Rhode Island Memorial -- Vicksburg NMP, Vicksburg MS - Smithsonian Art Inventory Sculptures on Waymarking.com

This figure of a lone infantryman who has picked up is unit's fallen colors, tattered from combat, honors the 7th RI Infantry, the only unit from Rhode Island to participate in the siege of Vicksburg.

From the National Park Service website: (visit link)

"The Rhode Island State Memorial is located on Grant Avenue near Grant's Circle. It was erected at a cost of $5000 on April 30, 1908, and dedicated by Walter A. Reid on November 11, 1908, when the monument was accepted for the Federal government by Capt. William T. Rigby. The sculptor was Frank Edwin Elwell, and the statue depicts the figure of an infantryman who has picked up the fallen colors."

From Iron Brigadier website: (visit link)

"RHODE ISLAND

Two tenths of a mile past the Kansas Memorial is the Rhode Island Memorial. Like the West Virginia Memorial, this one honors the State of Rhode Island’s participation in the campaign and it honors the lone regiment from that state, the 7th Rhode Island Infantry. The monument is a bronze infantryman holding a rifle in one hand and the flag in the other. It was dedicated in 1908. The 7th Rhode Island was part of the 9th Corps, a well traveled corps that consisted mostly of regiments from northeastern states (although five of Michigan’s regiments at Vicksburg were from the 9th Corps). The 9th Corps saw action in major campaigns in several states during the war and was in Kentucky in June of 1863 when it was sent to Vicksburg to help with the siege. The Rhode Island Memorial was dedicated in 1908."

More detail on the sculpture itself can be found in the SIRIS database description: (visit link)

"Inscription:
(On front of plinth, left:)
FRANK EDWIN ELWELL 1907

(On front of plinth, right:)
GORHAM CO. FOUNDERS

(Incised on base, left:)
JUDGE NATHA B. LEWIS
WILLIAM P. HOPKINS ELISHA KNIGHT
COMMISSION

(Incised on base, front:)
RHODE ISLAND
7TH INFANTRY
COL. ZENAS R. BLISS
1ST BRIG. 2ND DIV.
9TH CORPS

Description:

A soldier stands atop a square tiered base. He wears a disheveled uniform and holds a flag in his upraised proper left hand and a rifle in his proper right hand. The seal of the State of Rhode Island, an anchor and the word "HOPE," appears on the rear of the base."

TITLE: Rhode Island Memorial ARTIST(S): Frank Edwin Elwell DATE: 1907 MEDIUM: Sculpture: bronze; Base: grey granite. CONTROL NUMBER: IAS MS000332 Direct Link to the Individual Listing in the Smithsonian Art Inventory: [Web Link] PHYSICAL LOCATION: Grant Ave. near Grant's Headquarters Vicksburg NMP Vicksburg MS DIFFERENCES NOTED BETWEEN THE INVENTORY LISTING AND YOUR OBSERVATIONS AND RESEARCH: none

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Date Logged Log   09/22/2014 Benchmark Blasterz visited it