Illinois Memorial (sculpture) - Vicksburg NMP - Smithsonian Art Inventory Sculptures on Waymarking.com

A Civil War memorial modeled after the Pantheon in Rome is comprised of a large rotunda with three medallion portraits in Georgia marble. The rotunda is fronted by a gabled portico with carved pediment relief of three female figures, surmounted by a bronze eagle. 47 granite steps lead up to the portico and rotunda. There are 60 bronze tablets on the interior which depict Illinois soldiers. The floor of the structure contains a marble mosaic which forms the Illinois State Seal. The building sits atop a hill with a long staircase to reach the temple. There are panel relief sculptures in the marble over the door along with quotations from Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant and Richard Yates (Governor of Illinois during the Civil War). According to the National Park Service Web Page on the Memorial The Illinois State Memorial is located on Union Avenue at milepost 1.8, tour stop #2. Dedicated on October 26, 1906, the monument was transferred to the United States by Governor C.S. Deneen and accepted by J. S. Schofield of the United States War Department. It was erected by the firm of Culver Construction Company with William B. Mundie contracting the designers and sculptors. The design was by W. L. B. Jenney and sculptor was Charles J. Mulligan. Stone Mountain (GA) granite forms the base and stairway. Above the base is Georgia white marble. There are forty-seven steps in the long stairway, one for each day of the Siege of Vicksburg. Modeled after the Roman Pantheon, the monument has sixty unique bronze tablets lining its interior walls, naming all 36,325 Illinois soldiers who participated in the Vicksburg Campaign. The monument stands sixty-two feet in height, and originally cost $194,423.92, paid by the state of Illinois.

TITLE: Illinois Memorial, (sculpture) ARTIST(S): Charles J. Mulligan, Frederick Ernst Triebel, William Le Baron Jenny DATE: October 26, 1906 MEDIUM: Exterior: white Georgia marble; Base and steps: Stone Mountain Georgia granite; Female figures: white marble; Eagle: bronze with gold leaf; Tablets: bronze. CONTROL NUMBER: IAS 77006444 Direct Link to the Individual Listing in the Smithsonian Art Inventory: [Web Link] PHYSICAL LOCATION: Vicksburg National Military Park Vicksburg, Mississippi Tour Stop 2, just off of Union Avenue DIFFERENCES NOTED BETWEEN THE INVENTORY LISTING AND YOUR OBSERVATIONS AND RESEARCH: Monument costs in remarks noted as $250,000, but Park Service notes state $194,400. NPS also lists Mulligan as the sculptor. with Jenney (not Jenny) as the architect.

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