County of statue: Merrimack County
Location of statue: courthouse lawn, N. Main St. (US 3/202) & Capitol Dr., Concord
Artist: Carl H. Conrads 1839-1920, Sculptor
Architect: John A. Fox, 1835-1920
Founder: Ames Manufacturing Company
Fabricator: New England Granite Works
Statue Erected by: The State of New Hampshire.
Date Statue Erected: 1890.
Text on Base:
Maj. Gen. John Stark
Born in Londonderry, N.H.
Aug. 28, 1728
Died in Manchester, N.H.
May 8, 1822.
BUNKER HILL
BENNINGTON
"John Stark, (born August 28, 1728, Londonderry, New Hampshire [U.S.]—died May 8, 1822, Manchester, New Hampshire, U.S.), prominent American general during the American Revolution who led attacks that cost the British nearly 1,000 men and contributed to the surrender of the British general John Burgoyne at Saratoga by blocking his retreat line across the Hudson River (1777).
"From 1754 to 1759, Stark served in the French and Indian War with Rogers’ Rangers, first as a lieutenant and later as a captain. Made a colonel at the outbreak of the American Revolution, he fought at Bunker Hill (June 17, 1775), in the invasion of Canada, and in New Jersey.
"In March 1777 Stark resigned his commission, but when Burgoyne invaded New York he was made brigadier general of militia. On August 16 his hastily raised troops attacked and defeated British and Hessian detachments at the Battle of Bennington, Vermont. Stark was thereupon raised to the rank of brigadier general in the Continental Army. He helped force the surrender of Burgoyne at Saratoga, New York, in October 1777 and served in Rhode Island (1779) and at the Battle of Springfield, New Jersey (1780). The same year, he was a member of the court-martial that condemned Major John André, who served as a British spy. In September 1783 Stark was made a major general." ~ Encyclopedia Britannica
More can be read about Major General John Stark:
Revolutionary War Archives, About.com Military History, The New American, Sea Coast NH Wikipedia
Proper Description:
"Full-length portrait of General John Stark seen in a Napoleonic stance; hat under his proper left arm, his proper right hand in his coat. He is dressed in military uniform, with sword at proper left side." ~ Smithsonian American Art Museum
Remarks:
"The idea for the statue originated with Prof. Taylor of Andover Theological Seminary in 1889. That year, the newly formed New Hampshire Society of the Sons of the Revolution asked for the memorial and by Aug. 14, 1889, the state legislature appropriated $12,000 for the statue. A committee selected an $8,000 proposal by New England Granite Works (Hartford, Connecticut); the model prepared by Carl Conrads, the company's sculptor. Conrads used a Trumbull portrait for Stark's face and modelled the body on John Francis Brines, a granite cutter and sculptor. The statue was cast by Ames Manufacturing Company and the pedestal designed by architect John A. Fox. The statue was completed by Oct. 1890 and dedicated Oct. 23, 1890." ~ Smithsonian American Art Museum