Major General James B. McPherson
Encyclopedia
Major General James B. McPherson is a public artwork by American
artist Louis Rebisso
, located at McPherson Square
in Washington, D.C.
, United States
. Major General James B. McPherson was originally surveyed as part of the Smithsonian's
Save Outdoor Sculpture!
survey in 1993. The monument is a bronze
equestrian statue of Civil War
hero James B. McPherson
.
The statue is a contributing monument to the Civil War Monuments in Washington, DC
, of the National Register of Historic Places
.
base (H. 12 ft (4 m)., D. 6 ft (2 m).). The base is adorned with a ring of small wreaths around the top and a ring of star
s around the bottom, along with a ring of cannonballs.
The west side of the base is inscribed with:
MAJ. GEN. JAMES B. McPHERSON
ATLANTA
JULY 22, 1864
The east side of the base is inscribed with:
ERECTED BY HIS COMRADES
OF THE SOCIETY OF
THE ARMY OF THE TENNESSEE
cannon
s that were captured at the Battle of Atlanta
were used in the casting of the piece. The base was designed by Smithmeyer & Pelz and Westham Granite Works provided the stone work.
The sculpture was authorized by the United States Congress
on March 3, 1875, and was paid for by the Society of the Army of the Tennessee
. Major General James B. McPherson was installed in Scott Square (now McPherson Square) on October 18, 1876, on the 11th annual reunion of the Army of the Tennessee.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
artist Louis Rebisso
Louis Rebisso
Louis Thomas Rebisso Italian born American sculptor and teacher. After immigrating to the United States Rebisso settled in Cincinnati, Ohio where he spent the most productive years of his career...
, located at McPherson Square
McPherson Square
McPherson Square is a square in downtown Washington, D.C.. It is bound by K Street Northwest to the north, Vermont Avenue NW on the East, Eye Street NW on the south, and 15th Street NW on the West; it is one block northeast of Lafayette Park. It is served by the McPherson Square station of the...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Major General James B. McPherson was originally surveyed as part of the Smithsonian's
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
Save Outdoor Sculpture!
Save Outdoor Sculpture!
Save Outdoor Sculpture! is a community-based effort to identify, document, and conserve outdoor sculpture in the United States. By fostering awareness and appreciation, SOS! aims to advocate proper care of a nationwide public resource....
survey in 1993. The monument is a bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
equestrian statue of Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
hero James B. McPherson
James B. McPherson
James Birdseye McPherson was a career United States Army officer who served as a General in the Union Army during the American Civil War...
.
The statue is a contributing monument to the Civil War Monuments in Washington, DC
Civil War Monuments in Washington, DC
Civil War Monuments in Washington, D.C. is a group of 18 statues, that are spread out through much of central and northwest Washington, D.C. The statues depict 11 Union generals, and only one Confederate general, Albert Pike, who is depicted as a Mason rather than a military man. Two Union...
, of the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
Description
The memorial shows General McPherson sitting upon a horse, turned slightly to the proper right as if surveying a battlefield. He is holding the horses reins in his proper left hand and a pair of field glasses in his proper right hand. His horse, caught in mid-stride, walks with its proper right foot raised and its head turned down. The statue sits upon a rectangular graniteGranite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
base (H. 12 ft (4 m)., D. 6 ft (2 m).). The base is adorned with a ring of small wreaths around the top and a ring of star
Star
A star is a massive, luminous sphere of plasma held together by gravity. At the end of its lifetime, a star can also contain a proportion of degenerate matter. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth...
s around the bottom, along with a ring of cannonballs.
The west side of the base is inscribed with:
MAJ. GEN. JAMES B. McPHERSON
ATLANTA
JULY 22, 1864
The east side of the base is inscribed with:
ERECTED BY HIS COMRADES
OF THE SOCIETY OF
THE ARMY OF THE TENNESSEE
Information
ConfederateConfederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
cannon
Cannon
A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
s that were captured at the Battle of Atlanta
Battle of Atlanta
The Battle of Atlanta was a battle of the Atlanta Campaign fought during the American Civil War on July 22, 1864, just southeast of Atlanta, Georgia. Continuing their summer campaign to seize the important rail and supply center of Atlanta, Union forces commanded by William T. Sherman overwhelmed...
were used in the casting of the piece. The base was designed by Smithmeyer & Pelz and Westham Granite Works provided the stone work.
The sculpture was authorized by the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
on March 3, 1875, and was paid for by the Society of the Army of the Tennessee
Army of the Tennessee
The Army of the Tennessee was a Union army in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, named for the Tennessee River. It should not be confused with the similarly named Army of Tennessee, a Confederate army named after the State of Tennessee....
. Major General James B. McPherson was installed in Scott Square (now McPherson Square) on October 18, 1876, on the 11th annual reunion of the Army of the Tennessee.