Focus on General William Tecumseh Sherman Monument and explain the Genesis of the monument, and design controversy.
Sherman died on February 14, 1891. Within days, the Society of the Army of the Tennessee, a veterans' group for those who served in the Army of the Tennessee, began planning for a memorial to their late commander. At the society's annual meeting in October 1891, the members of the society resolved to ask Congress to contribute $50,000 to a memorial and to establish a Sherman Memorial Commission. On July 5, 1892, Congress enacted legislation establishing the Sherman Monument Commission.  The three commission members were the president of the Society of the Army of the Tennessee, the Secretary of War, and the Commander of the United States Army. The Society of the Army of the Tennessee agreed to raise $50,000 (half the cost of the monument). The society contacted its own members as well as those of other veterans groups such as the Grand Army of the Republic, Society of the Army of the Potomac, Society of the Army of the Ohio, Society of the Army of the Cumberland, and the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States. However, the fund-raising appeal netted just $14,469.91. Congress was forced to double its contribution in order to make up the difference.In 1895, the Sherman Memorial Commission issued a call for proposals.  It specified an equestrian statue, and limited the competition to American artists (living at home or abroad). A committee of the National Sculpture Society agreed to judge the submissions. When the competition closed on December 31, 1894, 23 sculptors had submitted proposals.  These included Paul Wayland Bartlett (plinth with deeply cut bas-relief of Sherman, War, and Study), Henry Jackson Ellicott and William Bruce Gray (an Ionic pedestal), Adrian Jones of New York (equestrian statue), Fernando Miranda (an elliptical Greek Revival temple), L. Mullgardt (a park with four columns), Charles Henry Niehaus (pedestal with exedra), Victor Olsa (pedestal with bas relief panels), William Ordway Partridge (equestrian statue), and J. Massey Rhind (a monumental pyramid). All the proposed memorials were exhibited in Washington, D.C., to large crowds. The submission by Carl Rohl-Smith generated the most popular acclaim. The National Sculpture Society (NSS) judging committee consisted of Daniel Chester French, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Olin Levi Warner and John Quincy Adams Ward. The committee narrowed the submissions down to a short list of four:  Bartlett, Niehaus, Partridge, and Rhind. The submission by Carl Rohl-Smith did not make the short list.  It was ranked almost dead last by the NSS committee.On May 27, the memorial commission of the Society of the Army of the Tennessee overruled the NSS judging committee and chose the Carl Rohl-Smith design. The National Sculpture Society was outraged, and protested the award strongly to the society and the press. Several newspapers also protested the award. The New York Times called the decision "one of the most discreditable events ever in the annals of the public art of the United States". Senator Edward O. Wolcott sponsored legislation to investigate the award process. Although his resolution was not successful, the Senate debate over the award process was rancorous and showed the Senate's deep distrust of "art experts". Rohl-Smith was accused of using political influence to win the commission, an accusation he vehemently denied. After two months of protests, the National Sculpture Society ceased to contest the award.
L. Mullgardt Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States Monument Olin Levi Warner exedra Carl Rohl-Smith Army of the Tennessee Edward O. Wolcott Washington, D.C. Jackson John Quincy Adams Ward United States Army plinth Paul Wayland Bartlett Augustus Saint-Gaudens Grand Army of the Republic Daniel Chester French National Sculpture Society Charles Henry Niehaus J. Massey Rhind Secretary of War The New York Times Sherman William Ordway Partridge Ionic Army of the Potomac bas relief Henry Jackson Ellicott