Soldiers and Sailors Monument, (sculpture).

Soldiers and Sailors Monument, (sculpture).

Perry, T. M., architect.

Carr, E. F., designer.

Buberl, Caspar, 1834-1899, sculptor.

Mosman, Melzar Hunt, 1845-1926, sculptor.

O'Kelley, S. J., sculptor.

Stevens, Charles W., contractor.

Beattie & Brooks, fabricator.

Frederick & Field, fabricator.

Henry-Bonnard Bronze Company, founder.

Soldiers and Sailors Monument, (sculpture).

Soldiers' Monument, (sculpture).

Cornerstone laid May 30, 1889. Dedicated Oct. 15, 1889.

Digital Reference:

Victory: New Hampshire granite from Nashua; Soldier and Sailor: bronze; Cavalry and Artillery trophies: bronze; Base: Quincy granite and ashlar.

Victory: approx. H. 9 ft.; Sailor: approx. 7 ft. 2 in. x 4 ft. x 2 1/2 ft.; Soldier: approx. 7 x 5 1/2 x 2 ft.; Base: approx. 43 ft 8 in. x 15 ft. 6 in. x 15 ft. 6 in.

(On figure's base, directly below soldier's elbow:) C. Buberl/Sculptor/1889 (On proper left side of soldier's base:) CAST FOR FREDERICK & FIELD/BY THE HENRY BONNARD BRONZE CO/NEW YORK 1889 (On side of sailor's base, incised letters:) S.J.O'KELLY Sc/BOSTON MASS (On side of cavalry base, incised letters:) Beattie & Brooks/Sculptor (On other side of cavalry base, incised letters:) CAST FOR FREDERICK & FIELD QUINCY MASS/BY THE HENRY-BONNARD BRONZE CO/NEW YORK 18(...illegible) (On bronze plaque on lower front of monument:) A TRIBUTE TO THE/MEN OF NASHUA/WHO SERVED THEIR COUNTRY/ON LAND OR SEA DURING/THE WAR OF THE/REBELLION, AND AIDED IN PRESERVING THE INTEGRITY/OF THE/FEDERAL UNION./A.D. 1861-1865./ERECTED BY THE/CITY OF NASHUA,/A.D. 1889

(On bronze plaque on lower back of base, raised letters:) "THE UNION OUGHT TO BE CONSIDERED AS/A MAIN PROP OF YOUR LIBERTY, AND THE/LOVE OF THE ONE OUGHT TO ENDEAR TO/YOU THE PRESERVATION OF THE OTHER."/WASHINGTON'S FAREWELL ADDRESS./"OUR FEDERAL UNION:IT MUST BE PRESERVED."/ANDREW JACKSON./"LIBERTY AND UNION, NOW AND FOREVER,/ONE AND INSEPARABLE."/DANIEL WEBSTER/"THAT FROM THOSE HONORED DEAD, WE TAKE/INCREASED DEVOTION TO THAT CAUSE FOR/WHICH THEY GAVE THE LAST FULL MEASURE/OF DEVOTION-THAT WE HERE HIGHLY RE-/SOLVE THAT THESE DEAD SHALL NOT HAVE/DIED IN VAIN-AND THAT GOVERNMENT OF/THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE,FOR THE PEO-/PLE, SHALL NOT PERISH FROM THE EARTH."/ABRAHAM LINCOLN./"LET US HAVE PEACE."/U.S.GRANT (On relief plaque on base, raised letters:) WITH MALICE TOWARD NONE/WITH CHARITY FOR ALL (On relief plaque on other side of base, incised letters:) SINKING OF THE ALABAMA BY THE KEARSARGE JUNE 17, 1864 signed Founder's mark appears.

A figure of Victory, dressed in classical Roman garments, stands holding the top of an American shield by her proper right side. She holds a laurel wreath in her lowered proper left hand. The sculpture is placed atop a castellated shaft. The base is adorned, at opposite sides, with relief plaques and figures of a soldier and sailor. The soldier, a mustached uniformed infantryman, appears to be in the act of raising and cocking his rifle. The allegorical relief plaque below him depicts the Goddess of Liberty overseeing the reconciliation of the South with the North, and depicts an emancipation scene with a union soldier extending a scroll to a kneeling figure, possibly an enslaved individual.

On the other side of the base, a bearded figure of a sailor, dressed in a uniform that includes a scarf and a brimmed hat, stands brandishing the hilt of a sword with his raised proper right hand. The blade of the sword is now missing. In his lowered proper left hand he holds some rope, the coil of which rests by his proper left foot. Below the sailor sculpture, a relief plaque depicts the sinking of the Alabama by the Kearsarge off the coast of France. At the front of the base's die is a cavalry sculpture of a saddle draped with cavalry clothing and equipment; on the rear is artillery sculpture of various Civil War era weaponry.

History -- United States -- Civil War

Architecture -- Boat -- Alabama

Architecture -- Boat -- Kearsarge

Figure female -- Full length

Allegory -- Other -- Triumph

Figure male -- Full length

Occupation -- Military -- Soldier

State of Being -- Other -- Enslaved

Occupation -- Military -- Sailor

Outdoor Sculpture -- New Hampshire -- Nashua

Administered by City of Nashua, Park Recreation Department, 100 Concord Street, Greeley Park, Nashua, New Hampshire 03061

Located Abbott Square, Intersection of Main, Concord, and Amherst Streets, Nashua, New Hampshire

In 1871, the Nashua city council appropriated $12,000 to erect a monument in honor its Civil War soldiers and sailors. 17 years passed with debates over whether to erect a monument or a public hall. In 1888, a decision was made to erect a monument and a committee was appointed on Jan. 29, 1889. On March 31, 1889, a contract was made with Frederick & Field for $11,800, the monument to be completed by October 15, 1889. The cornerstone was laid on Memorial Day.

The design for the monument was made by T. M. Perry, of Messrs. Frederick & Field. The model for the sailor was made by S. J. O'Kelly and was cast by M. H. Mosman. The model for the soldier was made by C. Burberl and cast by the Henry Bonnard Bronze Company. The model of the artillery emblem was made and cast by M. H. Mosman, who also did the model for the Emancipation bas-relief and the two lettered panels. The model for the Cavalry emblem and sinking of the Alabama, and the surmounting statue of Victory, were modelled by Beattie & Brooks. The Cavalry emblem and Naval bas-relief were cast by Henry Bonnard Bronze Company. The figure of Victory was carved by Messrs. Frederick & Field, who also erected the monument and did all the granite work.

IAS image files contain a historical postcard of the monument. IAS files contain clipping from the Nashua Telegraph, Oct. 15, 1889. IAS files contain an excerpt from Frank Noyes' "An account of the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument Erected by the People of the City of Nashua, N.H.," Nashua, New Hampshire: City Councils, 1889; and an excerpt from David Ruell's typescript "The Public Sculpture of New Hampshire," Concord, New Hampshire: New Hampshire Historical Society, 1980, pg. 21-23.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, New Hampshire survey, 1993.

National Park Service, American Monuments and Outdoor Sculpture Database, NH5006, 1989.

Monumental News, Nov. 1889, pg. 220.

"An Account of the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument Erected by the People of the City of Nashua, N.H.," Nashua, NH: City Councils, 1889.

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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