The statue depicts a soldier holding a gun.
The inscription on front reads
FREEDOM
PATRIOTISM
HUMANITY
To commemorate the valor and patriotism of the men of the nation who served in the war with Spain, the Phillipine Insurrection and the Chinese Relief expedition 1898 - 1902
This monument erected through the efforts of the various camps and auxillaries of the United Spanish War veterans of Michigan and presented to the State of Micihgan Spetember 15, 1946
The side reads:
Through Steaming Tropical Jungles they fought beneath a sweltering sky -- through shot and shell while their comerads fell and remember the Maine was their battle cry.
The Status is called The Hiker and the Smithsonian Inventory (
visit link) tells us:
Artist: Kitson, Theo Alice Ruggles, 1871-1932, sculptor.
Gorham Manufacturing Company, founder.
Yunker Memorials, fabricator.
Title: The Hiker, (sculpture).
Dates: Aug. 7, 1945. Installed July 17, 1946. Dedicated Sept. 15, 1946.
Description: A standing male soldier with his left foot forward and both hands holding a gun horizontally across his thighs. A cartridge belt encircles his waist and straps across his upper chest support a canteen on his proper right hip and a large sack on his proper left hip. His shirt sleeves are rolled up and he wears a hat.
Owner: Administered by Michigan Capitol Committee, Legislative Service Bureau, 124 West Allegan, P. O. Box 30036, Lansing, Michigan 48909
Located Michigan State Capitol, Capitol Lawn, Lansing, Michigan
Remarks: Yunker Memorials fabricated the Mt. Airy granite base and installed it on July 17, 1946. The sculpture was sponsored in 1943 by the Lansing John C. Durst Camp No. 40 of the U.S.W.V. with contributions of more than $6,000. In Jan. 1989, the sculpture was removed for conservation by Venus Bronze Works, Inc. IAS files contain a Feb. 24, 1989 condition assessment and treatment proposal by Venus Bronze Works, Inc.; a Yunker Memorials, Inc. contract for fabrication and installation of the base; newspaper articles from the Lansing State Journal, July 17, 1946; Sept. 1, 1946; and Jan. 8, 1989; and two press releases --one marking the Jan. 19, 1989 removal of the sculpture for conservation treatment and the other marking the May 4, 1989 return of the sculpture.