John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg, (sculpture).

John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg, (sculpture).

Hufford, Caroline M., sculptor.

Harbeson, John F., architect.

H2L2 Architects and Planners, architectural firm.

E. A. Baker Company, contractor.

Tallix, founder.

John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg, (sculpture).

1980. Dedicated Oct. 26, 1980.

Digital Reference:

Sculpture: bronze; Base: limestone; Wall or bench: concrete.

Sculpture: approx. H. 4 ft. W. 4 ft.; Base: approx. 8 ft. 2 in. x 7 ft. x 5 ft. 9 in.

(Sculpture, back below proper left shoulder:) Caroline Hufford/(foundry mark)(Base, front:) JOHN PETER/GABRIEL/MUHLENBERG/1746-1807/SERVING/HIS CHURCH/HIS COUNTRY/HIS STATE (Base, north side:) 1787-1807 (Base, back:) 1774-1783 (Base, south side:) 1768-1776 (Back of wall/bench:) IN GRATITUDE/TO/JOHN F. HARBESON, FAIA/ARCHITECT signed Founder's mark appears.

(Plaque inscription at south end of wall/bench:) CLERGYMAN/JOHN PETER GABRIEL MUHLENBERG/BORN AT TRAPPE PENNSYLVANIA OCTOBER 1, 1746/ELDEST SON OF ANNA AND HENRY MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG/ATTENDED UNIVERSITY OF HALLE GERMANY 1763/ORDAINED LUTHER MINISTER 1768/PASTOR LUTHERAN CHURCHES NEW JERSEY/MARRIED TO ANNA MEYER 1770/ORDAINED EPISCOPAL MINISTER 1772/PASTOR LUTHERAN AND EPISCOPAL CHURCHES WOODSTOCK VA. 1772/PREACHED HIS "TIME TO PRAY, TIME TO FIGHT" SERMON 1776/AND RECRUITED A REGIMENT FROM VIRGINIA/HE WAS THE "FIGHTING PARSON OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION"

(Plaque inscription in the middle of the wall/bench:) SOLDIER/COMMISSIONED COLONEL OF VIRGINIA MILITIA 1775/COMMANDED EIGHTH VIRGINIA REGIMENT/WHICH BECAME THE "GERMAN REGIMENT" OF THE CONTINENTAL ARMY/FOUGHT AT CHARLESTON AND PHILADELPHIA/PROMOTED TO BRIGADIER GENERAL 1777/WINTERED WITH HIS TROOPS AT VALLEY FORGE 1777-1778/FOUGHT AT BRANDYWINE, GERMANTOWN, MONMOUTH AND STONY POINT/MEMBER, ROYAL ARCH MASONIC LODGE, PHILADELPHIA 1779/NAMED COMMANDER OF ALL FORCES IN VIRGINIA 1780/FOUGHT AT PORTSMOUTH AND YORKTOWN/PROMOTED TO MAJOR GENERAL 1783/RETIRED NOVEMBER 3, 1783/A LISTING OF/THE PRINCIPAL DONORS/TO THIS MEMORIAL/IS GIVEN IN THE SOUTH SIDE/ENTRANCE TO THE NARTHEX OF/ST. PAUL'S LUTHERAN CHURCH

(Plaque inscription on north end of the wall/bench:) STATESMAN/RETURNED FROM MILITARY SERVICE TO WOODSTOCK VIRGINIA 1783/RECEIVED LAND GRANT OF 11,662 ACRES IN OHIO RIVER VALLEY/"IN CONSIDERATION OF SEVEN YEARS SERVICE/AS BRIGADIER GENERAL IN THE VIRGINIA CONTINENTAL LINE"/FOUNDER-MEMBER OF THE SOCIETY OF THE CINCINNATI/ELECTED VICE PRESIDENT OF PENNSYLVANIA 1787/ELECTED TO FIRST HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 1788/RE-ELECTED THIRD CONGRESS 1791-1795, SIXTH CONGRESS 1799-1801/ELECTED TO THE UNITED STATES SENATE 1801/SERVED AS COLLECTOR OF CUSTOMS, PORT OF PHILADELPHIA 1801-1807/DIED OCTOBER 1, 1807 AT AGE 61

Waist-length portrait of Muhlenberg in his later years dressed in civilian clothes. His hair curls around the back of his head. An open Bible sits in front of him and his hands rest on top of the Bible. The sculpture sits atop a tall base adorned with a cross on one side and the Roman symbol of power, a fasces, on the other. Behind the base is a low wall, or bench, adorned with three inscription plaques which describe Muhlenberg's accomplishments as a minister, soldier, and statesman.

Portrait male -- Muhlenberg, John Peter Gabriel -- Waist length

Occupation -- Religion -- Clergy

Occupation -- Military -- Major General

Occupation -- Political -- Congressman

Occupation -- Political -- Statesman

Occupation -- Political -- Senator

Outdoor Sculpture -- District of Columbia -- Washington

Administered by United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Washington, District of Columbia

Located Muhlenberg Park, Connecticut Avenue at Ellicott Street, N.W., Washington, District of Columbia

Peter Muhlenberg's father, Heinrich Melchior Muhlenberg, was the founder of the Lutheran Church in America and Peter himself was a Lutheran minister for a church in Woodstock, Virginia. He was known as the fighting parson because he ended his last sermon with the words "There is a time to pray and a time to fight...and that time has now come." He then took off his robes and revealed a military uniform encouraging is congregation to join in the American Revolution. During the Revolutionary War, he commanded the 8th Virginia Regiment, also known as the German Regiment, of the Continental Army. He retired from the military as a major general in 1883 and went into politics. In 1887 he was elected vice president of Pennsylvania and went on to serve three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. In 1801, he was elected to the U.S. Senate.

In 1926, St. Paul's Lutheran Church on Connecticut Avenue donated the triangle of land in front of the church to the federal government for the erection of a memorial to Peter Muhlenberg. In 1958, the church congregation began to raise funds for the memorial and fifty-four years later the memorial was completed at a cost of 100,000 dollars. IAS files contain related articles from the Washington Post, Oct. 31, 1980 and Spirit of Jefferson Farmer's Advocate, Nov. 6, 1980, pg. 5 which describe the dedication ceremony and note that the artist is a descendent of Peter Muhlenberg. John F. Harbeson designed the base and plans for the park area.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, District of Columbia survey, 1993.

Goode, James M., "Washington Sculpture: A Cultural History of Outdoor Sculpture in the Nation's Capitol," Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008, no. 2.30.

Goode, James M., "Washington Sculpture: A Cultural History of Outdoor Sculpture in the Nation's Capitol," Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008, no. 3.30

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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