Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument, Academy Hill, (sculpture).

Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument, Academy Hill, (sculpture).

Monumental Bronze Company, founder.

Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument, Academy Hill, (sculpture).

Soldiers' Monument, (sculpture).

Dedicated Oct. 3, 1889.

Digital Reference:

Sculpture: zinc; Base: zinc over steel.

Overall: approx. 35 ft. 5 in. x 8 ft. x 8 ft.

(Front face, bottom of base, raised lettering:) GETTYSBURG/ANTIETAM/(Front face of base, above name of battle:) NAMES OF COMRADES WHO WERE KILLED OR DIED OF WOUNDS OR DISEASE WHOSE REMAINS ARE LEFT IN THE SOUTHLAND/(3 columns of 7 names)/(Front face of base, plaque:) DEDICATED TO THE/MEMORY OF/THOSE WHO FOUGHT/FOR LIBERTY/AND SAVED THE UNION/"YET LOVED ONES HAVE FALLEN,/AND STILL WHERE THEY SLEEP,/A SORROWING NATION SHALL/SILENTLY WEEP,/AND SPRING'S BRIGHTEST FLOWERS/WITH GRATITUDE STREW/O'ER THOSE WHO ONCE CHERISHED/THE RED, WHITE AND BLUE"/(Front face of base, in pediment:) 1776 (South face, bottom of base, raised lettering:) LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN/OLUSTEE/(South face of base, in pediment:) 1861-5 (Rear face, bottom of base, raised lettering:) CHANCELLORSVILLE/WILDERNESS (Rear face of base, plaque:) ERECTED BY THE/STRATFORD/VETERAN/ASSOCIATION/AND ITS FRIENDS/OCTOBER 3RD, 1889/"THE UNION MUST AND/SHALL BE PRESERVED/(Rear face of base, in pediment:) 1847 (North face, bottom of base, raised lettering:) FREDERICKSBURG/FORT WAGNER/(North face of base, in pediment:) 1812 unsigned

The monument contains a standing figure of a uniformed Civil War standard bearer with his proper right foot forward, wearing a belted coat that falls to his knees, a moustache, and a cap. He holds a flagpole in his proper left hand and with his proper right hand he draws his sword. The base is a tall shaft adorned around the top with swags of drapery joined in the center of each face by a wreath. Each face of the shaft is also adorned with a raised image of a laurel wreath containing crossed muskets of the infantry on the front; crossed sabers of the cavalry on the south; crossed cannons of the artillery on the east; and a capstan, an anchor, and crossed capstan bars of the navy on the north. Below each wreath is a raised image of a military badge. Below the badge on the south face of the shaft is the emblem of the Grand Army of the Republic and below the badge on the north face of the shaft is the coat of arms of the United States. Around the lower section of the shaft, on the front and rear, are inscription plaques flanked by columns. At the bottom of the shaft, on each face, are the names of Civil War battles and below them is a plinth with a rock-faced finish. The base is surrounded by a low concrete curb adorned with granite spheres at the corners.

History -- United States -- Civil War

Portrait male -- Unidentified -- Full length

Occupation -- Military -- Soldier

Dress -- Uniform -- Military Uniform

Object -- Other -- Flag

Outdoor Sculpture -- Connecticut -- Stratford

Administered by Town of Stratford, Parks Department, 550 Patterson Avenue, Stratford, Connecticut 06497

Located Academy Hill Park, Elm Street, Stratford, Connecticut

The monument commemorates the soldiers of the Civil War. In June 1885, the Stratford Veteran Association organized to fund a Civil War monument, but by the end of 1887, only one hundred dollars had been raised. The Citizen's Monument Association was then organized, which in association with the Stratford Veteran Association, was successful in soliciting $3,700 in donations to pay for the monument. The dedication of the monument was coordinated with the 250th celebration of the town of Stratford. The monument underwent a $100,000 repair and rehabilitation program in 1986-1987 because it was showing signs of strain, and coming apart due to the weight of the metal. IAS files contain a photocopied image of the monument before a concrete curb was added around the base.

For related reading see: Lewis G. Knapp's "In Pursuit of Paradise," West Kennebunk, ME: The Stratford Historical Society/Phoenix Publishing, 1989, pg. 200-204; Samuel Orcutt's "A History of Bridgeport," Vol. 2, Fairfield, CT: Fairfield Historical Society/New Haven: Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor, 1887, pg. 813, 814; "Two Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of the Settlement of the Town of Stratford, October 3d, 1889," 1890, pg. 50, 133, 134; William Howard Wilcoxson's "History of Stratford, Connecticut, 1639-1939," Stratford, CT: The Tercentenary Commission, 1939, pg. 714; and Connecticut Magazine 8 (1903): pg. 797.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Connecticut 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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