Soldiers Monument, Waterbury, (sculpture)

Smithsonian American Art Museum and its Renwick Gallery

Object Details

sculptor
Bissell, George Edwin 1839-1920
contractor
Jackson, Charles
Chatfield, A. I.
Chatfield, G. S.
founder
Gruet
F. Barbedienne fonderie
fabricator
Mitchell Granite Company
Subject
Lincoln, Abraham
Ericsson, John
Save Outdoor Sculpture, Connecticut survey, 1993.
Image on file.
(Incised on base of pedestal, front:) G.E. BISSELL (On base of pedestal, rear:) MITCHELL GR. WORKS/BUILDERS (Incised on pedestal, north face:) BRAVE MEN, WHO, RALLYING AT YOUR COUNTRY'S CALL,/WENT FORTH TO FIGHT,-IF HEAVEN WILLED, TO FALL!/RETURNED, YE WALK WITH US THROUGH SUMMER YEARS,/AND HEAR A NATION SAY, GOD BLESS YOU ALL!/BRAVE MEN, WHO YET A HEAVIER BURDEN BORE,/AND CAME NOT HOME TO HEARTS BY GRIEF MADE SORE!/THEY CALL YOU DEAD; BUT LO! YE GRANDLY LOVE,/SHRINED IN THE NATION'S LOVE FOREVERMORE!/1865-1885 signed Founder's mark appears.
The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.
Summary
Ornate monument consists of a tiered base, rectangular and paneled second course, four-sided shaft with niches for figures and a cylindric base for an allegorical figure atop the shaft's cornice. A female figure of Victory, or Liberty, wears a flowing Classical garment, and holds a laurel garland in her upraised proper right hand and an olive branch in her extended proper left hand. There is a fruit-filled cornucopia at her feet. Figures in the niches on each side of the monument represent pre-war and post-war eras. For the pre-war era, there is a mechanic holding a drawn sword on the east face and a farmer with a rifle on the west face. The post-war era is represented by a veteran beside a comrade's grave is on the north face.
On the south face is a group consisting of a woman and two children. The woman is seated in front of an eagle who supports the word "Emancipation" in its beak. She holds a book in her lap and her proper right foot rests on a cannon beside a broken shackle. A well-dressed schoolboy stands to her proper left. A black boy sits on a bale of cotton to her proper left, opening the book in her lap. Bas-relief panels on the east and west sides depict a battle scene between the Monitor and Merrimac and a charge of Federal troops on a Confederate battery. Medallions in the upper corners depict Abraham Lincoln, John Ericsson, builder of the Monitor, and a naval officer.
The work stands in a circular planter which is broken at points corresponding with the four corners of the monument. Lampposts are installed on each corner. Each post consists of a cannon standing erect on a cannonball with four guns resting against it. Decorative elements on the posts include oak leaves and laurel. Each post has an iron and glass octagonal globe on top.
Commissioned April 24, 1882. Installed Oct. 1884. Dedicated Oct. 23, 1884. Reliefs installed 1885
Control number
IAS CT000367
Type
Sculptures-Outdoor Sculpture
Sculptures-Relief
Sculptures-Medallion
Sculptures-Light fixture
Sculptures
Medium
Sculpture bronze; Base: Quincy granite
Owner/Location
Administered by City of Waterbury Parks and Recreation Department 236 Grand Street Waterbury Connecticut 06702
Located Opposite 156 West Main Street, west end of Green Waterbury Connecticut
Art Inventories Catalog, Smithsonian American Art Museums
Topic
History--United States--Civil War
Figure group
Allegory--Other--Triumph
Allegory--Civic--Liberty
Occupation--Military--Soldier
Occupation--Military--Sailor
Dress--Historic--Classical Dress
Dress--Uniform--Military Uniform
Portrait male
Architecture--Boat--Monitor
Architecture--Boat--Merrimac
Record ID
siris_ari_336299
Metadata Usage (text)
Usage conditions apply