Soldier's Memorial - Worcester, MA - Smithsonian Art Inventory Sculptures on Waymarking.com

An extremely elaborate memorial to the citizens of Worcester who died in the Civil War is located on the Worcester Common. A 66' high monument with five bronze statues was sculpted by Randolph Rogers. The sculptures were cast at the Royal Foundry. James Goodwin Batterson and and company of Mann, Bigelow and Gosling did the fabrication, while Elbridge Boyden and Son was the contractor. The memorial was dedicated on July 15, 1874.

At the center of this large memorial above an elaborate base is a bronze robed figure of Athena Nike holding a sword in her up-raised right hand and a palm frond in her lowered left hand. She stands on a tall Corinthian column. Around the base of the column are four statues, representing the men who served in the artillery, calvary, infantry and navy. The artillery soldier is holding a ramrod vertically in his right hand, a canteen on his right hip and a (unidentified) device at waist level in his left hand. The sailor is holding a coil of rope in his right hand and the grips the rope with his left hand. The rope continues down the side of his left leg to the base. The cavalry soldier has a sword under his left arm with his right hand on the hilt. The infantry soldier is holding a rifle with a bayonet diagonally across his body with his right hand near the trigger and his left hand near the barrel.

The base is is 24' on a side. On the first tier of the base, each side contains a bronze inscription plaque with the names of soldiers who died in the Civil War. On the second tier of the base each side contains a round bronze medallion. Bas relief sculpture show the head of Abraham Lincoln, the head of Massachusetts Governor John A. Andrew, and a wounded soldier supported by a fellow soldier. The fourth medallion contains the inscription:

ERECTED
BY THE PEOPLE OF
WORCESTER
IN MEMORY OF
HER SONS
WHO DIED
FOR THE UNITY
OF THE REPUBLIC
AD 1861-1895

On the third tier of the base are bronze plaques with the seal of the City of Worcester, the U.S. shield, the Massachusetts state seal, and crossed swords encircled by a laurel wreath. Surrounding the memorial are four stone cannons barrels inserted vertically into ground.

TITLE: Soldiers Memorial ARTIST(S): Randolph Rogers, sculptor; James Goodwin Batterson and Mann, Bigelow and Gosling, fabricators; Royal Foundry, founder; Elbridge Boyden and Son, contractor. DATE: July 15, 1874 MEDIUM: bronze statues; granite base CONTROL NUMBER: IAS 87630001 Direct Link to the Individual Listing in the Smithsonian Art Inventory: [Web Link] PHYSICAL LOCATION: Worcester Common Front Street Worcester, MA DIFFERENCES NOTED BETWEEN THE INVENTORY LISTING AND YOUR OBSERVATIONS AND RESEARCH: No differences noted.

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