Soldiers Monument, (sculpture).

Soldiers Monument, (sculpture).

Unknown, sculptor.

Soldiers Monument, (sculpture).

Dedicated May 30, 1907.

Sculpture: painted; Base: cement, painted, and marble.

Sculpture: approx. 6 x 2 x 2 ft.; Base: approx. 12 ft. x 8 ft. 4 in. x 8 ft. 4 in.

(On marble plaque on front of base:) In memory/of our soldiers/dead/1861-1865/1898-1899 (On bronze plaque on front of base:) WWI WWII/1917-1918 1941-1946/Korean Vietnam/1950-1955 1961-1975 unsigned

A mustached, uniformed Spanish American War or Civil War soldier stands at parade rest. His proper left foot is extended forward. He is holding a rifle which rests on the ground in front of his proper right foot and extends to his proper left shoulder. His proper right hand is below his proper left hand on the rifle barrel, and he appears to be leaning on a tree stump. He has a small, detailed ammunition pack inscribed "US" on his proper right hip. He has a bayonet slung on his proper left hip and extending into the tree stump. His boots are untied and he is wearing lumberman socks. The soldier is painted in different colors: boots and socks, black; sword, silver; belts and ammunition pack, black; trousers, robin's-egg blue; tunic, marine blue; mustache, black; hair, brown; hat, black; tree stump, brown/black. The soldier is mounted upon a seven-tiered base painted pale blue, with an inscribed marble plaque on the front with a bronze plaque attached to it.

History -- United States -- Civil War

History -- United States -- Spanish American War

History -- United States -- World War I

History -- United States -- World War II

History -- United States -- Korean War

History -- United States -- Vietnam War

Figure male -- Full length

Occupation -- Military -- Soldier

Dress -- Uniform -- Military Uniform

Outdoor Sculpture -- Michigan -- Manchester

Oak Grove Cemetery, Cemetery Sexton, 120 South Clinton, Manchester, Michigan 48158

Sculpture originally commemorated soldiers from the Civil War and the Spanish American War, but now additionally commemorates soldiers from World War I, World War II, Korean War, and Vietnam War. SOS! survey states that the figure is a Spanish American War soldier, but related excerpts from unpublished material, also in IAS files, state that it is a Civil War Union soldier. Sculpture was erected by the township and the Comstock Post, G.A.R. Since the 1930s, the sculpture has consistently been painted by the American Legion Post 117 in Manchester. IAS files contain a related article from the Manchester Enterprise, June 6, 1907, which discusses the dedication. IAS files contain a related article from the Manchester Enterprise (MI), June 4, 1908. IAS files also contain two related excerpts from unpublished material: Annetta English's "History of Manchester Township," 1930, pg. 110; and, Michigan Civil War Centennial Observance Commission's "Michigan's Civil War Markers, Memorials, and Monuments," Dearborn, MI, 1962, pg. 28.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Michigan survey, 1993.

Ann Arbor News, Sept. 13, 1956.

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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