The Defense of the Flag and Lorado Taft

Back on November 5, I wrote about the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial in Gloversville, New York which I had discovered while visiting there last August. James Morrison, of the Gloversville Historian’s Office, was able to give me the memorial’s correct name and when it was erected but he had no more information about it. The only information offered by the memorial itself were the foundry markings for Gorham Founders. Following up the lead offered by markings on the base of the memorial, I visited the Smithsonian Museum of American Art’s collection of the Gorham Foundry’s papers, but these records shed no further light on the sculptor’s identity nor offered any further leads to pursue.

I’ve read that many of the world’s greatest discoveries resulted from accidents – either in a laboratory or as the human race moved about the surface of the planet looking for something else entirely different from what it actually found. Sometimes, it’s that way in tracking down this kind of information as well. Yesterday, I visited one of my favorite local book stores in Washington DC (something my wife often dreads – with good reason, yesterday was big day for me there!), Second StoryBooks. In their specially priced-to- move bins on the sidewalk (bringing up memories of Paris and Moscow), I came across a copy of “The Public Art of CivilWar Commemoration, A Brief History with Documents” by Thomas J. Brown of the University of South Carolina.

Given my interest in the Civil War and in how we use public space and public monuments to commemorate our history, especially our military history, I plucked this out of the bin and begin my usual quick examination – pictures? bibliography? blurb? author’s bio and credentials? – all factors contributing to a buy or do not buy decision. And there from page 34 jumps out a picture of the Gloversville monument – except the caption says that it’s located in Jackson, Michigan. Furthermore, it identifies the sculptor as LoradoTaft whose Wikipedia biography includes a link to a photograph of the Michigan monument which according to Brown dates from the 1894-1904 period. The proper title of the three figure grouping is “The Defense of the Flag” – very appropriate. Thus, through the intervention so to speak of the universe or simply chance, we now know the sculptor, the title of the work, and that it is not unique but one of at least two copies on public display.

(If you are also interested in further examination and discussion of how we use public spaces you may be interested in Sue Mosher’s Placekeepers website and blog which focus upon the sacred uses of space.)

A Monumental and Apparently Overlooked Memorial from Gloversville, New York

Last August, I was driving my mother around New York’s Mohawk Valley area while we pursued some leads for our family genealogy. But the most exciting find of the trip was this outstanding Civil War memorial in Gloversville, New York. I had to stop the car, investigate, and take photographs.


My wife and I have long made an informal study of what we call “our glorious fallens” – the war memorials erected by communities across the US, Canada, the UK, Russia, etc. – in which a community remembers and salutes those of its members who have gone to war. The monument in Gloversville ranks as one of the top five that we have found though it appears to have escaped wider notice in spite of its obvious quality.

The monument features three figures of soldiers – a central standard bearer, and two flankers. The one on the standard bearer’s right is on one knee and alert to the signs and sounds of battle, but the left, the man has apparently been hit and is slumping to the ground and his left hand clutching at his sack coat. This is remarkable grouping for the overwhelming majority of town/city Civil War memorials feature only one figure.

The monument itself was disappointingly short on information with regard to the sculptor, the sponsor(s), and even the date upon which it was erected and/or dedicated. Its principal inscription reads:

“IN MEMORY OF THE MEN WHO OFFERED THEIR LIVES IN DEFENSE OF THEIR COUNTRY”

The only lead was the markings to indicate that it had been cast at the Gorham Foundry – manufacturers of the work of numerous famous and less well known artists from the US and abroad. The National Gallery of American Art in Washington DC has microfilm copies of the records from the Gorham company and I was able to spend an unfortunately fruitless afternoon looking for further information there.

James Morrison, of the Gloversville Historian’s Office, sent me a copy of the story of the monument from The Morning Herald of July 12, 1917 which offered a few more bits of information. Governor Whitman of New York led the array of dignitaries present for the dedication of the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument in Monument Square in the community of Gloversville, New York, though the occasion was marred by poor weather. Ironically, given the name, the memorial features only the three soldiers discussed above.

The only indications as to sponsorship were references to the memorial being a gift from the citizens of the city to its veterans, and to a General Committee apparently responsible for the project’s realization. Also present was the former Commander of the New York Grand Army of the Republic General Loud, and representatives of the local Ansel Denison Post, G.A.R. But again, the article gave no name for the sculptor and no definitive statement regarding the identity of the memorial’s sponsor.

So I am sharing my photos and what information I have on this splendid monument in the hopes that perhaps collectively we can illuminate the mystery and provide the recognition that this monument deserves. My next leads would appear to be in the City Records of Gloversville and possibly in the surviving records of the G.A.R. Ansel Denison Post.