The Soldiers Monument, (sculpture).

The Soldiers Monument, (sculpture).

Van Amringe Granite Company, fabricator. (possibly by).

The Soldiers Monument, (sculpture).

Civil War Monument, (sculpture).

Dedicated Oct. 12, 1914.

Sculpture: granite; Base: granite.

Sculpture: approx. 9 x 2 1/2 x 3 ft.; Base: approx. 14 x 9 x 9 ft.

(On upper front of base, raised letters:) ERECTED/TO THE MEMORY/OF/THE LOYAL MEN/OF/WOLFEBORO/WHO SERVED IN/THE WAR OF/1861-1865/BY/GRATEFUL CITIZENS (On lower front of base, raised lettering:) 1861 - 1865 unsigned

A Union Civil War soldier with a moustache is dressed in uniform, including belted jacket and a billed cap. He stands with proper right foot forward and reaches across his body with his proper right hand to draw a sword. The lower part of the sword and the sheath that presumably holds it are hidden by the folds of the flag that he holds against his proper left side. The soldier grasps the flagstaff with his proper left hand, the bottom of the flagstaff resting on the ground. The soldier's proper left leg is supported by a short, carved tree stump. The sculpture is placed atop a multitiered base with a tall tapered upper shaft. Above the molding that tops the shaft are four projections, one on each face, that bear carved trophies or emblems: GAR badge on the front; crossed swords on one side; crossed cannon on the other side; trophy on rear that includes a soldier's cap, crossed bayonets, a pouch with "USA" on it, and a ribbon in an oval shape.

History -- United States -- Civil War

Figure male -- Full length

Occupation -- Military -- Soldier

Dress -- Uniform -- Military Uniform

Object -- Other -- Flag

Outdoor Sculpture -- New Hampshire -- Wolfeboro

Administered by Town of Wolfeboro, P. O. Box 629, Wolfeboro, New Hampshire 03894

Located Junction of South Main Street & Center Street, Wolfeboro, New Hampshire

The monument honors Civil War soldiers of Wolfeboro, New Hampshire. In early 1914, the local newspaper, the Granite State News, published an article urging that a monument honoring the soldiers be erected. In response, the Town of Wolfeboro appropriated $2,000 at its annual meeting, and a monument committee was formed. Pledges from the Grand Army of the Republic and the Women's Relief Corps, as well as individual subscriptions, supplemented the town's appropriation. The monument was dedicated on New Hampshire's first Columbus Day. The figure of the soldier, with the addition of a tree stump, is a duplicate of the figure used by the Van Arminge Granite Company on a sculpture in Winchester six years before.

IAS files contain articles from the Granite State News (Wolfeboro, NH): April 11, 1914 and Oct. 17, 1914, pg. 1; and transcripts of news articles from the Granite State News (Wolfeboro, NH) dated March 14, 1914, pg. 1; May 23, 1914, pg. 1; and Oct. 10, 1914. IAS files also contain related excerpts from Kathy O'Meara's "Remember When...," Wolfeboro, NH, 1976, pg. 142; and David Ruell's typescript "The Public Sculpture of New Hampshire," Concord, NH: New Hampshire Historical Society, 1980, pg. 98-99. For additional information see Wolfborough Annual Reports, 1914 through 1918.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, New Hampshire survey, 1994.

O'Meara, Kathy, "Remember When...," Wolfeboro, 1976, pg. 142.

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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