Three bronze relief sculptures about 6 feet high by 8 feet wide are inset into three sides of the Wisconsin State Memorial at Vicksburg National Military Park.
Blasters thought these were some of the more moving reliefs in the park, but we have been able to find little about the reliefs themselves.
From the National Park Service website: (
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"The Wisconsin State Memorial is located on Union Avenue at milepost 2.9 of the park tour road. It was constructed from Winnsboro, SC, granite and stands 122 feet in height. A bronze statue of "Old Abe" the war eagle, mascot of the 8th Wisconsin Infantry, sits atop the monument. It was erected at a cost of $90,644 and dedicated on May 22, 1911. The memorial features bronze tablets with the names of the 9,075 Wisconsin troops who fought at Vicksburg, and a relief tablet at the base of the column picture a Union and Confederate soldier with hands clasped in friendship to symbolize the peace which now exists between the states. The sculptor was Julius Loester."
The Wisconsin Memorial is listed in the Smithsonian SIRIS database: (
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From that listing we learn that the bronze panels were made in the Roman Bronze Works Foundry in New York. See more about them here: (
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The waymarked bronze reliefs are on the left and right sides of the obelisks, opposite the bronze sculptures.
The bronze on the right side shows three Civil-War era Navy enlisted men wearing Union soft caps and enlisted uniforms. They are manning a 10-inch Seacoast mortar cannon. They appear to be on a gunboat near the river's edge, judging from the sailors rowing away from them. Perhaps this scene takes place on the part of the Mississippi River that the Union Army held during the Siege of Vicksburg. Two of the men appear to be discussing the targeting for their next shot, as the third reaches for the next projectile.
The panel on the right side shows a 4-man Union Army artillery crew in the midst of battle. The men rise out of the background, so they look almost 3-D. The relief captures in the moment of firing their cannon. The smoke of the gunpowder shoots out of the end of the gun. All four men face toward the enemy, their faces resolute symbolizing the justness of their cause. They are ready to reload, and keep firing until the day is won.
The bronze on the back side of the memorial shows two army officers, one Union and one Confederate, shaking hands. Their figures are raised from the background, giving them an almost 3-D quality. Between them, a flat subtly-rendered figure of an angel floats, with her arms outstretched to each side. Both soldiers are shown to be both proud and earnest in their handshake with a former enemy, symbolizing a coming together again in peace. Both are wearing their uniforms. Behind each man are tattered and shattered remnants of the soldier's life at war. Behind the Confederate soldier, a discarded cavalry saddle, tattered bedroll, and a broken rifle. Behind the union soldier, a shattered cannon off its broken wheels with ammunition spilled beside it. A tree behind each soldier symbolizes the two sides of the war -- the Oak tree for the United States and the Pine tree for the Confederacy. The trees are growing side by side, as have the United States and the Confederate States. Now, after the warm they will remain side by side, growing together.
On the front, a bronze plaque reads as follows:
"THIS MEMORIAL
IS DEDICATED IN GRATEFUL
REMEMBRANCE OF THE FAITHFUL
SERVICE, UNSELFISH DEVOTION AND
EXALTED PATRIOTISM OF WISCONSIN
SOLDIERS ENGAGED IN THE
CAMPAIGN AND SIEGE OF VICKSBURG,
MARCH 29-JULY 4, 1863"