Spirit of the American Doughboy - Anniston, AL
Posted by: 
Lat34North
N 33° 39.625 W 085° 49.607
16S E 608776 N 3725122
The Spirit of the American Doughboy is dedicated to Men of Calhoun County that served in WW I. Located in the center median of Quintard Avenue between 12th and 13th Steets, Anniston, AL.
Waymark Code: WMF18Z
Location: Alabama, United States
Date Posted: 08/05/2012
Views: 7
A life size figure of a World War I infantryman advancing through the stumps and barbed wire of No Man's Land. He holds a rifle in his left hand and a grenade in his upraised right hand. He wears a jacket over his uniform and a cartridge belt. There is a small pack on his chest. There is a pack on his back and a canteen on his right hip. The scabbard for his bayonet is on the left side of his pack and is empty. The statue stands on a concrete pedestal with a bronze plaque that reads:
ERECTED
BY THE
ANNISTON POST
AMERICAN LEGION
TO THE
CALHOUN COUNTY
MEN WHO SERVED
IN THE
WORLD WAR
The following information is from the The E. M. Viquesney "Spirit of the American Doughboy" Database. (
visit link)
Copyright version 1920, pressed copper.
Smithsonian Art Inventory Control Number: 47260001.
"Dedicated May 30, 1922. Unveiled by Anniston's Gold Star Mothers, the event was hailed as "the crowning event" of the day, according to the Anniston Star, May 31, 1922. To buy the base for the statue, the local post of the American Legion raised money by sponsoring a minstrel show at the Lyric Theater on April 28, 1922. Lee Brothers Foundry donated the plaque, which was first displayed at Saks Clothing Company before being mounted on the base, probably on November 11, 1922 (estimation based on November 6, 1922 Anniston Star reference)."
"The bayonet and rifle sling are missing and the sculpture and base were both showing a lot of deterioration in this photo taken in 1999. In 2001, the City of Anniston launched an effort to have the monument restored, but that hadn’t taken place by the spring of 2004."
"Update, July 13, 2011: The Anniston City Council has voted to request the City Manager look into what would be needed to repair and restore the statue."