Camp Randall Memorial Arch, (sculpture).

Camp Randall Memorial Arch, (sculpture).

Porter, Lew, sculptor.

Camp Randall Memorial Arch, (sculpture).

Dedicated June 19, 1912.

Digital Reference:

Grey Vermont granite.

Approx. 36 x 36 x 15 ft.

(On heart below eagle, incised lettering:) OLD/ABE (Over archway, front side, raised lettering:) CAMP RANDALL (On plaque inside arch, one side, raised lettering:) ERECTED BY/THE/STATE OF WISCONSIN/TO MARK THE ENTRANCE/THROUGH WHICH PASSED/SEVENTY THOUSAND OF/HER SOLDIER SONS AND/FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND/RELATIVES AND FRIENDS/DURING THE WAR FROM/1861 TO 1865/"LEST WE FORGET"/MDCCCCXII (On plaque, inside arch, other side: list of Union troops organized in Wisconsin) (On base below the young solider, raised lettering:) 1861-1865 (On base below the veteran, raised lettering:) 1912 unsigned

A large triumphal arch constructed of rusticated masonry and adorned with two figures and an eagle. The eagle is perched on the front top of the arch above an inscribed heart. The roof of the arch, behind the eagle, is composed of three tapered tiers. On the lower, front, left side of the arch is a standing young male soldier in uniform with both arms at his sides. On the lower, front, right side of the arch stands a bearded, older, male veteran wearing a medal on the proper left side of his buttoned jacket and a hat. His proper left hand rests on a draped pedestal at his side. Both figures are mounted on stepped bases that project from the arch at ground level.

History -- United States -- Civil War

Figure male -- Full length

Occupation -- Military -- Soldier

Dress -- Uniform -- Military Uniform

Animal -- Bird -- Eagle

Outdoor Sculpture -- Wisconsin -- Madison

Administered by State of Wisconsin, Wisconsin Veterans Museum/Veterans Affairs, Madison, Wisconsin

Located Randall Avenue at West Dayton Street, Madison, Wisconsin

In 1911, the State of Wisconsin legislature appropriated $25,000 for a memorial arch to be installed at the entrance to old Camp Randall. During the Civil War, 70,000 trainees passed through the camp. The committee which oversaw the project had commissioned the Woodbury Granite Company, which was building the new state capitol, to design and erect the arch. Crusading Wisconsin State Journal Editor Richard Lloyd Jones led a campaign to have the memorial arch designed instead by an artist. Lew Porter, Capitol architect, was chosen. He considered comments from artists, sculptors, and architects across the country, and redesigned the arch. "Old Abe," the eagle atop the arch, is the mascot of the 8th Wisconsin infantry regiment. At the time of dedication, in June of 1912, the soldier figures were not yet in place. A limited access road passes directly through the arch, allowing automobiles and pedestrians to have contact with the sculpture. For a related excerpt see "Wisconsin: A Guide to the Badger State," compiled by the Workers of the Writers Program of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), 1941, pg. 234. IAS files contain an excerpt and a photocopy of a historic photograph, taken before the soldier figures were in place, from David V. Mollenhoff's "Madison: A History of the Formative Years," 1982, pg. 116-117. IAS files contain an excerpt from Frances W. Hurst's "A Common Joy," 1991, pg. 14-15.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Wisconsin survey, 1993.

Hurst, Frances W., "A Common Joy," 1991, pg. 15.

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.

Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

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