Major General Arthur St. Clair & Brigadier General John Cadwalader @ the PA Columns - Valley Forge, PA - Relief Art Sculptures on Waymarking.com

The inscription on the relief tablet simply has their names and reads: Arthur St. Clair Major General John Cadwalader Brigadier General. This relief is on the backside of the left column if you are facing west. Basically, as you approach these columns, walk to the rear of the left one and you'll see the relief. St. Clair is on the left facing forward and slightly angled to the right and Cadwalader is on the right, looking left, left face profiled.

This relief memorial pays tribute to Major General Arthur St. Clair & Brigadier General John Cadwalader. Arthur St. Clair (March 23, 1737 [O.S. 1736]– August 31, 1818) was an American soldier and politician. Born in Scotland, he served in the British Army during the French and Indian War before settling in Pennsylvania, where he held local office. During the American Revolutionary War, he rose to the rank of major general in the Continental Army, but lost his command after a controversial retreat.

After the war, he was elected to the Confederation Congress, where he served a term as president and was appointed governor of the Northwest Territory. Disputes with Native Americans over land treaties resulted in the Northwest Indian War. In 1791, General St. Clair led an expedition against the natives that resulted in the worst defeat the United States Army would ever suffer at the hands of Native Americans. Although an investigation exonerated him, St. Clair resigned his army commission. He continued to serve as territorial governor until 1802, when he retired to Pennsylvania. Although once very wealthy, he died in poverty.

John Cadwalader (January 10, 1742 – February 10, 1786) was a commander of Pennsylvania troops during the American Revolutionary War. John Cadwalader was born in Trenton, New Jersey of Quaker parentage, the eldest son of Thomas Cadwalader (1707-1779) and Hannah Lambert, his wife. In 1750, the Cadwalader family removed to Philadelphia where John and Lambert Cadwalader, his brother, were merchants. He died February 10, 1786. He is buried at Shrewsbury Chapel, Kent County, Maryland.

The Pennsylvania Columns were constructed in stages. The Pennsylvania Columns were started in 1909 but a lack of funds prevented its completion until 1912. The eagles and these bronze reliefs of Pennsylvania generals were added in 1910. The monument, which flanks Outer Line Drive, features two tall granite columns. At the base of each column there are two bronze plaques containing the bas-relief busts of two military officers--Colonel William Irvine and Adjutant General Joseph Reed; Major General Arthur St. Clair and Brigadier General John Cadwalader; Brigadier General John Armstrong and Brigadier General J. Peter G. Muhlenberg; Lieutenant Colonel Josiah Harman and Major General Thomas Mifflin. On the top of each column of course are the bronze eagles with outspread wings, standing on the two respective granite balls.

The sculptor Henry Bush-Brown of Newburgh, New York was the artist.