Major General Sol Meredith Monument, (sculpture).

Major General Sol Meredith Monument, (sculpture).

Mahoney, John H., 1855-1919, sculptor.

Major General Sol Meredith Monument, (sculpture).

ca. 1876 (?). Installed 1877. Relocated 1908.

Digital Reference:

Sculpture: marble; Base: New England granite.

Sculpture: approx. 7 ft. 3 in. x 36 in. x 30 in.; Base: approx. 32 x 8 x 8 ft.

(On front of base:) A GALLANT SOLDIER & JUST MAN,/MAJ. GEN. SOLOMON MEREDITH/BORN IN GUILFORD CO. N.C. MAY 29, 1810,/DIED AT OAKLAND FARM, NEAR CAMBRIDGE CITY, INDIANA OCT. 21. 1875./A MAN OF GOOD HEART, PURE PATRIOTISM AND/GENEROUS HOSPITALITY, DISTINGUISHED FOR/ENERGY OF CHARACTER, IN THE PROMOTION OF/PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS, LIBERAL EDUCATION/AND PROGRESSIVE AGRICULTURE. HE WAS A/MEMBER OF THE LEGISLATURE & HELD WITH/HONOR MANY OFFICES OF PUBLIC TRUST, UNDER/BOTH GNENERAL AND STATE GOVERNMENTS. IN THE/WAR FOR THE UNION HE COMMANDED THE 19TH/REGT. IND. VOLS. IN THE BATTLES OF GAINSVILLE,/SOUTH MOUNTAIN, ANTIETAM, AND ON OTHER/WELL FOUGHT FIELDS. HE WAS PROMOTED FOR/GALLANTY AND LED THE IRON BRIGADE THROUGH/ALL ITS MARCHES AND BATTLES, UNTIL SEVERELY/WOUNDED AT GETTSYBURG. HE THEN COMMANDED/THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF KENTUCKY UNTIL/THE CLOSE OF THE WAR. (Text on remaining sides of memorial commemorates Solomon Meredith's sons: Lt. Samuel H. Meredith, 1838-1864 and Capt. David M. Meredith, 1840-1867; Sol's wife Anna Hannah Meredith, 1812-1871; his daughter Mary, 1845-1846, and Henry Clay Meredith, 1843-1882 and his wife Virginia C. Meredith, 1848-1936).

Full-length portrait of General Meredith standing atop tall shaft. Morton is dressed in military uniform of his times for Indiana volunteers. He wears a double-breasted frock coat and cavalry riding boots. Around his waist is a tasseled officer's sash and there is a scabbard worn on his proper right side. He stands with his proper right hand extended; his proper left hand holds field glasses at his side.

Portrait male -- Meredith, Sol -- Full length

Occupation -- Military -- General

Dress -- Uniform -- Military Uniform

Homage -- Meredith, Samuel H.

Homage -- Meredith, David M.

Homage -- Meredith, Anna Hannah

Homage -- Meredith, Mary

Homage -- Meredith, Henry Clay

Homage -- Meredith, Virginia C.

Outdoor Sculpture -- Indiana

Administered by Town of Cambridge City, City Building, 127 North Foote Street, Cambridge City, Indiana 47327

Located Riverside Cemetery, Park lot #7, Cambridge City, Indiana

Centennial International Exposition, Philadelphia, 1876.

The monument commemorates General Sol Meredith, who served in the Civil War, was sheriff of Wayne County (Indiana), member of the Indiana General Assembly and U.S. Marshall. The monument was erected by the General's son, Henry Clay Meredith in 1876. The artist, John Mahoney, was chosen because he had made Meredith's death mask earlier. The statue of Meredith was exhibited at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. It was originally erected in a private family plot on Meredith's Oakland Farm in 1877. In 1908, it was moved to the city cemetery by the Boden monument firm that originally erected it, along with the remains of Meredith family members.

IAS files contain full transcription of text found on memorial. IAS files also contain article from Palladium (Richmond, IN), Jan. 9, 1937, pg. 3. For further reading see: Cambridge City Tribune, Aug. 11, 1877; Aug. 13, 1908; Nov. 19, 1903; and Richmond Daily Sun Tribune (IN), May 12, 1897; and "Folk Art as Found in Whitewater Valley Graveyards," 1976, published by the Whitewater Valley Junior Historical Society.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Indiana survey, 1993.

Index of American Sculpture, University of Delaware, 1985.

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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