Ulysses S. Grant Memorial

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Ulysses S. Grant Memorial
National Register of Historic Places
Historic District
Historic District Contributing Property
Grant statue

Grant statue

Ulysses S. Grant Memorial (District of Columbia)
Paris plan pointer b jms.svg
location Union Square, at the east end of the National Mall , Washington, DC , USA
Coordinates 38 ° 53 ′ 23.2 "  N , 77 ° 0 ′ 46.5"  W.
Built 1902 to 1924
architect Edward Pearce Casey (architect),
Henry Merwin Shrady (sculptor)
NRHP number 78000257
The NRHP added 20th September 1978
Side view
Cavalry group

The Ulysses S. Grant Memorial is a Presidential Memorial in Washington, DC in honor of Civil War General and United States President Ulysses S. Grant .

It is located at the base of Capitol Hill , between Pennsylvania Avenue and Maryland Avenue, below the western front of the United States Capitol . Grant's equestrian statue on top of the memorial looks west towards the Lincoln Memorial to honor Grant's wartime President Abraham Lincoln . Halfway between the Grant and Lincoln Memorials, which mark the eastern and western borders of the National Mall , is the Washington Monument . The Grant Memorial includes the second largest equestrian statue in the United States. James M. Goode writes in The Grant Memorial in Washington, DC that it is one of the most imposing sculptures in Washington, DC. The "Society of the Army of the Tennessee " began its work in the 1890s, which resulted in the inauguration of the monument decades later.

Construction of the Grant Memorial began in 1902 as the largest memorial ever commissioned by Congress at the time. It was created by the sculptor Henry Merwin Shrady and the architect William Pearce Casey. In the final stages of completion in 1921, Shrady was assisted by the sculptor Edmund Amateis. Shrady invested 20 years of his life building the memorial and died, stressed and overworked, two weeks before the inauguration in 1922. The platform of the memorial is made of Vermont marble, 77 m long and 22 m wide, it is in three Divided into sections. On the memorial in the center of the memorial, on a 6.91 m high marble plinth, there is an almost five ton and 5.23 m high equestrian statue of Grant on his horse Cincinnati. Grant is flanked on both sides by fighting Union artillery and cavalry units . The equestrian memorial is framed by four smaller sculptures, each depicting a bronze lion guarding a flag of the United States and one of the Union army. The memorial was the largest bronze sculpture in the United States at the time.

A noticeable feature of the central statue is Grant's calm, almost dissatisfied demeanor amid the raging fighting around him. This is not surprising because Grant was known for his calm and cold bloodedness in combat. In sharp contrast to this, the groups of figures on the sides show “more dramatic interest and tension than all sculptures in the city and indeed, in the nation”. The artillery group in the south shows three artillerymen on a limber with an attached cannon, which is pulled by three horses. The standard bearer sits astride the horse on the left, indicating a sharp right turn. Although a rein on the right horse has broken, it is still able to follow the change of course. In the north you can see seven cavalrymen in action. The horse on the right has fallen and the rider, modeled after Shrady, is trampled on by the charging horses.

Construction work on the site of the memorial began in 1909 with the installation of the marble surface and the four bronze lions. The artillery unit was erected in 1912, the cavalry unit in 1916 and the bronze equestrian statue of Grant in 1920. The memorial was inaugurated on Grant's 100th birthday, April 27, 1922. Since Shrady had died, the plaque depicting the infantry on the base of the equestrian statue was completed by the sculptor Sherry Fry based on Shrady's sketches and attached in 1924. The Grant Memorial forms the middle of a three-part monument group with the James A. Garfield Monument in the south and the Peace Monument in the north.

See also

Web links

Commons : Ulysses S. Grant Memorial  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Goode 1974 , p. 244
  2. ^ The Grand Army Of The Republic
  3. ↑ Sherrill 1924 , p.18.
  4. ↑ Goode 1974 , p.243.
  5. ↑ Montagna 1987 , p. 55
  6. ↑ Goode 1974 , p. 245.
  7. ↑ Goode 1974 , p. 245.
  8. ↑ Goode 1974 , p. 246.
  9. ↑ Goode 1974 , p. 246
  10. ↑ Montagna 1987 , p. 59.
  • Dennis Robert Ph.D. Montagna [1987]: Henry Merwin Shrady's Ulysses S. Grant Grant Memorial in Washington, DC: A study in iconography, content and patronage (Doctoral dissertation) . University Microfilms International Dissertation Services,, p. 355 pages, idMontagna1987.
  • James M. Goode [1974]: The Outdoor Sculpture of Washington, DC: A Comprehensive Historical Guide (pages 243-248) . Smithsonian International Press ,, ISBN 0-87474-138-8 , p. 512 pages, idGoode1974.

Coordinates: 38 ° 53 '23.2 "  N , 77 ° 0' 46.5"  W.