Soldiers Monument, Waterbury, (sculpture).

Soldiers Monument, Waterbury, (sculpture).

Bissell, George Edwin, 1839-1920, sculptor.

Jackson, Charles, contractor.

Chatfield, A. I., contractor.

Chatfield, G. S., contractor.

Gruet, founder.

F. Barbedienne fonderie, founder.

Mitchell Granite Company, fabricator.

Soldiers Monument, Waterbury, (sculpture).

Commissioned April 24, 1882. Installed Oct. 1884. Dedicated Oct. 23, 1884. Reliefs installed 1885.

Digital Reference:

Sculpture bronze; Base: Quincy granite.

Overall: approx. 48 x 20 x 20 ft.

(Incised on base of pedestal, front:) G.E. BISSELL (On base of pedestal, rear:) MITCHELL GR. WORKS/BUILDERS (Incised on pedestal, north face:) BRAVE MEN, WHO, RALLYING AT YOUR COUNTRY'S CALL,/WENT FORTH TO FIGHT,-IF HEAVEN WILLED, TO FALL!/RETURNED, YE WALK WITH US THROUGH SUMMER YEARS,/AND HEAR A NATION SAY, GOD BLESS YOU ALL!/BRAVE MEN, WHO YET A HEAVIER BURDEN BORE,/AND CAME NOT HOME TO HEARTS BY GRIEF MADE SORE!/THEY CALL YOU DEAD; BUT LO! YE GRANDLY LOVE,/SHRINED IN THE NATION'S LOVE FOREVERMORE!/1865-1885 signed Founder's mark appears.

Ornate monument consists of a tiered base, rectangular and paneled second course, four-sided shaft with niches for figures and a cylindric base for an allegorical figure atop the shaft's cornice. A female figure of Victory, or Liberty, wears a flowing Classical garment, and holds a laurel garland in her upraised proper right hand and an olive branch in her extended proper left hand. There is a fruit-filled cornucopia at her feet. Figures in the niches on each side of the monument represent pre-war and post-war eras. For the pre-war era, there is a mechanic holding a drawn sword on the east face and a farmer with a rifle on the west face. The post-war era is represented by a veteran beside a comrade's grave is on the north face.

On the south face is a group consisting of a woman and two children. The woman is seated in front of an eagle who supports the word "Emancipation" in its beak. She holds a book in her lap and her proper right foot rests on a cannon beside a broken shackle. A well-dressed schoolboy stands to her proper left. A black boy sits on a bale of cotton to her proper left, opening the book in her lap. Bas-relief panels on the east and west sides depict a battle scene between the Monitor and Merrimac and a charge of Federal troops on a Confederate battery. Medallions in the upper corners depict Abraham Lincoln, John Ericsson, builder of the Monitor, and a naval officer.

The work stands in a circular planter which is broken at points corresponding with the four corners of the monument. Lampposts are installed on each corner. Each post consists of a cannon standing erect on a cannonball with four guns resting against it. Decorative elements on the posts include oak leaves and laurel. Each post has an iron and glass octagonal globe on top.

History -- United States -- Civil War

Allegory -- Other -- Triumph

Allegory -- Civic -- Liberty

Occupation -- Military -- Soldier

Occupation -- Military -- Sailor

Dress -- Historic -- Classical Dress

Dress -- Uniform -- Military Uniform

Portrait male -- Lincoln, Abraham

Portrait male -- Ericsson, John

Architecture -- Boat -- Monitor

Architecture -- Boat -- Merrimac

Outdoor Sculpture -- Connecticut -- Waterbury

Administered by City of Waterbury, Parks and Recreation Department, 236 Grand Street, Waterbury, Connecticut 06702

Located Opposite 156 West Main Street, west end of Green, Waterbury, Connecticut

Erected by the City of Waterbury to honor its citizens who served in the Civil War. The cost was approximately $25,000. The idea for a monument was first mentioned in Waterbury American, Nov. 26, 1870. In the summer of 1880, the Wadhams Post #49, Grand Army of the Republic began the process of erecting the monument. The artist was commissioned in 1882, and a site was chosen in 1883. A. I. & G. S. Chatfield laid the foundation. Charles Jackson laid the circular retaining wall. "Emancipation" was cast by F. Barbedienne founderie. The remaining figures, lampposts and reliefs were cast by Gruet. The monument was dedicated before completion. The bas-relief panels were added in 1885 and the lettering on the north face was completed in April 1886. The inscriptions were composed by the Rev. Dr. Anderson.

The SOS! survey refers to the allegorical figure as both Victory and Liberty. For related reading, see the Waterbury American, Nov. 26, 1870 and Feb. 9, 1881, the New Haven Morning News, July 17, 1883, the Waterbury Republican, Oct. 21, 1884 and Cassell's Magazine of Art, 1885, American Appendix; "History of the Soldiers' Monument in Waterbury, Connecticut," by John Anderson (Waterbury, CT: Printed for the Monument Committee, 1886) and "Civil War Union Monuments," by Mildred C. Baruch and Ellen J. Beckman (Washington, DC: Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War, 1978).

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Connecticut survey, 1993.

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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