Battle Monument (West Point)

Battle Monument
United States Military Academy

Battle monument, June 2009
For Officers and soldiers of the Regular Army killed in the US Civil War
Unveiled 30 May 1897
Location 41°23′40.93″N 73°57′24.66″W / 41.3947028°N 73.9568500°W / 41.3947028; -73.9568500Coordinates: 41°23′40.93″N 73°57′24.66″W / 41.3947028°N 73.9568500°W / 41.3947028; -73.9568500
near Highland Falls, NY
Designed by Stanford White & Frederick MacMonnies
Total commemorated
 2,230 Officers & soldiers of the Regular Army
Burials by nation
Burials by war

Battle Monument is a large Tuscan column monument located on Trophy Point at the United States Military Academy, West Point, NY. Designed by Stanford White,[1] it was dedicated on 30 May 1897 by surviving Civil War veterans.[2][3] The monument was financed by monthly contributions from the pay of the officers and soldiers of the regular army.[3] The granite column, standing 46 feet tall and 5 feet in diameter,[4] is reputed to be the largest column of polished granite in the Western Hemisphere.[5] Inscribed on bronze straps belting the eight monumental "cannon balls" circling the column are the names of 2,230 Regular Army officers and soldiers who died for the Union during the Civil War. Designed by Frederick MacMonnies,[5] a female statue sits atop the monument, representing "fame".[1] The statue that now tops the monument is actually the second version of the statue. Just months after it was unveiled, MacMonnies agreed to replace the original statue after complaints that it was too large and awkward.[6] Traditionally, the plebes at West Point made reference to the statue of Fame when giving the following reply to any upperclassman demanding to know "How are they all?": "They are all fickle but one, sir." "Who is the one?" "She who stands atop Battle Monument, for she has been on the same shaft since 1897;" however, this is no longer current practice.

Image gallery

Notes

  1. 1 2 Crackel, p.181.
  2. ↑ Lea, p.132
  3. 1 2 "West Point's Dedication" (PDF). NY Times 29 May 1897. 30 May 1897. Retrieved 1-11-09. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  4. ↑ "Battle Monument West Point". Waymarking.com. Retrieved 1-11-09. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  5. 1 2 "Tour of West Point: Battle Monument". United States Military Academy. Archived from the original on 11 January 2009. Retrieved 1-11-09. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  6. ↑ Lange, Robie S. (1984). Historical Structures Inventory United States Military Academy West Point, NY Vol 1. Washington DC: National Park Service. p. 23.

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