Ethan Allen, (sculpture).

Ethan Allen, (sculpture).

Stephenson, Peter, 1823-ca. 1860, sculptor.

Cassoni & Isold Company, fabricator.

Ethan Allen, (sculpture).

Ticonderoga, (sculpture).

Column and base 1857. Dedicated July 4, 1873.

Digital Reference:

Sculpture: Carrara marble; Base: granite.

Sculpture: approx. H. 8 ft. 4 in.; Column: approx. H. 35 ft.; Base: approx. 42 in. x 8 ft. x 8 ft. Diam. 4 1/2 ft.

(Base front:) Vermont/to Ethan Allen/born/in Litchfield Ct 10th Jan AD 1737/Died/in/Burlington Vt 12th Feb AD 1789/and buried near the site of/this monument. (Side of base:) Wielding/the pen as well as the sword, he was the/sagacious and intrepid/DEFENDER/of the New Hampshire Grants, and/Master Spirit/in the arduous struggle which resulted in the/Sovereignty and Independence/of this State. (Base back:) Taken/Prisoner in a daring attack on Montreal/and transported to England/he disarmed the purpose of his enemy/by the respect which he inspired/for the/REBELLION AND THE REBEL. (Side of base:) The/Leader of the Green Mountain Boys/in the Surprise and Capture of/TICONDEROGA/which he demanded "in the name/of the Great Jehovah and the/Continental Congress"

Standing figure of Ethan Allen demanding the surrender of Fort Ticonderoga on May 10, 1775. His proper left arm is raised with his finger pointing up. His proper right arm is at his side holding a curved sword. The figure stands atop a tall Doric column that consists of ten tapered drums. The column is installed atop a granite base that features four marble tablets describing the life of Ethan Allen. The whole piece is surrounded by a cast iron fence with four cannons, one at each corner surmounted with a cannonball. The fence posts are cast iron Revolutionary war style flintlocks.

Portrait male -- Allen, Ethan -- Full length

History -- United States -- Revolution

Dress -- Uniform -- Military Uniform

Occupation -- Military -- Soldier

Object -- Weapon -- Sword

Outdoor Sculpture -- Vermont -- Burlington

Administered by City of Burlington, Cemeteries, Burlington, Vermont 05401

Located Greenmount Cemetery, Colchester Avenue, Burlington, Vermont 05401

The granite column and base were designed by writer, philosopher, statesman, and conservationist George Perkins Marsh, a native of Vermont who later became a U.S. ambassador to Turkey and then Italy. The column and base were constructed in 1857 out of granite salvaged from the 1838 Vermont State House, which burned in 1857. In 1873, the marble statue of Ethan Allen was placed atop the granite column. This 1873 statue by Peter Sephenson was the not the first design for the memorial, sculptor Larkin G. Mead had submitted an earlier design and plaster model in 1858 (see IAS record VT000255), which because of a lack of funding was never erected in Burlington, but instead was used for the Allen memorial at the State Capitol in Montepelier.

Fletcher Free Library local history files contain literature about the "Excercises Attending to the Unveiling & Dedication of the Statue," including an oration by Hon. L. E. Chittenden, published by Burlington Free Press Print, 1873. IAS files contain a transcription of pages 14-15 from this text, which lists the contents of a time capsule, apparently part of the memorial.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Vermont survey 1992.

SOS Conservation Treatment Award, 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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