Soldiers and Sailors Monument, (sculpture).

Soldiers and Sailors Monument, (sculpture).

Smith Granite Company, fabricator.

Soldiers and Sailors Monument, (sculpture).

Dedicated May 6, 1896.

Digital Reference:

Buff granite on a blue Westerly granite and red granite base.

Overall: approx. 50 ft. 3 in. x 18 ft. 6 in. x 13 ft. 6 in.

(West face of base:) PRESENTED TO THEIR NATIVE CITY/BY THE SONS OF JOSEPH LAWRENCE/MAY 6, 1896 (West face of north extension of dado:) QUI TRANSTULIT SUSTINET (West face of south extension of base:) MARE LIBERUM (North face of base:) ERECTED BY SEBASTIAN D. LAWRENCE (North face of obelisk:) GETTYSBURG/PORT HUDSON/FREDERICKSBURG/ANTIETAM/GROTON/BUNKER HILL (East face of base:) IN MEMORY OF/NEW LONDON'S SOLDIERS AND SAILORS/WHO FOUGHT IN DEFENCE OF THEIR COUNTRY/ - /ERECTED ON THE SITE OF HER FIRST FORT/FORTIFIED 1691 - DISMANTLED 1777 (South face of base:) DON'T GIVE UP THE SHIP (South face of obelisk:) KEARSARGE/HARTFORD/CHESAPEAKE/CONSTITUTION/TRUMBULL/DEFENCE unsigned

A fifty foot tall granite obelisk with figures of a soldier and a sailor standing on its base and a female figure representing Peace at its top. The soldier to the north is the conventional soldier at parade rest with proper left foot forward, coat and cap. The figure to the south is a sailor wearing a uniform of tight-fitting pants and a shirt with rolled-up sleeves. His proper left foot is also forward. In his proper left hand is a spyglass, while his proper right hand holds a rope that comes from a capstan behind his proper left leg. The top of the obelisk comes to a point which supports a sphere on which stands the nine-foot classical female figure. She is clothed in flowing drapery, holds a palm leaf in her hands, and has a dove on her head.

History -- United States -- Civil War

History -- United States -- Military history

Occupation -- Military -- Soldier

Occupation -- Military -- Sailor

Allegory -- Civic -- Peace

Dress -- Uniform -- Military Uniform

Object -- Weapon -- Gun

Outdoor Sculpture -- Connecticut -- New London

Administered by City of New London, Department of Public Works, 111 Union Street, New London, Connecticut 06320

Located State Street & Bank Street, New London, Connecticut 06320

For additional information on the monument see C. D. Wolverton's paper, "New London Soldiers and Sailors Monument," Oct. 30, 1984, located at New London Public Library. Monument cost $20,000 and the dedication ceremony was attended by an estimated crowd of 15,000. Sculpture was privately funded by the donor of the monument, Sebastian D. Lawrence, who came from a successful local whaler family.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Connecticut survey, 1993.

Decker, Robert Owen, "The Whaling City," Chester, CT: The Pequot Press, 1976, pg. 79, 160.

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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