May 24, 2026
477
May 24, 2026
Dear Dr. Solomon Secord:
Today, on your 192nd birthday, we pause not only to remember the day you were born, but to honour a life that became woven into the history of both a family and a community.
From the old photographs that still survive — your monument standing proudly along Queen Street in Kincardine beside the library and post office, and the faded portrait of you seated in quiet reflection — we are reminded that history is not distant or abstract. It is personal. It is carried through stories, places, memories, and the lives of those who came before us.
Your story is more than a chapter in the history of Kincardine. It has become a reminder of duty, perseverance, compassion, and quiet strength in the face of unimaginable hardship.
As the only Canadian doctor serving amid the horrors of the American Civil War, you stood at Gettysburg in July of 1863, tending to the wounded as thousands fell around you in what historians would later describe as the bloodiest battle ever fought on the North American continent. There, only miles from the front lines near Devil’s Den and Plank Farm, you worked among the suffering and chaos of war, carrying out your duty not as a politician or ideologue, but as a physician sworn to preserve life where others were losing it.
Generations later, your legacy continues to stand as a source of pride and inspiration to your family, your friends, and the great community of Kincardine.
Even following the destruction of your 111-year-old monument by the current Municipality of Kincardine mayor and six council members in 2024, this travesty has continued to remind us of the enduring importance of preserving historical memory and respecting the deep connections that communities hold to their shared past.
There are those today who believe that historical figures should be judged solely through the lens of modern standards, often without full consideration of the time, circumstances, and society in which they lived. History, however, has repeatedly shown the dangers of allowing ideology, alone, to determine which parts of the past deserve to survive.
Across the world — from the destruction of ancient monuments and cultural sites during times of extremism and upheaval, to the deliberate erasure of historical symbols for political purposes — societies have repeatedly learned that when history is cancelled or erased, freedom itself is diminished, because future generations lose the ability to fully understand the people, struggles, sacrifices, and choices that shaped the world they inherited.
In this case, the majority within the Kincardine community, along with members of the Secord family, fully expected that your monument would be preserved, relocated, or respectfully returned to the family.
Yet history has proven resilient. Those who attempt to silence or erase parts of it are often remembered less favourably at the ballot box in an election year than those whose stories they sought to remove.
That is what democracy and freedom stand for.
Your story, Dr. Solomon Secord, will continue to contribute to that understanding — and your monument will rise again, and the citizens of Kincardine will finally have their voice heard.
With great respect,
David J.R. Secord
Calgary, Alberta
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