Robert Gould Shaw Memorial
Encyclopedia
The Memorial to Robert Gould Shaw and the Massachusetts Fifty-Fourth Regiment is a bronze
relief sculpture, by Augustus Saint-Gaudens
, located at 24 Beacon Street, in Boston Common
.
The sculpture depicts the 54th Regiment marching down Beacon Street
on May 28, 1863. The monument was unveiled on May 31, 1897.
The inscription reads:
(On face of relief:)
OMNIA RELINQVIT
SEVARE REMPVBLICAM
Translation from Latin to English: "He left behind everything to save the Republic."
(On pedestal under the relief, lines from James Russell Lowell
's poem "Memoriae Positum":)
Right in the van of the red rampart's slippery swell with heart that beat a charge he fell forward as fits a man: but the high soul burns on to light men's feet where death for nobel ends makes dying sweet.
(Carved on back of monument, 1894 text by Charles W. Norton:)
The White Officers taking life and honor in their hands cast in their lot with men of a despised race unproven in war and risked death as inciters of servile insurrection if taken prisoners besides encountering all the common perils of camp march and battle. The Black rank and file volunteered when disaster clouded the Union Cause. Served without pay for eighteen months till given that of white troops. Faced threatened enslavement if captured. Were brave in action. Patient under heavy and dangerous labors. And cheerful amid hardships and privations. Together they gave to the Nation and the World undying proof that Americans of African descent possess the pride, courage and devotion of the patriot soldier. One hundred and eighty thousand such Americans enlisted under the Union Flag in MDCCCLXIII-MDCCCLXV.
signed
A plaster cast, which exhibited at the 1901 Pan-American Exposition
, is at the National Gallery of Art
, on loan by the Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site, Cornish, New Hampshire
.
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...
relief sculpture, by Augustus Saint-Gaudens
Augustus Saint-Gaudens
Augustus Saint-Gaudens was the Irish-born American sculptor of the Beaux-Arts generation who most embodied the ideals of the "American Renaissance"...
, located at 24 Beacon Street, in Boston Common
Boston Common
Boston Common is a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts. It is sometimes erroneously referred to as the "Boston Commons". Dating from 1634, it is the oldest city park in the United States. The Boston Common consists of of land bounded by Tremont Street, Park Street, Beacon Street,...
.
The sculpture depicts the 54th Regiment marching down Beacon Street
Beacon Street
Beacon Street is a major thoroughfare in Boston, Massachusetts and several of its western suburbs. Beacon Street in Boston, Brookline, Brighton, and Newton is not to be confused with the Beacon Street in nearby Somerville, or others elsewhere.-Description:...
on May 28, 1863. The monument was unveiled on May 31, 1897.
The inscription reads:
(On face of relief:)
SEVARE REMPVBLICAM
Translation from Latin to English: "He left behind everything to save the Republic."
(On pedestal under the relief, lines from James Russell Lowell
James Russell Lowell
James Russell Lowell was an American Romantic poet, critic, editor, and diplomat. He is associated with the Fireside Poets, a group of New England writers who were among the first American poets who rivaled the popularity of British poets...
's poem "Memoriae Positum":)
Right in the van of the red rampart's slippery swell with heart that beat a charge he fell forward as fits a man: but the high soul burns on to light men's feet where death for nobel ends makes dying sweet.
(Carved on back of monument, 1894 text by Charles W. Norton:)
The White Officers taking life and honor in their hands cast in their lot with men of a despised race unproven in war and risked death as inciters of servile insurrection if taken prisoners besides encountering all the common perils of camp march and battle. The Black rank and file volunteered when disaster clouded the Union Cause. Served without pay for eighteen months till given that of white troops. Faced threatened enslavement if captured. Were brave in action. Patient under heavy and dangerous labors. And cheerful amid hardships and privations. Together they gave to the Nation and the World undying proof that Americans of African descent possess the pride, courage and devotion of the patriot soldier. One hundred and eighty thousand such Americans enlisted under the Union Flag in MDCCCLXIII-MDCCCLXV.
signed
A plaster cast, which exhibited at the 1901 Pan-American Exposition
Pan-American Exposition
The Pan-American Exposition was a World's Fair held in Buffalo, New York, United States, from May 1 through November 2, 1901. The fair occupied of land on the western edge of what is present day Delaware Park, extending from Delaware Ave. to Elmwood Ave and northward to Great Arrow...
, is at the National Gallery of Art
National Gallery of Art
The National Gallery of Art and its Sculpture Garden is a national art museum, located on the National Mall between 3rd and 9th Streets at Constitution Avenue NW, in Washington, DC...
, on loan by the Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site, Cornish, New Hampshire
Cornish, New Hampshire
Cornish is a town in Sullivan County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,640 at the 2010 census. Cornish has three covered bridges. Each August, it is home to the Cornish Fair.-History:...
.
External links
- http://www.celebrateboston.com/sites/shaw-memorial.htm
- http://www.sgnhs.org/Augustus%20SGaudens%20CD-HTML/Monuments/CivilWar/Shaw1.htm
- http://ctmonuments.net/2010/05/robert-gould-shaw-memorial-boston/
- http://iwalkedaudiotours.com/2011/04/iwalked-bostons-common-shaw-memorial/
- http://www.artbabble.org/video/ngadc/shaw-memorial-1900-augustus-saint-gaudens