Gettysburg Sculptures

     The sculptor of the "Sedgwick" was         H.K. Bush-Brown (1857-1935).

The Gettysburg Battlefield has four bronze sculptures by Henry Kirke Bush-Brown. Of these four, three are equestrian statues. An equestrian statue is, by definition, a statue of a horse-mounted rider. The term is from the Latin “eques, meaning “knight.”

Henry Kirke Bush-Brown was the son of Robert W. and Caroline Bush. He would be adopted as a young boy by his mother’s sister and her husband Henry Kirke Brown. H. K. Bush-Brown would study under his uncle and become well schooled in the basics of his art. Additional training would take H.K. Bush Brown to Paris and New York where his further development would continue.

H.K. Bush Brown would produce many works but his first equestrian was the “Meade” dedicated in 1896 at Gettysburg .  Another would follow of the “Reynolds” also at Gettysburg in 1899. The “Sedgwick” would be Bush-Brown’s final equestrian at Gettysburg . Bush-Brown would sculpt the bust of Lincoln for the Lincoln Speech Memorial in the National Cemetery . This monument was erected in 1912.

For a sculptor to be given the commission for an equestrian was indeed and honor and considered the highlight of ones career. H.K. Bush-Brown, having three equestrians at Gettysburg, speaks of his talent and artistic abilities.

Henry Kirk (H.K.) Bush-Brown would comment about his thoughts when designing the monument: "I have endeavored to represent General Sedgwick as he might have appeared on his arrival there overlooking that part of the field which his troops were to occupy."  Present at the dedication, Bush-Brown would comment on his completed work that it would present General Sedgwick “quiet and undisturbed by the battle around him, waiting for orders, an intense expression of readiness in the man and in his horse.” It is obvious that Bush Brown has accomplished this!

The sculptor was noted for his great attention to detail. Note the "dents" in the scabbard of Sedgwick's sword and the stitching around the horse blanket as seen in the photo below.