Columbia, (sculpture).

Columbia, (sculpture).

Bissell, George Edwin, 1839-1920, sculptor.

Henry-Bonnard Bronze Company, founder.

Frederick & Field, carver.

Columbia, (sculpture).

Union, (sculpture).

Freedom, (sculpture).

Soldier's Monument, (sculpture).

Dedicated June 17, 1891.

Digital Reference:

Sculpture: bronze; Base: gray granite.

Sculpture: approx. 7 x 1 1/2 x 1 1/2 ft.; Base: approx. 13 x 8 x 8 ft.

(Statue base, proper right front, incised:) Geo E Bissell (Proper left, rear, incised:) THE HENRY BONNARD BRONZE CO./xxxxxx NEW YORK (Front of base, raised letters:) COLD HARBOR/OLUSTEE (Bronze plaque on front of base:) TO HER LOYAL SONS/WHO FOUGHT FOR THE UNION/SALISBURY/ERECTS THIS MEMORIAL./1891 (Above bronze plaque: names of individuals with units) (East side of base:) PORT HUDSON/WINCHESTER (North side of base:) GETTYSBURG/DREWERY'S BLUFF (list of names) (West side of base:) ANTIETAM/PETERSBURG (list of names) signed Founder's mark appears.

A bronze female figure holds a shield of the United States above her head. She has a sword at her proper left hip, and her bare feet protrude from under her long gown. One foot is placed atop the broken shackles of slavery. She stands atop a granite tiered pedestal, with cannon muzzles protruding near the bottom.

History -- United States -- Civil War

Figure female -- Full length

Allegory -- Place -- America

Allegory -- Civic -- Liberty

Dress -- Accessory -- Shield

Outdoor Sculpture -- Connecticut -- Salisbury

Administered by Town of Salisbury, Highway Department, 27 Main Street, Salisbury, Connecticut 06068

Located Civil War Memorial Park, Salisbury Green, East Main Street & Undermountain Road, Salisbury, Connecticut

As early as Nov. 6, 1865, Lot Norton offered a resolution in a town meeting to build a Soldier's Monument, but it was not until Oct. 7, 1889, that funds were provided by a Town appropriation of $2,500, with an additional $1,600 raised by subscription. The monument was officially dedicated June 17, 1891; and was rededicated May 30, 1961 and June 15, 1991. The name Columbia is given on a 1990 Connecticut Historical Commission inventory form. The name Union is given in The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography.

For further information see: Geoffrey Rossano, "Civil War Monument," Inventory Form #62, in Historical and Architectural Survey of Salisbury, Statewide Historic Resources Inventory, Hartford: Connecticut Historical Commission, 1990.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Connecticut survey, 1994.

National Park Service, American Monuments and Outdoor Sculpture Database, CT5009, 1989.

Index of American Sculpture, University of Delaware, 1985.

Monumental News, July 1891, pg. 258.

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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