Robert Gould Shaw Memorial - Watertown, MA - Smithsonian Art Inventory Sculptures on Waymarking.com

A 15' by 10' by 6 ' memorial is dedicated to Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, the leader of the 54th Infantry Regiment, the first African-American regiment thatwas organized on March 13, 1863 following the Emancipation Proclaimation. He was killed at rhe Battle of Fort Wagner, SC. The memorial is located within the Shaw family plot which is surrounded by an ornate iron fence.

A marble monument has an ornate scroll on top and a rectangular relief sculpture of a pair of angels facing each other. The relief is very worn and therefore indistinct. Below the relief is a script inscription R.G. & E.P. SHAW (for Robert Gould and Eliza Parkman Shaw).

Below is a bronze tablet with the inscription:

THIS TABLET IS IN MEMORY OF
ROBERT GOULD SHAW
COLONEL 54^th MASS^ts. INFANTRY
FELL AT FORT WAGNER S.C.
AND WAS THERE BURIED, JULY 18TH 1863
AGE 25 YEARS 9 MONTHS.
"GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN THAN THIS
THAT A MAN LAY DOWN HIS LIFE FOR
HIS FRIEND."

The marble monument is contained within a stone portico with four Ionic columns and a triangular pediment. The a dado below the pediment is inscribed:

ROBERT GOULD SHAW
1848.

TITLE: Robert Gould Shaw Memorial ARTIST(S): UNKNOWN DATE: Undated MEDIUM: marble, bronze. stone CONTROL NUMBER: IAS MA000365 Direct Link to the Individual Listing in the Smithsonian Art Inventory: [Web Link] PHYSICAL LOCATION: Pine Avenue Mount Auburn Cemetery entrance 580 Mt. Auburn Street Canbridge, MA DIFFERENCES NOTED BETWEEN THE INVENTORY LISTING AND YOUR OBSERVATIONS AND RESEARCH: Memorial is white marble. Portico is a light brown colored stone Name and date below the pediment added. R.G. & E.P. SHAW inscription added Ending " added superscript ts. added to MASS Memorial has been treated but relief is worn.

Visit Instructions:
Please give the date of your visit, your impressions of the sculpture, and at least ONE ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPH. Add any additional information you may have, particularly any personal observations about the condition of the sculpture.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log   11/12/2017 petendot visited it