This monument commemorates the taking possession of California from Mexico for the United States by Commodore John D. Sloat in 1846. It features a granite eagle with folded wings.
The Smithsonian Inventory (
visit link) provides a description and additional information:
"Sloat Monument, (sculpture).
Artist:
Cummings, Melvin Earl, 1876-1936, sculptor.
Putnam, Arthur, 1873-1930, sculptor.
Bakewell & Brown, architectural firm.
W. W. Blanchard & Son, contractor.
Title:
Sloat Monument, (sculpture).
Other Titles:
Commodore John Drake Sloat Monument, (sculpture).
Dates:
Begun 1896. Dedicated June 14, 1910.
Medium:
Sculpture: granite; Base: stone.
Dimensions:
Sculpture: approx. H. 15 ft. x W. 20 ft.; Base: approx. H. 6 ft. x W. 24 ft. 1 in.
Inscription:
BAKEWELL & BROWN/ARCHITECTS/CUMMINGS & PUTNAM/SCULPTORS/W. W. BLANCHARD & SON/BUILDERS (On front of monument below relief:) TO.COMMEMORATE/THE.TAKING.POSSES/SION.OF.CALIFORNIA/BY.COMMODORE./JOHN.DRAKE/SLOAT/UNITED STATES NAVY/JULY 7.1846 (Names are inscribed on the base stones) signed Founder's mark appears.
Description:
Granite sculpture of an eagle with folded wings. The bird's head stretches forward. The eagle is perched atop a stone monument. On the front face of the monument is a relief medallion featuring the portrait bust of Commodore John Drake Sloat. He is shown in proper left profile. The monument ends in a rectangular base constructed of stone blocks.
Subject:
Portrait male -- Sloat, John Drake -- Bust
Occupation -- Military -- Commodore
Animal -- Bird -- Eagle
Object Type:
Outdoor Sculpture -- California -- Monterey
Relief
Sculpture
Owner:
Administered by City of Monterey, Cultural Services, Colton Hall, Monterey, California 93940
Located Presidio, Ft. Mervine Lane, Monterey, California
Remarks:
Commodore Sloat landed a detachment of Marines in Monterey in 1846 and declared California a possession of the United States. The monument base was begun in 1896 through the efforts of Major E. A. Sherman. $10,000 of the total cost of the monument was provided by the federal government. The names of various contributors who provided funding for the base are inscribed on the faces of the individual stone blocks. Putnam sculpted the eagle; Cummings sculpted the relief portrait. Blakewell & Brown were the architects for the monument. IAS files contain copy of related excerpts from Anna Geil Andresen's "Historic Landmarks of Monterey, California", Salinas, CA: 1917, pg. 12-14; and Merrill A. Reed's "Historical Statues & Monuments in California", San Francisco: 1956, pg. 37, 40.
Condition:
Surveyed 1994 November. Treatment needed."