Colonel Leander W. Cogswell, (sculpture).

Colonel Leander W. Cogswell, (sculpture).

Paramino, John Francis, 1888/89-1956, sculptor.

Gorham Manufacturing Company, founder.

Colonel Leander W. Cogswell, (sculpture).

Soldiers Memorial, (sculpture).

1920. Erected Oct. 1920. Dedicated May 1921.

Digital Reference:

Sculpture: bronze; Base: granite.

Sculpture: approx. 3 ft. x 26 in. x 21 in.; Base: approx. 6 ft. 10 in. x 51 in. x 51 in.

(On bust, lower rear corner, proper left side:) BOSTON/John I Paramino/Sculptor/1920 (On bust, on rear, lower proper right corner:) GORHAM CO. FOUNDERS (All four plaques on base are topped by the Henniker town seal which has the inscription:) TOWN OF HENNIKER/INCORPORATED/NOV 10/1768/STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

(On front plaque:) THIS MONUMENT IS ERECTED BY/VOLUNTARY SUBSCRIPTIONS/IN MEMORY OF/COL. LEANDER W. COGSWELL/AND THE MEN OF HENNIKER/WHO FOUGHT IN ALL THE/AMERICAN WARS/1920 (in lower proper right corner:) THE GORHAM CO. FOUNDERS (Side plaque:) 1775 WAR OF THE REVOLUTION 1783 (two columns of names 1846 MEXICAN WAR 1847 (list of 3 names) (Opposite side plaque:) 1812 WAR OF 1812 1815 (2 columns of names) 1917 WORLD WAR 1918 (2 columns of names) (Plaque on rear:) 1861 CIVIL WAR 1865 (2 columns of names) 1898 SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR 1898 signed Founder's mark appears.

A heroic-sized bronze bust of Colonel Leander W. Cogswell is set on a granite base with bronze plaques. Col. Cogswell has a balding head, but long hair on the sides and rear, and a long beard. He is dressed in a shirt and jacket with a badge on the lapel. The granite base has two lower steps, a tall tapered die, and a moulded top. Bronze plaques are on each side of the base and feature an eagle with outspread wings, a town seal, and text commemorating soldiers of Henniker from Revolutionary War through World War I.

Portrait male -- Cogswell, Leander -- Bust

Occupation -- Military -- Colonel

Occupation -- Military -- Soldier

Occupation -- Political

History -- United States -- Revolution

History -- United States -- Civil War

History -- United States -- Spanish American War

History -- United States -- World War I

Administered by Town of Henniker, 2 Depot Hill Road, Henniker, New Hampshire 03242

Located Lawn between Tucker Free Library & Cogswell Memorial School, Western Avenue, Henniker, New Hampshire

Leander W. Cogswell was born in Henniker in 1825 and taught in the local schools from 1845 to 1848. He served in the Civil War as commanding officer of the 11th New Hampshire Infantry. After the War, he held a variety of posts, including Justice of the Peace and served as State Representative. The memorial to Cogswell was authorized at the annual town meeting March 1919. The memorial cost $3,779.26, funded by donations from 116 individuals, including $500.00 contributions from Henry A. Emerson and Leander N. Cogswell.

IAS files contain copy of "Annual Reports...of the Town of Henniker, New Hampshire...for the fiscal year ending Jan. 31, 1921; article from Manchester (NH) Union, May 31, 1921; and excerpt from David Ruell's unpublished manuscript, "The Public Sculpture of New Hampshire," Concord: New Hampshire Historical Society, 1980. IAS files also contain additional bibliographic citations and transcription of all names on memorial plaques.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, New Hampshire survey, 1994.

Index of American Sculpture, University of Delaware, 1985.

The Union (Manchester, NH), May 31, 1921.

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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