Equestrian statue of Joseph Hooker

Last updated
Equestrian statue of Joseph Hooker
General Joseph Hooker by Daniel Chester French, Boston, MA.JPG
The statue in 2008
Equestrian statue of Joseph Hooker
Year1903;120 years ago (1903)
Medium Bronze sculpture
Subject Joseph Hooker
Location Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Coordinates 42°21′28.8″N71°3′47.3″W / 42.358000°N 71.063139°W / 42.358000; -71.063139

An equestrian statue of Joseph Hooker (sometimes called General Joseph Hooker) is installed outside the Massachusetts State House, facing Beacon Street in Boston, in the United States.

Contents

Hooker, a native of Hadley, Massachusetts, was a United States Army officer in the Mexican–American War and a major general in the United States Civil War. His statue stands about 15 ft (4.6 m) high and was unveiled in June 1903 to an artillery salute, during a ceremony attended by military and civilian officials. [1]

History

Dedication ceremony for the statue in June 1903 1903 Hooker statue StateHouse Boston.png
Dedication ceremony for the statue in June 1903

The 1903 bronze sculpture was designed by Daniel Chester French and Edward Clark Potter, and rests on a granite base. It was surveyed as part of the Smithsonian Institution's "Save Outdoor Sculpture!" program in 1997. [2]

Legislators approved US$55,000 in public funds to commission the statue. The statue originally included a bronze plaque bearing the words "A Soldier in the Army that Kept the Nation Whole". Veterans' groups demanded the removal of this inscription, as they felt it diminished Hooker's leadership role in the war. [3]

Though popular with his troops, Hooker's memorialization in one of the most prominent locations in Massachusetts has been controversial. The historian Charles Francis Adams Jr., who served as a colonel in the Civil War, was quoted as saying he refused to walk on the same side of the street as the statue: "I look upon [the statue] as an opprobrium cast on every genuine Massachusetts man who served in the Civil War. Hooker in no way and in no degree represents the typical soldiership of the Commonwealth." [3]

In 2017, amid the removal of Confederate monuments and memorials in the Southern United States, the Boston Globe said the Joseph Hooker statue belongs to "the category known as Why Are These Statues Even Here At All?" The newspaper quoted Peter Drummey of the Massachusetts Historical Society as stating that "Hooker didn't have a very good reputation as a soldier or as a person." Drummey speculated that rather than honoring the person himself, the presence of the Joseph Hooker statue at the State House is a testament to the political power of veterans' groups. [4]

The Hooker statue, along with the nearby statue of Mary Dyer, remained open to the public even after the September 11 attacks in 2001 prompted state authorities to close the gates to the State House lawn, limiting access to statues of Anne Hutchinson, John F. Kennedy, Henry Cabot Lodge, Horace Mann and Daniel Webster. [5]

General Hooker Entrance

A sign outside the Massachusetts State House points to the three public entrances, one of which is named for General Hooker. General hooker entrance (6001991270).jpg
A sign outside the Massachusetts State House points to the three public entrances, one of which is named for General Hooker.

The statue stands in front of, and lends its name to, the main public entrance to the State House. The large sign reading "General Hooker Entrance" is often the source of double entendres, particularly from groups of schoolchildren on field trips. [6] In 2011, for example, actor Kevin Bacon tweeted a photo of the entrance with the question, "Where do special hookers enter?" [7] State Representative Michelle DuBois, a Democrat from Brockton, called for the name of the entrance to be changed in 2018, saying it is "tone deaf" and shows "disregard for the majority of women's feelings and dignity for the raising up and false-protection of a statue of a long-dead general". She said women who work in the State House face uncomfortable "good-old-boy, schoolyard jokes" because of the name. [6] Governor Charlie Baker and other state officials rejected the notion of making changes to the sign. [1]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel Chester French</span> American sculptor (1850–1931)

Daniel Chester French was an American sculptor of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, best known for his 1874 sculpture The Minute Man in Concord, Massachusetts, and his 1920 monumental statue of Abraham Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward Clark Potter</span> American sculptor

Edward Clark Potter was an American sculptor best known for his equestrian and animal statues. His most famous works are the marble lions, nicknamed Patience and Fortitude, in front of the New York Public Library Main Branch

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theo Alice Ruggles Kitson</span> American sculptor

Theo Alice Ruggles Kitson, also known as Tho. A. R. Kitson and Theo Alice Ruggles, was an American sculptor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin Milmore</span> American sculptor

Martin Milmore (1844–1883) was an American sculptor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Equestrian statue of George Henry Thomas</span> Sculpture in Washington, D.C.

Major General George Henry Thomas, also known as the Thomas Circle Monument, is an equestrian sculpture in Washington, D.C. that honors Civil War general George Henry Thomas. The monument is located in the center of Thomas Circle, on the border of the downtown and Logan Circle neighborhoods. It was sculpted by John Quincy Adams Ward, best known for his work on the statue of George Washington in Wall Street, Manhattan. Attendees at the dedication in 1879 included President Rutherford B. Hayes, Generals Irvin McDowell, Philip Sheridan, and William Tecumseh Sherman, senators and thousands of soldiers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Equestrian statue of Winfield Scott</span> Equestrian statue by Henry Kirke Brown

Brevet Lt. General Winfield Scott is an equestrian statue in Washington, D.C., that honors career military officer Winfield Scott. The monument stands in the center of Scott Circle, a traffic circle and small park at the convergence of 16th Street, Massachusetts Avenue and Rhode Island Avenue NW. The statue was sculpted by Henry Kirke Brown, whose best-known works include statues of George Washington in New York and Nathanael Greene in Washington, D.C. It was the first of many sculptures honoring Civil War generals that were installed in Washington, D.C.'s traffic circles and squares and was the second statue in the city to honor Scott.

Melzar Hunt Mosman was an American sculptor who made a number of Civil War and Spanish–American War monuments in Massachusetts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Statue of Horace Mann</span> Statue in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.

A statue of Horace Mann by Emma Stebbins is installed outside the Massachusetts State House, in Boston, Massachusetts, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Statue of Mary Dyer</span> Statue in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.

A statue of Quaker religious martyr Mary Dyer by Sylvia Shaw Judson is installed outside the Massachusetts State House, in Boston, Massachusetts, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Statue of Daniel Webster (Boston)</span> Statue in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.

A statue of Daniel Webster by Hiram Powers is installed outside the Massachusetts State House, in Boston, Massachusetts, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Statue of Henry Cabot Lodge</span> Statue in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.

A statue of Henry Cabot Lodge by Raymond Averill Porter is installed outside the Massachusetts State House, in Boston, Massachusetts, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Statue of Anne Hutchinson</span> Statue in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.

A statue of Anne Hutchinson by Cyrus Edwin Dallin is installed outside the Massachusetts State House, in Boston, Massachusetts, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Statue of John F. Kennedy (Boston)</span> Statue in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.

A statue of John F. Kennedy by Isabel McIlvain is installed outside the Massachusetts State House in Boston, Massachusetts, United States.

<i>The Minute Man</i> 1874 sculpture by Daniel Chester French

The Minute Man is an 1874 sculpture by Daniel Chester French in Minute Man National Historical Park, Concord, Massachusetts. It was created between 1871 and 1874 after extensive research, and was originally intended to be made of stone. The medium was switched to bronze and it was cast from ten Civil War-era cannons appropriated by Congress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Equestrian statue of Charles Devens</span> Equestrian statue in Worcester, US

The equestrian statue of Charles Devens is a public monument in Worcester, Massachusetts, United States. Located in front of the old Worcester County Courthouse in the Institutional District, the equestrian statue honors Charles Devens, who served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War and later served as United States Attorney General. The statue was designed by Daniel Chester French and Edward Clark Potter and was dedicated on July 4, 1906.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Statue of George H. Perkins</span> Statue in Concord, New Hampshire

Commodore George Hamilton Perkins is a public memorial that stands on the grounds of the New Hampshire State House in Concord, New Hampshire, United States. The statue was designed by sculptor Daniel Chester French, with architect Henry Bacon designing the remainder of the public monument. It honors George H. Perkins, a New Hampshire native who had served as an officer in the United States Navy during the American Civil War. The statue was dedicated in 1902.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Statue of William Francis Bartlett</span> Statue in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.

A statue of William Francis Bartlett stands inside the Massachusetts State House in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. The bronze statue was designed by sculptor Daniel Chester French and honors Bartlett, who had served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The statue was dedicated in 1904.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Statue of Rufus Choate</span> Statue in Boston, Massachusetts

A statue of Rufus Choate stands in the John Adams Courthouse in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. The statue was designed by Daniel Chester French and honors Choate, a lawyer and politician from Massachusetts. It was dedicated in 1898.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Statue of Israel Putnam</span> Statue in Bushnell Park, Connecticut, US

General Israel Putnam is a monumental statue in Hartford, Connecticut, United States. Located in the city's Bushnell Park, the statue was designed by sculptor John Quincy Adams Ward and honors Israel Putnam, a military officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. The statue was largely paid for by a donation from judge Joseph P. Allyn and was dedicated in a large ceremony in 1874. It was one of the first statues to be erected in the park, which nowadays houses several other monuments to famous Connecticut residents. From an artistic standpoint, the statue has received mixed reviews from critics.

References

  1. 1 2 "Hooker: A Few Facts". The Boston Globe . Boston, Massachusetts. March 20, 2018. p. B2.
  2. "General Joseph Hooker, (sculpture)". Smithsonian Institution . Retrieved October 7, 2019.
  3. 1 2 Allis, Sam (September 10, 2001). "General Hooker's Honor: How Did a Soldier of Dubious Distinction Rate a Statue in Front of Our State House?". The Boston Globe . Boston, Massachusetts. p. F1.
  4. Burr, Ty (June 3, 2017). "Are Boston's Statues Honoring All the Right Men?". The Boston Globe . Boston, Massachusetts. p. A1.
  5. Nichols, Russell (May 29, 2006). "Debate on Access, Security Unfolds at Gates of State House". The Boston Globe . Boston, Mass. p. D8.
  6. 1 2 Annear, Steve (March 16, 2018). "Lawmaker Takes Hit for Objecting to Sign". The Boston Globe . Boston, Massachusetts. p. B2.
  7. "Reynolds Sighting". The Boston Globe . Boston, Massachusetts. September 21, 2011. p. G16.