Major General William Jenkins Worth - New York, NY
Posted by: 
neoc1
N 40° 44.562 W 073° 59.339
18T E 585358 N 4510686
Major General William Jenkins Worth, who died of cholera in San Antonio, TX, is buried in a tomb under an obelisk which is located in Worth Square, at the intersection of 25th Street, Broadway, and Madison Avenue in Manhattan.
Waymark Code: WM1058V
Location: New York, United States
Date Posted: 03/01/2019
Views: 1
A 51' high obelisk surrounded by an ornamental fence marks the grave of Major General William Jenkins Worth, who died of cholera. The grave is just west of Madison Square Park in the middle of a very busy residential and commercial district in Manhattan.
General Worth was a military hero who fought in the Mexican-American War between 1846 and 1848. He died of cholera in 1849 and was originally buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn; but in 1857 his body was moved to Manhattan and placed under the Worth Monument.
The monument was designed by James Goodwin Batterson and dedicated on November 25, 1857. The obelisk contains four sets of bands with the names of 16 places of importance in the life of Major General Worth. On the south facing front of the pedestal is a bronze tablet with a high relief of General Worth on horseback, with dress military uniform holding his sword in his right hand while pointing it forward. Above this figure is a complex trophy depicting cannons, swords, flags and eagles.
The names of the following sites are inscribed within the bands that encircle the monument.
South face:
MONTEREY
VERA CRUZ
SAN ANTONIO
CITY OF MEXICO
East face:
PEROTE
PUEBLA
CERRO CORDO
CHAPULTEPEC
North face:
FLORIDA
CHIPPEWA
FORT GLORCE
LUNDY'S LANE
West face:
CONTRERAL
CHURURUSCO
WEST POINT
MOLINO DEL REY
The dado on the east side contains the inscription:
DUCIT AMOR PATRIAE
The dado on the north side contains the inscription:
UNDER THIS MONUMENT
LIES THE BODY OF
WILLIAM JENKINS WORTH
BORN IN HUDSON N.Y.
MARCH 1 1794
DIED IN TEXAS
MAY 7 1849
The dado on the west side contains the inscription:
BY THE CORPORATION
OF THE
CITY OF NEW YORK
1857
----
HONOR THE BRAVE
A bronze tablet set at ground level in front of the obelisk is inscribed:
MAJOR GENERAL
WILLIAM JENKINS WORTH
1794 - 1849
WILLIAM J. WORTH, BORN IN HUDSON, NEW YORK,
BEGAN HIS MILITARY CAREER IN THE WAR OF 1812,
AND FROM 1820 TO 1828 WAS COMMANDANT OF CADETS AT WEST POINT.
IN THE MEXICAN-AMERICAN WAR, HE DISTINGUISHED HIMSELF
IN BATTLES INSCRIBED ON THIS MONUMENT
BREVETTED A MAJOR GENERAL IN 1846, HE WAS AWARDED A
CONGRESSIONAL SWORD OF HONOR IN 1847.
WORTH WAS ARMY COMMANDER OF THE DEPARTMENT OF TEXAS,
WHEN CHOLERA TOOK HIS LIFE IN 1849.
NAMED IN HIS HONOR ARE FORT WORTH, TEXAS;
LAKE WORTH, FLORIDA; AND WORTH STREET IN LOWER MANHATTAN.
DEDICATED 1857
JAMES GOODWIN BATTERSON, ARCHITECT
MONUMENT AND TOMB ARE QUINCY GRANITE AND BRONZE
CAST-IRON FENCE REPLICATES THE CONGRESSIONAL SWORD
RESTORATION IN 1995 MADE POSSIBLE BY
THE PAUL & KLARA PORZELT FOUNDATION AND
JAMES A. WOODRUFF, JR. COMMANDER USN (RET.),
GREAT-GREAT-GRANDSON OF MAJOR GENERAL WORTH,
AND OTHER PRIVATE DONATIONS
THROUGH THE ADOPT-A-MONUMENT PROGRAM SPONSORED BY
THE MUNICIPAL ART SOCIETY,
ART COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK
CITY OF NEW YORK PARKS & RECREATION.
PERPETUAL MAINTENANCE ENDOWMENT FUNDED BY
JAMES A. WOODRUFF, JR. COMMANDER, USN (RET.)
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