St Paul Soldiers and Sailors Monument (St Paul, Minnesota)
Union
The St Paul Soldiers and Sailors Monument honours United States veterans of the Civil War and their victories for the union and abolition of slavery. The statue depicts Josias R. King, said to be the first Minnesotan to volunteer to fight for the union and is sculpted out of Vermont marble. The statue features King standing and holding a rifle and has a distinct backdrop of the Cathedral of St Paul. The statue is maintained and funded for by the city of St. Paul and has undergone multiple restorations.
Monument type:
Statue - high ranking official
Artist:
John K. Daniels (face of the statue)
Dedication Date:
1903-11-20
Address:
St Paul
Ramsey
Minnesota
USA
Inscription:
Side 1, West side -‘To perpetuate the memory of the Union Soldiers and Sailors of the War of 1861 — 1865 · Their patriotism inspired unquestioning devotion · Their valor was attested on hard-won battlefields · Their suffering and sacrifice exalted the glorious cause and ennobled the splendid triumph.’ Side 2, North side - ‘The victories they helped achieve preserved the Union of the States · Abolished slavery · Established the National Prestige · Opened new avenues for the development of man and the advancement of liberty.’ Side 3, East side - ‘Erected through the instrumentality of the Allied Organizations of the City of St. Paul · Grand Army of the Republic · A.D. 1903 · The statue represents Josias R. King · The first man to volunteer in the First Minnesota Infantry · The first regiment tendered the government for the suppression of the rebellion.’
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Conception Date:
1897-01-01
Opening Date:
1903-01-01
Material:
Bronze,Marble
Size:
0m x 0m x NaNm
Creator:
Cost / Value:
$9000
Erected by:
Grand Army of the Republic
Funded by:
Anchor Post #21 of the Grand Army of the Republic
Run by:
City of St Paul
Indigenous Land
Očhéthi Šakówiŋ, Wahpekute
Organization/Curator:
Data Sources:
DeCarlo, Peter J., ‘The complicated history of St Paul’s Soldiers and Sailors Memorial’, MinnPost, 23 June 2020, https://www.minnpost.com/mnopedia/2020/06/the-complicated-history-of-st-pauls-soldiers-and-sailors-memorial/.
DeCarlo, Peter J., ‘Soldiers and Sailors Memorial, St Paul’, MNOpedia, last modified 3 March 2022, https://www.mnopedia.org/thing/soldiers-and-sailors-memorial-st-paul.
Ringham, Eric, ‘Massacre clouds story of the soldier on Minnesota’s pedestal’, MPR News, 27 September 2018, https://www.mprnews.org/story/2018/09/27/iconic-minnesota-soldier-part-of-atrocity.
Sepic, Matt, ‘Amid debate over Civil War statues, Minn. restores monument to first volunteer soldier’, 18 August 2017, https://www.mprnews.org/story/2017/08/18/restorers-preserve-monument-minnesota-civil-war-regular-soldier.
‘Soldiers and Sailors Memorial’, Historic Twin Cities, 28 January 2019, http://www.historictwincities.com/2019/01/28/soldiers-and-sailors-memorial/.
‘Soldiers and Sailors Monument’, St Paul Minnesota, accessed 10 February 2024, https://www.stpaul.gov/departments/parks-and-recreation/recreation-centers/parks-recreation-programs/public-art/soldiers.
‘St. Paul Civil War Memorial’, The Historical Marker Database, accessed 10 February 2024, https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=231550.
Read below for one of our contributor’s reflections on this monument