Jamaica Plain has been shaped by war. The heart of the
neighborhood is Monument Square, so named for its prominent
monument to the local men, from what was then a heavily
abolitionist area, who sacrificed their lives in a horrific
civil war to end slavery and preserve the Union. Across the
street is the Loring-Greenough House, whose original Tory owner
was driven out by local revolutionaries in the 1770s. The house
became a field hospital in the war that created the United
States of America. Other JP monuments pay tribute to the men who
fought in two World Wars and in Vietnam. Local residents also
have served in conflicts too small or too messy to have
memorials. Memorial Day is a time to remember the incredible
sacrifice and loss of war. It is also a time to reflect on how
it is part of what made our neighborhood, our city and our
country what it is today. Upcoming local events will mark the
200th anniversary next month of the War of 1812, a conflict
barely remembered today, even though it defined our nation