General Gustavus Sniper - Syracuse, NY
Posted by: 
neoc1
N 43° 03.387 W 076° 09.110
18T E 406201 N 4767727
An equestrian statue of German immigrant General Gustavus Sniper is located in Schlosser Park at the intersection of North Salina, North State & East Laurel Streets in Syracuse, NY.
Waymark Code: WMMGRR
Location: New York, United States
Date Posted: 09/19/2014
Views: 1
Gustavus Sniper was born in 1836 in the Grand Duchy of Baden, now present day Germany. As a child he emigrated to America and settled in Syracuse, NY. In 1854, he joined the Syracuse Light Guards. At the beginning of the Civil War he joined the the 101st NY Volunteers, and attained the rank of captain.
The 101st was incorporated into the Army of the Potomac in 1862. Soon, he saw action at Richmond, and Fredricksburg, VA. The unit hen mustered out and Sniper returned to Syracuse to marry Catherine Miller and started a family.
In 1864, the Sniper joined the newly formed 185th New York Volunteers as a lieutenant colonel. They joined the Army of the Potomac during its siege of Petersburg, VA. where Sniper served inder General Joshua Chamberlain. Sniper served heroically and before the end of the war achieved the rank of general. Sniper died in Syracuse in 1894.
A 10' by 7' by 4' bronze equestrian statue of General Gustavus Sniper sands on a 8' by 7' by 5' granite base. Sniper is depicted in Civil War uniform riding his horse. The horse has his right front foot raised. Sniper is holding the horse's reins with his left hand while holding a lowered sword in is right hand. The sculpture was created by Fredrick Moynihan and Robert Frank Dallas. It was cast at the Gorham Manufacturing Company and dedicated on May 30, 1905.
On the front of the base, in bronze letters is the name SNIPER.
n the back of the base a plaque is inscribed:
GUSTAVUS SNIPER - BREVET BRIGADIER GENERAL U.S.V. 1861-65.
ERECTED A.D. 1905
BY
GENERAL SNIPER CAMP, NO. 166, SONS OF VETERANS AND FRIENDS.
COMMITTEE
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