Major General John Sedgwick Memorial, (sculpture).

Major General John Sedgwick Memorial, (sculpture).

Hawley, James J., 1871-1899, sculptor.

Keller, George W., 1842-1935, architect.

O'Connor, M. J., contractor.

Roman Bronze Works, founder.

Major General John Sedgwick Memorial, (sculpture).

Dedicated May 30, 1900.

Sculpture: granite; Cannon balls: concrete; Base: granite.

Sculpture: approx. 12 ft. x 6 ft. 1 in. x 3 ft. 3 in.

(On front of stele, incised letters:) THIS MEMORIAL INCLUDING ORDNANCE/USED IN THE MEXICAN AND CIVIL WARS AND/GIVEN BY THE GOVERNMENT OF THE/UNITED STATES IN HONOUR OF/MAJOR GENERAL JOHN SEDGWICK/COMMANDER OF THE SIXTH CORPS/ARMY OF THE POTOMAC/WHO GAVE HIS LIFE FOR THE/PRESERVATION OF THE UNION/A SKILLED SOLDIER A BRAVE/LEADER A BELOVED COMMANDER/AND A LOYAL GENTLEMAN/THE FITTEST PLACE WHERE MAN CAN DIE/IS WHERE MAN DIES FOR MAN (On back of stele, incised letters:) VERA CRUZ/CERRA GORDO/PUERLA/CHERRIBUSCO/MOLINO DEL RAY/MEXICO FAIR OAKS/ANTIETAM/FREDERICKSBURG/THE WILDERNESS/SPOTTSYLVANIA (Incised in muzzle of cannon:) No. 4 R L B unsigned

A granite stele with a cannon set atop a stepped platform, with cannon balls stacked at the four corners. The stele originally had a bronze medallion bust of Major General John Sedgwick on front; and the base supporting the cannon was decorated with a bronze seal of the United States on the front and wreaths on the sides.

Portrait male -- Sedgwick, John

Occupation -- Military -- Major General

Outdoor Sculpture -- Connecticut -- Cornwall

Administered by Town of Cornwall, Pine Street, Cornwall, Connecticut 06753

Located 400 SR 43, corner of Hautboy Hill Road & Cornwall Hollow, Cornwall, Connecticut

The monument is in memory of Civil War Major General George Sedgwick (1813-1864), a Cornwall native. The memorial cost $2,400, with Mr. & Mrs. Carl Stoeckel (Norfolk, CT), close friends of the Majors sister Emily Sedgwick) contributing $1,233. James J. Hawley created the bronze reliefs ($450); George Kelley designed the monument ($233.80); and M. J. Powers served as contractors ($1,233). The original reliefs were cast by Roman Bronze Works.

Originally, the monument had metal cannon balls, which were sold for scrap metal during World War II. Concrete replacement cannon balls were made. The monument was vandalized in 1976 and in the late 1980s, at which time the bronze plaques on the cannon's pedestal were stolen and the medallion bust of Sedgwick was badly damaged.

In 1994, the monument underwent restoration. Replacement plaques for the seal, wreaths, and medallion bust were made by Neil Eastern. and the monument was rededicated on July 31, 1994.

IAS files contain copy of July 1984 rededication program. For further readings, see: The Winsted Herald, supplement, June 6, 1900; Mildred C. Baruch and Ellen J. Beckman's "Civil War Union Monuments," Washington, D.C.: Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War, 1978, pg. 15; and David F. Ransom's "George Keller, Architect," Hartford: The Stowe-Day Foundation, 1978, pg. 152, 153. See also: Town Green Survey, Statewide Historic Resources Inventory, Hartford: Connecticut Historical Commission, 1991.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Connecticut survey, 1994.

Ransom, David F., "George Keller, Architect," Hartford: The Stowe-Day Foundation, 1978, pg. 152.

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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