Gettysburg Sculptures

 

Gettysburg Sculptures

United States

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  • Quick Index to Bronze Sculptors at Gettysburg
  • Quick Index to Northern Equestrian Monuments at Gettysburg
  • Quick Index to Bronze Southern State Monuments at Gettysburg
  • The Great 50th Reunion of the Battle of Gettysburg RememberedClick to open the The Great 50th Reunion of the Battle of Gettysburg Remembered menu
    • 1913 Reunion Mementos and Souvenirs
  • Father William Corby Portrait StatueClick to open the Father William Corby Portrait Statue menu
    • Samuel A. Murray Sculptor of the Father Corby Portrait Statue
  • Maj-Gen Hancock Equestrian MonumentClick to open the Maj-Gen Hancock Equestrian Monument menu
    • Frank Edwin Elwell Sculptor of the Hancock
  • Louisiana State Memorial Click to open the Louisiana State Memorial  menu
    • Louisiana State Memorial Sculptor Donald De Lue
  • Mississippi MonumentClick to open the Mississippi Monument menu
    • Donald De Lue sculptor of the Mississippi Memorial
  • Soldiers & Sailors of the Confederacy MonumentClick to open the Soldiers & Sailors of the Confederacy Monument menu
    • Donald De Lue sculptor of the Soldiers & Sailors Monument
    • The 1941 Proposed Location of the Longstreet Memorial
  • Virginia State MemorialClick to open the Virginia State Memorial menu
    • General Robert E. Lee bronze atop the Virginia Memorial
    • The bronze "group" at the base of the Virginia Memorial
  • Bronze Bas-Relief at Gettysburg Page 1 of 2Click to open the Bronze Bas-Relief at Gettysburg Page 1 of 2 menu
    • Bronze Bas-Relief at Gettysburg Page 2
  • Brig. General John Buford MonumentClick to open the Brig. General John Buford Monument menu
    • James E Kelly, Sculptor of the Buford Bronze Statue
  • Brig. General Samuel Crawford MonumentClick to open the Brig. General Samuel Crawford Monument menu
    • Ron Tunison, sculptor of the Crawford Monument
  • Delaware Memorial at GettysburgClick to open the Delaware Memorial at Gettysburg menu
    • Ron Tunison, Sculptor of the Delaware Memorial Bronze
  • Friend to Friend Masonic MemorialClick to open the Friend to Friend Masonic Memorial menu
    • Ron Tunison, Sculptor of the Friend to Friend Masonic Memorial
  • Gen. Sedgwick Equestrian MonumentClick to open the Gen. Sedgwick Equestrian Monument menu
    • H.K. Bush Brown sculptor Sedgwick Equestrian Monument
  • Gen. Slocum Equestrian MonumentClick to open the Gen. Slocum Equestrian Monument menu
    • Edward C. Potter sculptor Slocum Equestrian Monument
  • General John Gibbon MonumentClick to open the General John Gibbon Monument menu
    • Terry Jones sculptor of the Gen. John Gibbon Statue
  • General A. A. Humphreys MonumentClick to open the General A. A. Humphreys Monument menu
    • J. Otto Schweizer sculptor of the A. A. Humphreys Statue
  • Maj-Gen. Meade Equestrian MonumentClick to open the Maj-Gen. Meade Equestrian Monument menu
    • H. K. Bush Brown Sculptor Meade Equestrian Monument
  • North Carolina State MonumentClick to open the North Carolina State Monument menu
    • Sculptor of the North Carolina Monument Gutzon Borglum
  • John F. Reynolds Monument National CemeteryClick to open the John F. Reynolds Monument National Cemetery menu
    • J. Q. A. Ward sculptor of the Reynolds in the Cemetery
  • Major - Gen. James S. Wadsworth MonumentClick to open the Major - Gen. James S. Wadsworth Monument menu
    • R. Hinton Perry Sculptor of the Maj. Gen. Wadsworth Bronze
  • Gen. G.K. Warren MonumentClick to open the Gen. G.K. Warren Monument menu
    • Karl Gerhardt sculptor of the General Warren Monument
  • Gen. Webb MonumentClick to open the Gen. Webb Monument menu
    • J. Massey Rhind sculptor of Webb Memorial
  • Women's Memorial (Elizabeth Thorn) at GettysburgClick to open the Women's Memorial  (Elizabeth Thorn) at Gettysburg menu
    • Ron Tunison, Sculptor of the Women's Memorial
  • Albert Woolson MonumentClick to open the Albert Woolson Monument menu
    • Avard Fairbanks sculptor of the Albert Woolson Statue
  • 6th New York Cavalry MonumentClick to open the 6th New York Cavalry Monument menu
    • James E. Kelly sculptor 6th N.Y. Cavalry Monument
  • 9th New York Cavalry MonumentClick to open the 9th New York Cavalry Monument menu
    • Caspar Buberl sculptor of the 9th NY Cavalry Monument
  • 111th New York Infantry MonumentClick to open the 111th New York Infantry Monument menu
    • Caspar Buberl Sculptor of the 111th New York Infantry Bronze Statue
  • 11th Mississippi Infantry MonumentClick to open the 11th Mississippi Infantry Monument menu
    • William Beckwith sculptor of the 11th Mississippi Inf. Monument
  • 11th Pennsylania Infantry MonumentClick to open the 11th Pennsylania Infantry Monument menu
    • E. A. Kretschman Sculptor of the 11th PA Infantry Monument

General Robert Edward Lee Bronze equestrian statue atop the Virgina Memorial.

The bronze equestrian of General Lee atop the Virginia Memorial is considered one of the finest examples done of the revered southern leader. The statue depicts General Lee astride Traveller his most famous horse used in the Civil War and is located along West Confederate Avenue.

The statue faces east and Lee appears to be looking towards the Northern Battleline along Cemetery Ridge.

The bronze statue appears to be very similar to a photograph taken of Lee on Traveller during the Civil War.

Lee would purchase Traveller in 1862 for $200.00. Lee would describe Traveller to Mrs. Lee's cousin Markie Williams when she asked to paint a portrait of the General's horse. Lee would write: If I was an artist like you, I would draw a true picture of Traveller; representing his fine proportions, muscular figure, deep chest, short back, strong haunches, flat legs, small head, broad forehead, delicate ears, quick eye, small feet, and black mane and tail. Such a picture would inspire a poet, whose genius could then depict his worth, and describe his endurance of toil, hunger, thirst, heat and cold: and the dangers and sufferings through which he has passed. He could dilate upon his sagacity and affection, and his invariable response to every wish of his rider. He might even imagine his thoughts through the long night marches and days of battle through which he passed. But I am no artist Markie, and can therefore only say he is a Confederate gray."

I can only imagine that Siever's would use this description as well as the above photograph in his depiction of Lee and Traveller.

 When Sievers is presented the commission for the Virginia Memorial and because he wanted his depiction of Traveller to be perfect, he would have the bones of Traveler who had died in May, 1871 and then on display in Lexington Virginia, measured. Siever's then would use these measurements to find a perfectly sized horse to represent Traveller for his clay model. Upon selection this horse would then be used by Siever's to attain the perfect proportions we see today. One of the details Sievers included on Traveller is that the ears appear "perked" forward as if listening to the sound of a distant battle.

 Traveller, horse of General Lee

The bronze of General Robert E. Lee atop the Virginia Memorial.

 A confident but calm Lee gazes towards the Northern Line on Cemetery Ridge.

 Using photographs and most likley a plaster life mask cast of the General's face in 1869, Sievers created a nearly exact likeness of General Lee . 

General Lee with hat in hand.

The detail sculpted into the monument by Sievers gives it a life like depiction. Although the monument is larger than life size (14 feet from base to top of head) the proportions are nearly perfect.

  One small defect that can be observe on the monument is that when the bronze components were welded after casting, a small seam can still be seen where the upper portion of the leg meets the torso of the horse. Look carefully at the above photo and a horizontal seam can be seen.

 

 The photos used on these pages are copyrighted by myself or others. They can only be copied or reproduced with written permission or the clearly legible quotation "Copyright www.gettysburgsculptures.com and linked back to this web site. Please contact me by using the Contact Gettysburg Sculptures page on this site.

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Gettysburg Sculptures

United States