The Battle of Nashville Monument, (sculpture).

The Battle of Nashville Monument, (sculpture).

Moretti, Giuseppe, 1857-1935, sculptor.

Unknown (Italian), founder.

The Battle of Nashville Monument, (sculpture).

Peace Monument, (sculpture).

1926-1927. Dedicated Nov. 11, 1927. Rededicated June 26, 1999.

Digital Reference:

Youth and horses: bronze; Base: marble; Angel: white Georgia granite; Obelisk: granite.

Youth and Horses: approx. 13 ft. 10 in. x 6 ft. 10 in. x 5 ft. 4 in.; Base: approx. 10 ft. x 14 ft. 7 in. x 12 ft. 10 in.; Obelisk: approx. H. 40 ft.

G.Moretti (Back of base:) ERECTED A.D. 1926/BY/THE LADIES BATTLEFIELD MEMORIAL ASSOCIATION/AIDED BY CONTRIBUTIONS FROM PATRIOTIC CITIZENS/THE STATE OF TENNESSEE/AND/THE COUNTY OF DAVIDSON (Right, south side of base:) THE SPIRIT OF YOUTH HOLDS IN CHECK THE CONTENDING/FORCES THAT STRUGGLED HERE IN THE FIERCE BATTLE OF/NASHVILLE DECEMBER 16, 1864, SEALING FOREVER THE/BONDS OF UNION BY THE BLOOD OF OUR HEROIC DEAD OF THE/WORLD WAR 1917-1918/A MONUMENT LIKE THIS STANDING ON SUCH MEMORIES/HAVING NO REFERENCE TO UTILITIES BECOMES A SENTIMENT,/A POST, A PROPHET, AN ORATOR TO EVERY PASSERBY. (Front of base:) BATTLE/OF/NASHVILLE/1864

(Proper left side of base:) "OH, VALOROUS GRAY, IN THE GRAVE OF YOUR FATE,/OH, GLORIOUS BLUE, IN THE LONG DEAD YEARS,/YOU WERE SOWN IN SORROW AND HARROWED IN HATE,/BUT YOUR HARVEST TODAY IS A NATION'S TEARS,/FOR THE MESSAGE YOU LEFT THROUGH THE LAND HAS SPED,/FROM THE LIPS OF GOD TO THE HEART OF MAN:/LET THE PAST BE PAST, LET THE DEAD BE DEAD--/NOW AND FOREVER AMERICAN!" (In arch over sculpture:) UNITY (Some of the inscriptions are badly worn or unreadable.) signed

On a square marble base at the foot of a granite obelisk topped by the Angel of Peace, stands a bronze sculpture of a nude male youth holding the reins of two rearing horses. The horses represent the North and the South, and the youth represents Unity holding them together.

History -- United States -- Civil War

History -- United States -- World War I

Figure male -- Full length

Figure male -- Nude

Animal -- Horse

Religion -- Angel

Allegory -- Civic -- Peace

Outdoor Sculpture -- Tennessee -- Nashville

State of Tennessee, Tennessee Historical Commission, 701 Broadway, Nashville, Tennessee 37203

Located Granny White Pike & Battlefield Drive, Nashville, Tennessee

Formerly located Franklin Road near Woodmont Boulevard, Nashville, Tennessee

The Battle of Nashville Monument, commemorating one of the decisive battles of the Civil War, fought in Nashville on December 15-16, 1864, is one of the few Civil War monuments that honors both the Union and Confederate dead. The monument was sponsored by the Ladies Battlefield Association under the supervision of Mrs. James E. Caldwell, who purchased the site after the Civil War. The monument is meant not only to honor the Civil War dead, but also to honor Americans who fought in World War I.

In 1974, a tornado knocked over the thirty-foot marble obelisk, breaking it and the Angel of Peace sculpture that stood atop it. In the 1980s, highway construction in the area isolated the monument from public view. However, in 1998-1999, the monument was restored and relocated to the battlefield site of the historic December 15-16, 1864 battle. A new forty-foot granite obelisk was created to replace the original thirty-foot Carrara marble obelisk, and a new Angel of Peace was carved of white Georgia granite by Nashville sculptor Coley Coleman. On the rededication day, the Nashville Iowa Club (University of Iowa alumni) endowed a conservation fund for the monument, to ensure regular condition assessments and conservation treatment when needed.

For related articles, see Nashville Tennessean, July 18, 1926; Nashville Tennessean, Oct. 3, 1926; Nashville Tennessean, Nov. 11, 1927; and Nashville Tennessean, Nov. 12, 1927. IAS files contain a related article from "Alabama Heritage." For additional information see: The Tennessean, Jan. 1, 1998, pg. 1B; June 26, 1999, pg. 4B; May 31, 1999; and June 21, 1999.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Tennessee survey, 1992.

Nashville Tennessean, Nov. 11, 1927.

SOS Achievement Award, 1999.

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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