A monument stands in the center of downtown Cleveland that mostly goes ignored by the locals but attracts a steady flow of out-of-state tourists.

It's a monument to war, which may be why the locals mostly tune it out as they hustle toward work, a ball park or any of the scores of attractions that still bring people downtown.

But the Soldiers and Sailors Monument deserves at least a moment for reflection by anyone who gives serious thought to concerns like sacrifice and freedom.

It is a grand monument that in some ways overwhelms Public Square. It towers over the monuments to city founder Moses Cleaveland and long-ago Mayor Tom Johnson. Why did a group of prominent Clevelanders feel it necessary in 1894 to dedicate a war monument to the 9,000 Cleveland residents who fought in the Civil War and honor the 1,100 local residents who died in it?

There were no major battles fought anywhere near Cleveland.

And why did a town that boasted only about 50,000 people around the start of the Civil War send almost a fifth of its population off to war?

To get an appreciation for these sorts of questions, you have to first enter the monument. That's where you will meet veterans Tim Leslie and Bill Tyler. They are walking war encyclopedias.

As impressive as the monument is from the outside – and there are few, if any, monuments in Cleveland that can rival the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument – you don't start to grasp the majesty of the architecture until you step inside its memorial room.

"We found that at least 70 percent of the people that live here (Greater Cleveland) had no idea that you could enter the place. They thought it was just a monument, with a column on top of it," said Leslie, a tour guide, who made a career of the Navy after graduating from East High school.

Printed on the walls of the ornate memorial room are the names, regiments, and ranks of every man from Cleveland who fought in the Civil War. Many people use the room for genealogy studies.

On a wall facing south is a phenomenal sculpture of a group of women, who are tending to a wounded soldier. The women called themselves the Sanitation Committee. They were a precursor to the Red Cross.

And on a wall facing north is my favorite sculpture in all of Cleveland. A man named Dan Field, a former slave, is seen kneeling before the feet of President Abraham Lincoln. It is not a subservient pose. Rather, it's a powerful pose, one that perfectly captures the intersection of emancipation and resurrection.

In one hand Lincoln holds an empty, unlocked shackle. In the other he holds a Springfield Rifle, which he is handing to Fields, who was the first black Ohioan to enlist.

Lincoln is granting Field his freedom and a gun.

The gaze in the eyes of Lincoln, as well as in the eyes of the former slave turned soldier, is the gaze of defiant self-sufficiency.

You can't view the sculpture and fail to again recognize that freedom isn't free and that great people are responsible for the freedoms we enjoy today.

The Soldiers and Sailors Monument recently underwent a $2 million facelift. The floors and walls were scrubbed and returned to their original splendor. New lighting was installed, as was central air conditioning.

The timing is good. We are a nation at war. Perspective on the incredible sacrifice demanded of war is often lost on those far removed. That is the lasting genius of the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument.

It's a powerful reminder of a nation's life, a nation's sacrifice and a nation's freedom.

The monument is free. It is open every day except Sunday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.