General Charles Devens - Boston, MA
Posted by: NorStar
N 42° 21.389 W 071° 04.414
19T E 329230 N 4691439
This statue of General Charles, Devens, who rose to the rank of breveted Major General and was also an associate judge of the Massachusetts Supreme Court and a U.S. Attorney General, stands facing the grassy space in front of the Hatch Shell.
Waymark Code: WM8ZER
Location: Massachusetts, United States
Date Posted: 06/04/2010
Views: 6
In Boston, by the Hatch Shell in the Esplanade between the Charles River and Storrow Drive, are several statues that ring the grassy area in front of the Esplanade. One of these statues is of Charles Deven, who served as a general during the Civil War and also served as an associate judge in the Massachusetts Supreme Court and U.S. Attorney General.
Charles Devens was born in Charlestown (now part of Boston) in April 1820 and graduated from Harvard College and Harvard Law School. He was a lawyer until the Civil War started, and he was made a Major for the 3rd Battalion of Massachusetts Rifles. He rose to the rank of Colonel and then Brigadier General in April 1862. In 1865 he was breveted as Major General before getting out and returning to Massachusetts. He returned to bercome the 5th Commander in Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic.
Devens was present during the Battle of Ball's Bluff, Battle of Fair Oaks, Battle of Fredericksburg, Battle of Chancellorsville, Battle of Cold Harbor, and the Siege of Petersburg. His troops were to first to occupy Richmond, VA.
He also was an associate judge for the Massachusetts Supreme Court from 1873 to 1877. He later became U.S. Attorney General when Rutherford B. Hayes was President.
He died in 1891 and is buried in Mt. Auburn Cemetery in Watertown, Massachusetts.
The statue stands on the Storrow Drive side of the grassy area. Devens is standing, with his right foot extended in front of him. The bronze figure stands on a stone pedestal. In front is the name, "Charles Devens."
On another side is a brief sketch of his life, covered above.
Devens had a fort in central Massachusetts named after him that existed from 1917 to about 1996. The area, now known as Devens (a part of the towns of Shirley and Harvard), is being redeveloped for multiple uses.
Source:
Wikipedia (Charles Devens):
(
visit link)