Sighting the Enemy, (sculpture).

Sighting the Enemy, (sculpture).

Potter, Edward Clark, 1857-1923, sculptor.

Gorham Manufacturing Company, fabricator.

John Swenson Granite Company, contractor.

Hunt & Hunt, architectural firm.

Maurer Bros., contractor.

Sighting the Enemy, (sculpture).

General Custer Monument, (sculpture).

George Armstrong Custer, (sculpture).

Custer Statue, (sculpture).

Commissioned Feb. 21, 1908. 1909. Dedicated June 4, 1910. Relocated and rededicated Sept. 3, 1955.

Digital Reference:

Sculpture: bronze; Base: Concord granite.

Sculpture: approx. 12 x 6 x 16 ft.; Base: approx. 10 x 9 x 18 ft.

E. C. Potter Sculptor 1909 GORHAM Co FOUNDERS (On two sides of base:) CUSTER (On front of base:) ERECTED BY THE STATE OF MICHIGAN signed Founder's mark appears.

An equestrian portrait of George Armstrong Custer, shown at the Battle of Gettysburg "sighting the enemy." He sits atop his horse with his hat in his proper right hand, reins in this proper left hand. All four legs of the horse are on the ground.

History -- United States -- Civil War

History -- United States -- Battle of Gettysburg

Portrait male -- Custer, George Armstrong -- Full length

Dress -- Uniform -- Military Uniform

Occupation -- Military -- Major General

Outdoor Sculpture -- Michigan -- Monroe

Administered by City of Monroe, Parks & Recreation, City Hall, First Street, Monroe, Michigan

Located Monroe & Elm Streets, Monroe, Michigan

A bill to erect a memorial to Custer was introduced in the Michigan Senate Jan. 22, 1907, and $25,000 in funding was approved by the Governor on June 27, 1907. A contract for $24,000 was signed with Potter on Feb. 21, 1908. On May 18, 1909, an additional $2,000 was approved by the State for the unveiling of the statue which took place on June 4, 1910. John Swenson supplied the Concord granite for the pedestal, which was after a design by the New York architectural firm of Hunt & Hunt.

The sculpture was originally installed at Washington and First streets and faced south (so the rider's face would be in the sun), but later it was declared a traffic hazard, and moved to a park along the south side of the River Raisin. In 1955, it was moved to its current site and no longer faces south. IAS files contain copy of text on nearby historical markers (highlights of Custer's birth and military service); copy of "Ceremonies" dedication booklet; and Monroe County Library System pamphlet "Traces of General George Armstrong Custer, Monroe, Michigan," April 1983. IAS files also contain excerpt from Michigan History, vol. 15, pg. 300-301. The sculpture was cleaned in 1991-1992.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Michigan survey, 1993.

Index of American Sculpture, University of Delaware, 1985.

National Park Service, American Monuments and Outdoor Sculpture Database, MI0048, 1989.

Monumental News, April 1908, pg. 284.

Monumental News, Jan. 1910, pg. 22.

Monumental News, Aug. 1910, pg. 565.

Monumental News, Aug. 1910, cover.

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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