The Battle of Princeton, (sculpture).

The Battle of Princeton, (sculpture).

MacMonnies, Frederick William, 1863-1937, sculptor.

Hastings, Thomas, 1860-1929, architect.

Wyeth, Marion Sims, designer.

Piccirilli Brothers Marble Carving Studios, fabricator.

The Battle of Princeton, (sculpture).

Princeton Battle Monument, (sculpture).

Commissioned 1908. Dedicated June 9, 1922.

Digital Reference:

Relief: Indiana limestone; Base: granite.

Approx. H. 40 ft.

(On lower right top of base:) F. MAC.MONNIES/1922 (On facade of structure:) HERE MEMORY LINGERS/TO RECALL/THE GUIDING MIND/WHOSE DARING PLAN/OUTFLANKED THE FOE/AND TURNED DISMAY TO HOPE/WHEN WASHINGTON/WITH SWIFT RESOLVE/MARCHED THROUGH THE NIGHT/TO FIGHT AT DAWN/AND VENTURE ALL/IN ONE VICTORIOUS BATTLE/FOR OUR FREEDOM (Latin inscription:) ECVLA PRAETEREVNT RAPIMVR NOS VLTRO MO(...inscription illegible)/ADSIS TV PATRIAE SAECVLA QVI DIRIGIS (translation: The ages pass away. We too, yet lingering, are hurried on. Oh Thou who guidest the ages, guard our land!) signed

Installed on the front of a Beaux Arts style arched structure is a high-relief figure grouping depicting Gen. George Washington, soldiers of the Revolutionary War, and an allegorical female figure representing Liberty. Washington is mounted on a horse facing to his proper right. He holds his cloak with his proper left hand and wears a tri-corner hat. A female figure of Liberty, or Victory, is in the center of the sculpture, directly below Washington. Surrounding them are seven wounded Revolutionary War soldiers standing, crouching, kneeling and lying down. The sides of the monument are carved with reliefs depicting: sarcophagi and obelisks that are adorned with images of trees and weapons; small shields carved with the state seals for twelve of the thirteen original states; the seal of the New Jersey with an eagle perched on top; and the seal of the United States. The back panel of the monument has an entry door to the interior of the structure.

History -- United States -- Revolution

Portrait male -- Washington, George -- Full length

Occupation -- Military -- General

Dress -- Uniform -- Military Uniform

Figure female -- Full length

Allegory -- Other -- Triumph

Allegory -- Civic -- Liberty

Figure group -- Male

Occupation -- Military -- Soldier

Outdoor Sculpture -- New Jersey -- Princeton

Architectural component

Administered by Borough of Princeton, Route 208 South, Princeton, New Jersey 08540

Located Junction of Routes 206 & 27 (Nassau Street), Princeton, New Jersey

The sculpture commemorates the Battle of Princeton, which took place on Jan. 3, 1777. Funds for the monument were donated by Allan Marquand. The cost was $80,000. IAS files contain an article from The New York Times, July 17, 1977, and an excerpt from Princeton History, No. 9, 1990.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, New Jersey survey, 1995.

National Park Service, American Monuments and Outdoor Sculpture Database, NJ5021,1989.

Smart, Mary, "A Flight with Fame: the life and art of Frederick MacMonnies, with a Catalogue Raisonne of Sculpture and a Checklist of Paintings by E. Adina Gordon," Madison, CT: Sound View Press, 1996, no. 95.

Monumental News, March 1908; March 1913; Nov. 1913.

SOS Assessment Award, 2000.

The New York Times, July 17, 1977.

For study see: 73261946.

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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