Statue of General Ambrose E. Burnside

Subject (Topic):
Public art; Sculpture; United States--Rhode Island--Providence

Subject (Name):
Burnside, Ambrose Everett, 1824-1881

Subject (Object Type):
Commemorative sculpture

The Statue of General Ambrose E. Burnside is an equestrian monument depicting Ambrose E. Burnside located in Providence, Rhode Island. It is situated in the eastern corner of Burnside Park, a green space that sits opposite the Kennedy Plaza Bus Station. The monument of Burnside, from the city sidewalk to the top of the bronze statue, is twenty-eight feet seven and a quarter inches tall. The idea for the monument was conceived by Colonel Isaac M. Potter only one day after Burnside’s death on September 13, 1881. It was designed and sculpted by Irish sculptor Launt Thompson, and it was dedicated on July 4th, 1887. The dedication of the monument included a lengthy procession with active U.S. soldiers and veterans, as well as a number of speeches from Reverend Joseph J. Wooley, General Horatio Rogers, Colonel Robert H. I. Goddard, Mayor of Providence Gilbert F. Robbins, and Reverend Christopher Hughes.

In the monument, the horse stands with its head pointed slightly to the left, all four of its large, muscular legs planted on the pedestal. The horse wears a saddle embroidered with a small insignia of an eagle on the left and right flanks of the saddle. Burnside is perched atop the horse as he gazes off to the left,  dressed in his military uniform, which is complete with a coat with buttons and a top hat that casts his calm, neutral face in shadow. He holds no weapons; instead, he grasps binoculars in his right hand and seems to be in a position of scouting. Both of his feet rest in the stirrups, and he does not hold the reins of the horse, instead hovering his left hand above the saddle. The pedestal of the monument is a simple granite rectangular structure that portrays the general’s name, “Burnside,” in capital letters. Below the pedestal lies a rectangular granite foundation. There are no plaques or descriptions that accompany the monument.

Thompson, Launt, 1833-1894

Photographs by Bryce Jacobs

Dedicated: July 4, 1887

Foundry: The Henry-Bonnard Bronze Company; General Committee: 1st R.I. Vols., Nicholas Van Slyck, 2nd R.I. Vols., Horatio Rogers and Joseph B. Curtis, 3rd R.I. Art., Charles H. Williams, 4th R.I. Vols., Frank A. Chase, 5th R.I. Art., Isaac M. Potter, 7th R.I. Vols., William H. Joyce, 9th R.I. Vols., J. Talbot Pitman, 10th R.I. Vols., Henry R. Barker, 11th R.I. Vols., Henry S. Olney, 12th R.I. Vols., C. Henry Alexander, 14th R.I. Art., Nelson Viall, 1st R.I. Light Art., Benjamin H. Child and Charles C. Gray, 1st R.I. Cavalry, William Garner, 2nd and 3rd R.I. Cavalry, Edwin C. Pomroy, United States Veteran Association, Gilbert Wilson, Gen. Burnside’s Staff, Robert H. I. Goddard and George R. Fearing, Navy, William B. Avery, Soldiers and Sailors’ Historical Society, Edwin Metcalf, Gen. Horatio Rogers, Col. Charles H. Williams, and Capt. Frank A. Chase; Building Committee: Gen. Horatio Rogers, Robert H. I. Goddard, Isaac M. Potter, Hon. Rowland Hazard, George W. Danielson, The Governor of Rhode Island (ex-officio), The Mayor of the City of Providence (ex-officio), Hon. Samuel P. Colt; Design of granite pedestal: Mr. Henry O. Avery and Gen. William R. Walker; Construction of granite foundation and pedestal: Mr. George Gerhard, Mr. Franklin L. Mason, Mr. Frederick L. Mathewson, and Mr. Isaac M. Sweet; Fundors: the State of Rhode Island, the City of Providence, and private subscriptions

City of Providence, 25 Dorrance Street, Providence, Rhode Island 02903

JPEG

English

Visual Arts-Sculpture

40 Kennedy Plaza, Providence, Rhode Island 02903

Pedestal: BURNSIDE

343.25 in. (H) (871.855 cm.)

Statue: bronze; Pedestal: granite; Foundation: granite

Rhode Island Council for the Humanities. “Dedication of the Equestrian Statue of Major-General Ambrose E. Burnside” (1887). RWU E-Books. https://docs.rwu.edu/rwu_ebooks/4.

Renée Ater, Brown University