what is the connection between him, a war and the statue?
He was a squadron leader of the National Guard in the Franco-Prussian War after which he constructed the "Lion of Belfort" statue.
Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi
Bartholdi served in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 as a squadron leader of the National Guard, and as a liaison officer to Italian General Giuseppe Garibaldi, representing the French government and the Army of the Vosges. As an officer, he took part in the defense of Colmar from Germany. Distraught over his region's defeat, over the following years he constructed a number of monuments celebrating French heroism in the defense against Germany. Among these projects was the "Lion of Belfort", 
who donated the statue of liberty to the united states It was a gift from the people of France. who designed it? Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi. can you name some of the other works of this designer? A Good Samaritan-themed sculptural group.
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Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi [SEP] The war and Statue of Liberty
Bartholdi served in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 as a squadron leader of the National Guard, and as a liaison officer to Italian General Giuseppe Garibaldi, representing the French government and the Army of the Vosges. As an officer, he took part in the defense of Colmar from Germany. Distraught over his region's defeat, over the following years he constructed a number of monuments celebrating French heroism in the defense against Germany. Among these projects was the "Lion of Belfort", which he started working on in 1871, not finishing the massive sandstone statue until 1880. In 1871, he made his first trip to the United States, where he pitched the idea of a massive statue gifted from the French to the Americans in honor of the centennial of American independence.