The Soldiers and Sailors Monument
Dublin Core
Title
The Soldiers and Sailors Monument
Subject
Subject (Topic):
Public art
Sculpture
Civil War
United States--Rhode Island--Providence
Public art
Sculpture
Civil War
United States--Rhode Island--Providence
Subject (Object):
Memorial sculpture
Memorial sculpture
Description
The Soldiers and Sailors Monument is a forty-two-foot-tall monument made of blue Westerly granite and bronze. This memorial was the result of efforts by a committee of nine men from Rhode Island who wanted to honor the state’s 1,727 fallen veterans during the Civil War. After reviewing a series of proposed monuments, the design accepted was created by a man named Randolph Rogers, a popular neoclassical sculptor at the time.
The bottom of the monument features four cannons that bracket four sets of steps leading up to allegorical women representing War, Victory, Peace, and History (Emancipation). Arguably most notable about this monument is the fourth allegorical woman History, represented by a Black woman. Between these allegorical female figures are twelve panels of names of the fallen servicemen, including the 14th Rhode Island Regiment Heavy Artillery made up of men of color. This inclusion marked the monument as one of the firsts to honor Black military men by naming them in death and portraying a Black figure outside of a cemetery. Above these figures are four male statues, each representing artillery, cavalry, infantry, and navy veterans respectively. Atop the monument is a bronze statue of an allegorical woman representing America (America militant).
On the eastern side of the monument on an upper panel reads the words “Erected by the people of Rhode Island to the memory of the brave men who died that their country might live.” Also present on the monument are four cannons at its base, bronze stars, wreaths, an eagle, and the Rhode Island anchor on the upper granite paneling beneath the allegorical America figure.
The bottom of the monument features four cannons that bracket four sets of steps leading up to allegorical women representing War, Victory, Peace, and History (Emancipation). Arguably most notable about this monument is the fourth allegorical woman History, represented by a Black woman. Between these allegorical female figures are twelve panels of names of the fallen servicemen, including the 14th Rhode Island Regiment Heavy Artillery made up of men of color. This inclusion marked the monument as one of the firsts to honor Black military men by naming them in death and portraying a Black figure outside of a cemetery. Above these figures are four male statues, each representing artillery, cavalry, infantry, and navy veterans respectively. Atop the monument is a bronze statue of an allegorical woman representing America (America militant).
On the eastern side of the monument on an upper panel reads the words “Erected by the people of Rhode Island to the memory of the brave men who died that their country might live.” Also present on the monument are four cannons at its base, bronze stars, wreaths, an eagle, and the Rhode Island anchor on the upper granite paneling beneath the allegorical America figure.
Creator
Rogers, Randolph, 1825-1892
Source
Photo source is The Providence Foundation, accessed November 7, 2022.
Photo source is Wikimedia Commons, accessed November 15, 2022.
Photographs by Asya Gipson
Photo source is Wikimedia Commons, accessed November 15, 2022.
Photographs by Asya Gipson
Date
Dedicated: September 16, 1871
Contributor
"The Committee"
His Excellency A.E. Burnside, William Grosvenor of Providence, Rowland G. Hazard of South Kingstown, James De Wolf Perry of Bristol, William Binney of Providence, Charles C. Van Zandt of Newport, George W. Greene of East Greenwich, John E. Weeden of Westerly, and Secretary of State John R. Bartlett"
His Excellency A.E. Burnside, William Grosvenor of Providence, Rowland G. Hazard of South Kingstown, James De Wolf Perry of Bristol, William Binney of Providence, Charles C. Van Zandt of Newport, George W. Greene of East Greenwich, John E. Weeden of Westerly, and Secretary of State John R. Bartlett"
Rights
City of Providence, 25 Dorrance Street, Providence, Rhode Island 02903
Format
JPEG
Language
English
Type
Visual Arts Sculpture
Coverage
Kennedy Plaza, Providence, RI 02903, USA
Alternative Title
The Soldiers' and Sailors' Memorial
Has Part
Front Top Panel: ERECTED BY THE PEOPLE OF RHODE ISLAND TO THE MEMORY OF THE BRAVE MEN WHO DIED THAT THEIR COUNTRY MIGHT LIVE.
Western Bronze Plaque: THIS MONUMENT COMMEMORATES THE MEMBERS OF THE 1ST RHODE ISLAND REGIMENT AND THE 14TH RHODE ISLAND REGIMENT HEAVY ARTILLERY (COLORED) WHO FOUGHT AND DIED IN WAR OF THE REBELLION.
Extent
504 in. (H) (1280.16 cm.)
Medium
Blue Westerly Granite and Bronze
Bibliographic Citation
Renée Ater, "Female Allegory, Race, and the Civil War Memorial," in Monuments and Myths: The America of Sculptors Augustus Saint-Gaudens and Daniel Chester French, ed. Andrew Eschelbacher. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, forthcoming in 2023.
Proceedings at the Dedication of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument in Providence. Providence, RI: A. Crawford Greene, Printer of the State, 1871), HathiTrust, https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=loc.ark:/13960/t2z321h5c&view=1up&seq=2&skin=2021.
Rights Holder
Renée Ater, Brown University
Geolocation
Collection
Citation
Rogers, Randolph, 1825-1892, “The Soldiers and Sailors Monument,” Commemorative Works of Providence , accessed October 14, 2024, https://commemorativeworksprovidenceri.digitalscholarship.brown.edu/items/show/5.