Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Arch, (sculpture).

Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Arch, (sculpture).

Keller, George W., 1842-1935, architect.

Entress, Albert, sculptor.

Buberl, Caspar, 1834-1899, sculptor.

Kitson, Samuel James, 1848-1906, sculptor.

Bissell, Hiram, contractor.

Budde, Augustus, contractor.

Boston Terra Cotta Company, fabricator.

Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Arch, (sculpture).

1884-1886. Dedicated Sept. 17, 1886. Tower statues: 1894.

Digital Reference:

Arch: brownstone; Frieze: terra-cotta; Angels: bronze.

Approx. H. 116 ft. x W. 30 ft. x Circum. 67 ft.

(Southeast tablet:) IN HONOR/OF THE MEN OF HARTFORD/WHO SERVED/AND IN MEMORY OF THOSE WHO FELL/ON LAND AND ON SEA/IN THE WAR FOR THE UNION/THEIR GRATEFUL TOWNSMEN/HAVE RAISED THIS MEMORIAL (Southwest tablet:) DURING THE CIVIL WAR/1861-1865/MORE THAN 4,000 MEN OF HARTFORD/BORE ARMS IN THE NATIONAL CAUSE/NEARLY 400 OF WHOM/DIED IN THE SERVICE/ERECTED 1885/GEORGE KELLER, ARCHITECT CASPER BUBERL & SAMUEL KITSON SCULPTORS/BOSTON/TERRA Cotta CO. (illegible text) signed Founder's mark appears.

A Gothic style arch, composed of two medieval towers joined by a classical frieze. The north frieze tells the story of war, with on the right, a figure of General Grant surveying his troops and on the left, marines jumping from a boat to rush the Confederates. The south frieze tells the story of peace. A female allegorical figure represents the City of Hartford. Her citizens gathered to welcome returning soldiers home.

Symbols identifying the four services are in the spandrels: the anchor for the Navy, the crossed cannon for the Artillery, crossed sabers for the Cavalry, and crossed rifles for the Infantry. Six figures--a farmer, blacksmith, mason, student, carpenter, and African-American male breaking the chains of bondage--are placed in niches on the towers. Each tower is topped by a bronze angel, one playing a trumpet, the other cymbals.

History -- United States -- Civil War

Occupation -- Farm -- Farmer

Occupation -- Craft -- Smithing

Occupation -- Industry -- Construction

Occupation -- Education -- Student

Ethnic -- African American

Occupation -- Other -- Slave

Religion -- Angel

Object -- Musical Instrument -- Trumpet

Object -- Musical Instrument -- Cymbal

Outdoor Sculpture -- Connecticut -- Hartford

Administered by City of Hartford, Parks and Recreation Department, 25 Stonington Street, Hartford, Connecticut 06106

Located Bushnell Park, Ford & Trinity Street, Hartford, Connecticut 06103

The Hartford arch was the first permanent triumphal arch in America, and it is dedicated to all men from Hartford who served in the Civil War. The idea for the memorial originated in Oct. 21, 1879, when a committee was formed to investigate the costs of erecting the memorial; and in 1881 a competition was sponsored. However, the winning entries exceeded the $60,000 funding limit and so the commission was eventually given to George W. Keller, architect. The north frieze was designed by Kitson; the south Frieze by Buberl, and fabricated by the Boston Terra Cotta Company. The tower statues completed in 1894 were carved by Albert Entress. When originally erected, the arch was standing at the south end of the Ford Street bridge.

The arch was rehabilitated in 1986-1988, Dominick C. Cimino, architect. At that time, the original terra cotta finial angels (removed because of deterioration around mid-20th century) were replaced by the current bronze angels. The ashes of architect Keller and his wife Mary are interred in the tower.

IAS files contain excerpt from David F. Ransom's "George Keller, Architect," (Hartford: The Stowe-Day Foundation), 1978, pg. 128-135, 156-157. For further readings see: The Connecticut Historical Society Bulletin, April 1969,pg. 33-42; and The Hartford Courant, Sept. 16, 1986, B9.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Connecticut survey, 1994.

Index of American Sculpture, University of Delaware, 1985.

The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.

Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

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