL PLAQUE HALS NO. MA-10 PAGE 2 Charles Warner Plummer was a military aviator in the U.S. Army Air Service in the Aero Squadron's aerial reconnaissance missions in France during the First World War.1 Plummer was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts, on May 25, to Henry and Alice Plummer. The Plummer family had a country house and farm in the rural hamlet of Potomska, at the confluence of Little River and Buzzards Bay, in Dartmouth, Massachusetts.

Graduating from the Morristown School in Morristown, New Jersey, Charles Plummer graduated from Harvard University in During the war, he enlisted with Battery A of the Field Artillery Regiment in Massachusetts of the American Expeditionary Forces. At the time of his death, his military rank was SECOND LIEUTENANT CHARLES WARNER PLUMMER.2 While at Harvard, Charles Plummer played polo and was recognized, along with Major Augustus Peabody Gardner, as one of America s most notable polo players, both of whom were killed in action during the war. The Boston Indoor Polo League posthumously honored him with its eponymously named Charles W. Plummer Memorial Trophy. This memorial trophy has been traditionally awarded to the winner of the league s championship.

During the war, it was reported that Second Lieutenant Plummer repelled a dozen biplanes of the German Air Force during the global conflict, now known as the First World War. These actions helped his squadron capture thirty critical photographs of German enforcements. For his valor and sacrifice, he was awarded the American military s second highest honor, the Distinguished Service Cross. He also received France's Croix de Guerre for defending aviators from his squadron while his own airplane was under attack. According to the American Battle Monuments Commission, 2nd Lt.

Plummer of the Field Artillery Regiment, Division, US Army, was shot down over the Vesle River on August 11, Lt Plummer s remains were buried in the Oise-Aisne American Cemetery, Seringes-et-Nesles, France (Plot a, Row 17, Grave29).3 Lieutenant THOMAS RODMAN PLUMMER was the uncle of Charles Warner Plummer and the son of Leander Allen Plummer and Elizabeth Sherman Plummer. Prior to his service in the war, Thomas Plummer had a vocation as an artist. During the First World War, Lt. Thomas Rodman Plummer served in the American Red Cross. As he was too old to serve in the military, Plummer managed the Franco-American canteen for the Red Cross, and there is 1 Wikipedia page for Charles W. Plummer, Accessioned 2 Ibid. 3 American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) page for Charles W.

Plummer, Accessioned and Find a Grave page for Charles Warner Plummer, (Includes photographs), Accessioned PLUMMER MEMORIAL PLAQUE HALS NO. MA-10 PAGE 3 a memorial monument dedicated to him in Moyenmoutier, France. Plummer died on November 24, at Raon-l Etape, Departement des Vosges, Lorraine, France. He was 56 years old. In his hometown of New Bedford, Massachusetts, there is a cenotaph honoring his memory at Rural Cemetery.4 The patriarch of the Plummer family was Leander Allen Plummer who was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts, and attended the Friend s Academy, a preparatory school associated with the Quakers. He began his career as a clerk for the New Bedford Cordage Company but eventually acquired an interest in it and became its treasurer.

Leander Plummer was also a director of New Bedford s National Bank of Commerce, a trustee of the Friend s Academy, and owned a schooner named Leander A. Plummer.5

Source document Quoted word for word from HALS MA-10. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

James Robert O Day, ASLA December 11, 4 Find a Grave page for Thomas Rodman Plummer, rodman-plummer. (Includes photographs), Accessioned 5 Find a Grave page for Leander Allen Plummer, plummer, Accessioned PLUMMER MEMORIAL PLAQUE HALS NO. MA-10 PAGE 4 Detail of the bronze Plummer Memorial Plaque at the Plummer Memorial Bridge, Dartmouth, Massachusetts, which reads: In memory of, Thomas Rodman Plummer Charles Warner Plummer who gave their lives in the World War, buried in France. (Photo: James O Day, ASLA,