Baron De Kalb Memorial, (sculpture).

Baron De Kalb Memorial, (sculpture).

Keyser, Ephraim, 1850-1937, sculptor.

G. B. Bastianelli, founder.

Baron De Kalb Memorial, (sculpture).

1885. Dedicated Aug. 16, 1886.

Digital Reference:

(On bronze base of sculpture, west side:) E. KEYSER. FEC. 1885. (On bronze base of sculpture, east side:) CAST BY/G.B. BASTIANELLI/ROMA 1886 (On bronze plaque on front of granite base:) SACRED TO THE MEMORY OF THE/BARON DE KALB/KNIGHT OF THE ROYAL ORDER OF/MILITARY MERIT BRIGADIER OF THE/GENERAL IN THE SERVICE OF THE/UNITED STATES OF AMERICA/HAVING SERVED WITH HONOR AND/REPUTATION FOR THREE YEARS HE GAVE/A LAST AND GLORIOUS PROOF OF HIS/ATTACHMENT TO THE LIBERTIES OF/MANKIND AND THE CAUSE OF AMERICA/IN THE ACTION NEAR CAMDEN IN THE/STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA ON THE/SIXTEENTH OF AUGUST 1780 WHERE/LEADING ON THE TROOPS OF THE/MARYLAND AND DELAWARE LINES AGAINST/SUPERIOR NUMBERS AND ANIMATING THEM/BY HIS EXAMPLE TO DEEDS OF VALOR/HE WAS PIERCED WITH MANY WOUNDS AND/ON THE NINETEENTH FOLLOWING EXPIRED/IN THE 48TH YEAR OF HIS AGE/THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES/OF AMERICA IN GRATITUDE TO HIS ZEAL/SERVICE AND MERIT HAVE ERECTED/THIS MONUMENT signed Founder's mark appears.

A standing portrait of Baron De Kalb with sword unsheathed and held aloft in his proper right hand, his proper left hand holding the scabbard as he glances over his proper right shoulder. His proper left foot resting on a rock. The sculpture is installed on a tall granite base adorned with bronze plaques depicting the State of Maryland seal and the State of Delaware seal.

Portrait male -- De Kalb, Johann -- Full length

Ethnic -- German

Object -- Weapon -- Sword

Occupation -- Military -- General

History -- United States -- Revolution

Outdoor Sculpture -- Maryland -- Annapolis

Administered by State of Maryland, Maryland State Archives, Maryland Commission on Artistic Property, 350 Rowe Boulevard, Annapolis, Maryland 21401

Located Maryland State House, State Circle, Annapolis, Maryland

Johann De Kalb (1721-1780), born in Huttendorf, Germany, served France in the War of the Austrian Succession, the Seven Years War, and was a secret agent in the English colonies of America. He offered his services to the Continental representatives at Paris in 1776, and persuaded Lafayette and fifteen other French officers to join the cause. He arrived in America with Lafayette in 1777. Known as Baron De Kalb, he was made a general and served with Washington at Valley Forge. De Kalb was second in command under Horatio Gates in the Carolina campaign and died from wounds received at the Battle of Camden. IAS files contain an excerpt from Harper's Weekly, Aug. 28, 1886, pg. 549.

In Jan. 1990, the figure's sword which had been bent by vandals was repaired, and in Aug. 1990 the sculpture was washed and waxed. In the fall of 1990, the sword was vandalized again, and a local sculptor, Deborah Banker, was hired to fabricate and install a replacement.

Index of American Sculpture, University of Delaware, 1985

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Maryland survey, 1994.

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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