Colonel William H. Watson Monument, (sculpture).

Colonel William H. Watson Monument, (sculpture).

Berge, Edward, 1876-1924, sculptor.

American Bronze Company, founder.

Hodges & Leach, architectural firm.

Guilford and Walkersville Granite Company, fabricator.

Colonel William H. Watson Monument, (sculpture).

Lt. Col. William H. Watson Memorial, (sculpture).

Watson Monument, (sculpture).

Mexican War Veterans, (sculpture).

Commissioned 1902. Dedicated Feb. 22, 1903. Relocated Sept. 1930.

Digital Reference:

Sculpture: bronze; Base: Maryland granite.

Sculpture: approx. 8 ft. x 44 in. x 8 ft.; Base: approx. H. 254 in. x Diam. 243 in.

(Sculpture, back of bronze base, proper left side of figure:) E. (Sculpture, front of bronze base:) Cast by American Bronze F'dry Co./Chicago (Base, upper front:) WATSON (Base, front bronze plaque:) MEMORIAL/TO/MARYLANDERS/KILLED IN/WAR WITH MEXICO/1846-7-8/ERECTED BY THE/MARYLAND/ASSOCIATION OF/VETERANS/OF MEXICAN WAR/1903. (Base, plaque on right side:) ASSOCIATION OF/VETERANS OF THE/MEXICAN WAS/1846-7-8/SURVIVING MEMBERS/1903/OF THE ARMY/(list of names) (Base, plaque on rear:) KILLED IN BATTLE/(list of names) (Base, plaque on left side:) ASSOCIATION OF/THE VETERANS OF THE/MEXICAN WAR/1846-7-8/MONUMENT COMMITTEE/1890-1903/(list of names) signed Founder's mark appears.

The monument consists of a standing portrait of Watson atop a square base adorned with four columns attached at each corner. In his proper right hand he holds his sword slightly in front of him. In his proper left hand he holds a field glass. He is dressed in his military uniform with hat and boots with spurs. He is depicted with long sideburns and a moustache. At the foot of the tall columned base is a circular base flanked by two cannons on the north and south sides. There were four clusters of cannon balls originally on the lower areas of the base, but they are missing.

History -- United States -- Mexican War

Portrait male -- Watson, William H. -- Full length

Occupation -- Military -- Colonel

Dress -- Uniform -- Military Uniform

Occupation -- Law -- Lawyer

Object -- Weapon -- Gun

Outdoor Sculpture -- Maryland -- Baltimore

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

Located North Avenue & Mt. Royal Terrace, Baltimore, Maryland 21217

Formerly located Mt. Royal Avenue at Lanvale Street, Baltimore, Maryland until 1930.

William H. Watson was a Baltimore City Councilman, a graduate of West Point, and a lawyer who, during the Mexican War, led the Maryland troops in the Battle of Monterey where he was killed in September 1846. Watson's heroism is remembered in James Ryder Randal's song, "Maryland, My Maryland." The Watson Monument was erected by the Association of Veterans of the Mexican War in honor of Marylanders who fought in the war. Plans for the memorial began in 1890 and four years later the legislature appropriated $3,000 which was later supplemented by an appropriation from the City Council and private contributions. The monument cost $12,000. The base was designed by Hodge & Leach and was constructed by Guilford and Walkersville Granite Company. Originally, the monument was installed on Mt. Royal Street at Lanvale Street, but in September 1930 it was moved to its current site to make way for the extension of Howard Street.

IAS files contain an excerpt from William Sener Rusk's "Art in Baltimore: Monuments and Memorials," Baltimore: Norman, Remington, 1929, pg. 106-107; and newspaper articles from The Evening Sun (Baltimore, MD), Dec. 8, 1936 and Aug. 18, 1960; The Sun (Baltimore, MD), Aug. 12, 1902; Aug. 7, 1930; Nov. 7, 1948; and Baltimore News, Nov. 16, 1927. For additional information see also: Kathleen Kotarba's report "The Baltimore Bronze Project," Baltimore: Baltimore City Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation, July 1989; 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.

National Park Service, American Monuments and Outdoor Sculpture Database, MD0003, 1989.

Monumental News, Aug. and Nov. 1902; Oct. 1903.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Maryland, Baltimore survey, 1993.

Monumental News, Oct. 1903, pg. 594.

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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