Explore the Design, construction, and dedication of this artwork.
Carl Rohl-Smith never saw his statue completed.  He died in August 1900. Although the government determined that the contract with Rohl-Smith was null after his death, the memorial committee agreed to allow Rohl-Smith's assistant and wife, Sara, to oversee the statue's completion. Mrs. Rohl-Smith asked sculptors Theo Kitson, Henry Kirke Bush-Brown, and Jens Ferdinand Willumsen to help with the statue's completion. Later reports do not mention Bush-Brown or Willumsen's work on the monument, but Lauritz Jensen worked on the main statue, while Danish sculptor Stephen Sinding modelled the War and Peace figures. Sinding created plaster models for these pieces from Rohl-Smith's sketches. But upon review, the postures and sizes of the two figures were found not to harmonize with the rest of the monument. Sigvald Asbjornsen remodelled them. As Rohl-Smith had already completed three of the four soldier figures on the corners of the monument, Sigvald Asbjornsen completed the fourth. Sources differ as to whether Asbjornsen completed the artilleryman or the cavalryman. Kitson completed the medallions which depicted the corps commanders who served under Sherman. Jensen completed the four bas relief panels based on work already done by Rohl-Smith, and completed the badge (eagle) of the Army of the Tennessee as well.Gorham Brothers of Providence, Connecticut, cast the statues and medallions.The stone pedestal was designed by Rohl-Smith. Erected by April 1902, it was built by the Harrison Granite Company. The granite came from the Fletcher Granite Company of Westford, Massachusetts. The mosaic around the pedestal was designed by Rohl-Smith and constructed by the National Mosaic Company. The monument was expected to cost $90,000, but the final amount was $123,969.91.The monument was dedicated by President Theodore Roosevelt on October 15, 1903. The monument is located in Sherman Park.  This area is where Sherman, along with President Andrew Johnson and General Ulysses Grant, reviewed the Army of the Potomac on May 23, 1865. Sherman led the parade of the Army of the Tennessee past this same site the next day.On February 18, 1904, Congress legislatively gave the name "Sherman Plaza" to the area where the monument stands.In 2011, the statue underwent a $2 million restoration.The statue is a contributing monument to the National Register of Historic Places' Civil War Monuments in Washington, D.C., which was established by Executive Order 11593 on May 13, 1971. The memorial is also a contributing element to President's Park South, an area which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
National Register of Historic Places Jens Ferdinand Willumsen Monument Carl Rohl-Smith Army of the Tennessee Washington, D.C. Sigvald Asbjornsen Ulysses Grant Westford, Massachusetts Henry Kirke Bush-Brown Andrew Johnson Executive Order Theo Kitson Civil War Monuments in Washington, D.C. Sherman Army of the Potomac bas relief President's Park Theodore Roosevelt