Lee-Jackson Monument, (sculpture).

Lee-Jackson Monument, (sculpture).

Fraser, Laura Gardin, 1889-1966, sculptor.

Pope, John Russell, 1874-1937, architect.

Gorham Manufacturing Company, founder.

Lee-Jackson Monument, (sculpture).

Commissioned 1935. Cast 1946. Dedicated May 1, 1948. Rededicated April 9, 1997. Removed Aug. 15, 2017.

Digital Reference:

Sculpture: bronze; Base: granite.

Sculpture: approx. 150 x 76 x 146 in.; Base: approx. 79 in. x 24 ft. x 342 in.

(Sculpture, proper left rear, near feet of horses:) LAURA GARDIN FRASER/1946/SCULPTOR / GORHAM CO. FOUNDERS / THE SCULPTOR HEREBY EXPRESSES/HER APPRECIATION TO THE GORHAM COMPANY/WHICH ABIDED BY ITS PRE-WAR CONTRACT/IN CASTING THIS STATUE IN BRONZE TO/ITS OWN INTRINSIC LOSS. LGF (Base, around top:) SO GREAT IS MY CONFIDENCE IN/ GENERAL LEE THAT I AM WILLING TO/ FOLLOW HIM BLINDFOLDED / STRAIGHT AS THE NEEDLE TO THE POLE/ JACKSON ADVANCED TO THE EXECUTION/ OF MY PURPOSE (West steps:) THE PARTING OF GENERAL LEE AND/ STONEWALL JACKSON ON THE EVE/ OF CHANCELLORSVILLE (East steps:) GIFT OF J. HENRY FERGUSON OF MARYLAND. (North steps:) THEY WERE GREAT GENERALS AND/ CHRISTIAN SOLDIERS AND WAGED/ WAR LIKE GENTLEMEN./ -Ferguson signed Founder's mark appears.

This double equestrian portrait depicts the parting Generals Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson on the eve of the Battle of Chancellorsville, one of the most important battle of the Civil War. Lee is shown seated on his famous horse, Traveller, wearing his well recognized wide brimmed hat and long overcoat. To Lee's proper right, Jackson, dressed in his Confederate Army uniform, is seated atop his horse, Little Sorrel. Jackson has just signaled his horse to leave, Little Sorrel's head is raised, and his front left leg is raised to step and turn away.

History -- United States -- Battle of Chancellorsville

Portrait male -- Lee, Robert E. -- Full length

Portrait male -- Jackson, Stonewall -- Full length

Animal -- Portrait -- Traveller

Animal -- Portrait -- Little Sorrel

Dress -- Uniform -- Military Uniform

Occupation -- Military -- General

Administered by City of Baltimore, Recreation and Parks, 2600 Madison Avenue, Baltimore, Maryland 21217

Formerly located Wyman Park, Art Museum Drive & Wyman Park Drive, Baltimore, Maryland 21218 1948-Aug. 15, 2017.

The sculpture was a gift to the City of Baltimore by J. Henry Ferguson, a Baltimore banker and sportsman. Mr. Ferguson died in 1928, leaving in his will $100,000 for a monument to Lee and Jackson because the two generals were his boyhood heroes. In 1935, a design contest was held and Laura Gardin Fraser won. She commissioned, the architect, John Russell Pope, to create the base and he did so in 1939 for $50,000. The sculpture was not completed until 1946 because of delays in getting materials during World War II. The May 1, 1948 dedication date was the anniversary of the eve of the Battle of Chancellorsville which took place in 1863.

IAS files contain a copy of the dedication program and newspaper articles from The Sun (Baltimore, MD), Nov. 19, 1934; Nov. 24, 1934; Nov. 7, 1934; Oct. 3, 1935; April 7, 1939; Aug. 27, 1939; June 15, 1947; May 1, 1948; and May 2, 1948; and The Evening Sun (Baltimore, MD), Nov. 26, 1934; Nov. 1, 1935; March 9, 1939; March 22, 1941; May 6, 1946; May 1, 1948; and Dec 4, 1953. For additional information see: Kathleen Kotarba's report "The Baltimore Bronze Project," Baltimore: Baltimore City Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation, July 1989; Henry and Caroline Naylor's "Public Monuments & Sculpture of Baltimore: An Introduction to the Collection," 1987; and Wilbur Harvey Hunter's "The Monumental City, The Rinehart School of Sculpture 75th Anniversary Catalogue 1896-1971," pg. 16-47.

Index of American Sculpture, University of Delaware, 1985

The Peale Museum.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Maryland, Baltimore survey, 1993.

Inventory staff, 2000.

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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