U. S. Grant Memorial in Washington, D.C.
U. S. Grant Memorial in Washington, D.C.
Standing to the west of the U. S. Capitol, facing the Lincoln Memorial
down the long expanse of the mall in Washington, D.C., is the magnificent
memorial equestrian statue of Ulysses S. Grant, a dramatic tribute to the
Union's greatest general.
It is the result of the combined work of sculptor Henry Merwin Shrady and
the architect, Edward Pearce Casey, who jointly entered the design
competition in 1902. Of 27 designs submitted by competitors, theirs was
chosen as the one believed by the judges to be the best fit artistically
with the original chosen site, the north side of the great oval lying
south of the iron fence enclosing the White House. That site was later
rejected and a place in the Botanic Garden grounds between First and
Second Streets was approved by Congress on June 30, 1906.
It is an interesting coincidence that Henry Merwin Shrady's father, Dr.
George F. Shrady, a Civil War surgeon, was General Grant attending
physician at Mt. McGregor during his last days. Thus Shrady, the
sculptor, had some personal knowledge of the general as handed down to
him by his father.
It took Henry Shrady 20 years to complete the sculpture of General Grant
astride his horse, flanked by an artillery group on one side and a
cavalry group on the other. The entire arrangement stands on a great
platform 265 feet long (nearly as along as a football field!). General
Grant exhibits poise and calm in spite of the tumult depicted in the
groupings of men, equipment, and horses at either end of the expanse of
the platform. This is an accurate depiction of General Grant's composure
in the heat of battle and Mr. Shrady did a masterful job in conveying one
of Grant's greatest personal attributes. The pedestal, topped by horse
and rider, stands 65 feet high.
Mr. Shrady spent the 20 years in unrelenting study and sculpture of the
figures of the people (11) and horses (12), accoutrements, and equipment
that all came together in this monumental work. He even managed to use
his own face as a model for one of the soldiers in the cavalry grouping.
At the four corners of the platform are 4 large lions protecting the
flags of the U.S. Army. All the stonework for this sculpture is white and
was furnished by the Vermont Marble Company.
Henry Merwin Shrady died 15 days before the dedication of the memorial on
April 27, 1922 (the 100 year anniversary of the birth of Ulysses S.
Grant). In an elaborate music filled ceremony Princess Cantacuzene,
granddaugher of
General Grant, and her daugher, Princess Ida, unveiled the statue.
See the Grant Memorial, view one.
See the Grant Memorial, view two.
Go Back to the Ulysses S. Grant Sites Home Page
To read more about the Grant Memorial, see The Grant
Memorial in Washington prepared under the direction of the Grant
Memorial Commission, Government Printing Office, 1924.