54th Regiment Memorial

[KianGaf]

A fine memorial that I was delighted to visit on my last night in the USA .

 

[Fairfield]

As a former Boston resident, I've gone by that monument many times and it never fails to move me.

 

[7thWisconsin]

That´s one of the most important pieces of Civil War sculpture, if not military sculpture in general, in America. That´s Saint-Gaudens, the greatest American sculptor of the late 19th century. He also sculpted Henry Adam´s wife grave and the $20 gold piece (sometimes called the most beautiful US coin ever designed). Several of the portraits on the 54th Mass monument were sculpted from life; the models were actual veterans of the regiment. The Gould Shaw likeness is excellent. All of the equipment details, and way arms are carried are meticulously accurate. Last but not least, the monument was the inspiration for the first movement of Charles Ives ambitious composition ¨Three Places in New England,¨ - ¨The Saint Gaudens in Boston Common.¨ (I really like Charles Ives and that´s my favorite work). It is, also, displayed in the closing credits of ¨Glory.¨