General George Rogers Clark - Quincy, IL
Posted by: 
adgorn
N 39° 56.580 W 091° 24.870
15S E 635453 N 4422634
Standing figure of General George Rogers Clark dressed in military uniform with a sash tied around his waist. He stands with his legs crossed at the ankles and his arms folded across his chest. He stands back against the base.
Waymark Code: WMR47M
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 05/11/2016
Views: 2
More from the Smithsonian site (
visit link) : "There are four medallions of the seals of four states around the base.
Dimensions: Sculpture: approx. 9 ft. x 3 ft. x 3 ft. 6 in.; Base: approx. 11 x 9 x 11 ft. (Base: 12 tons.).
Inscription: (Base front:) GENERAL/GEORGE ROGERS CLARK/1752-1818/SON OF VIRGINIA/SWORD OF KENTUCKY/SAVIOR OF ILLINOIS/ERECTED BY THE STATE OF ILLINOIS 1909 (State seals for IL, IN, VA, & OH are set around the base) unsigned
Base and foundation were done by Menke Stone and Lime Company, a Quincy firm. Bronze cast by an unidentified Chicago firm. Statue cost 6,000 dollars, appropriated by the State of Illinois."
From Wikipedia: "George Rogers Clark was a surveyor, soldier, and militia officer from Virginia and the highest ranking American military officer on the northwestern frontier during the American Revolutionary War. He served as leader of the Kentucky militia throughout much of the war. Clark is best known for his celebrated captures of Kaskaskia and Vincennes during the Illinois Campaign, which greatly weakened British influence in the Northwest Territory. Because the British ceded the entire Northwest Territory to the United States in the 1783 Treaty of Paris, Clark has often been hailed as the "Conqueror of the Old Northwest".
Clark's military achievements all came before his 30th birthday. Afterwards he led militia in the opening engagements of the Northwest Indian War, but was accused of being drunk on duty. Despite his demand for a formal investigation into the accusations, he was disgraced and forced to resign. He left Kentucky to live on the Indiana frontier. Never fully reimbursed by Virginia for his wartime expenditures, Clark spent the final decades of his life evading creditors, and living in increasing poverty and obscurity. He was involved in two failed conspiracies to open the Spanish-controlled Mississippi River to American traffic. After suffering a stroke and the loss of his leg, Clark was aided in his final years by family members, including his younger brother William, one of the leaders of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Clark died of a stroke on February 13, 1818."
The Riverview Park location, atop a high point, affords a beautiful view of the Mississippi River.