 William Jasper Monument (2018) | |
 | |
| 32°04′25″N81°05′38″W / 32.07355°N 81.09397°W | |
| Location | Madison Square, Savannah, Georgia, United States |
|---|---|
| Designer | Alexander Doyle |
| Material | Bronze Granite (pedestal) |
| Height | 15.5 feet (4.7 m) |
| Dedicated date | February 2, 1888 |
| Dedicated to | William Jasper |
The William Jasper Monument is a monument honoring William Jasper in Savannah, Georgia, United States. Located in Madison Square, the monument was designed by Alexander Doyle and dedicated in 1888.
William Jasper was a sergeant in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. During the Battle of Sullivan's Island in 1776, he earned fame by climbing a parapet under enemy fire to reattach his company's flag after the flagpole was destroyed. For his action, he was commended by John Rutledge, the then-President of South Carolina. [1] He was later killed in action during the siege of Savannah on October 9, 1779. [1] [2]
On February 2, 1888, a monument honoring Jasper was dedicated in Madison Square in Savannah, Georgia. [3] [4] The monument, located near the De Soto Hotel in Savannah, was designed by Alexander Doyle and depicts Jasper during the siege of Savannah. [2] Several prominent Savannah citizens, including Ireland native William Kehoe, [5] had been members of the association responsible for the monument's creation. [2] The mayor and aldermen were present at the monument's dedication, where then-Georgia Governor John Brown Gordon gave a speech. [3] [6] Then-President of the United States Grover Cleveland and First Lady of the United States Frances Cleveland were guests of honor, [3] with the President stopping on his way to Jacksonville, Florida and honoring the occasion with a drive through the city. [2]
In 1957, a Georgia historical marker was erected near the monument. [7]
The bronze statue of Jasper, topping a granite pedestal, shows him in a heroic pose, holding the Moultrie Flag above his head in his left hand and a sword in his right. [2] [3] Near his feet is his bullet-ridden hat. Three bas-reliefs on the base of the monument depict scenes from Jasper's life. The height of the monument is 15.5 feet (4.7 m). [7] An inscription on the front base of the monument reads: [2] [3]
To the memory of Sergeant William Jasper, who, though mortally wounded, rescued the colors of his regiment, in the assault on the British lines about the city, October 9, 1779. A century has not dimmed the glory of the Irish-American soldier whose last tribute to civil liberty was his life. 1779–1879. Erected by the Jasper Monument Association.
William Moultrie was an American planter and politician who became a general in the American Revolutionary War. As colonel leading a state militia, in 1776 he prevented the British from taking Charleston, and Fort Moultrie was named in his honor.
0 Jasper distinguished himself in the defense of Fort Moultrie on June 28, 1776. When a shell from a British warship shot away the flagstaff, he recovered the South Carolina flag in the Battle of Sullivan's Island, raised it on a temporary staff, and held it under fire until a new staff was installed. Governor John Rutledge gave his sword to Jasper in recognition of his bravery.
The siege of Savannah or the Second Battle of Savannah was an encounter of the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) in 1779. The year before, the city of Savannah, Georgia, had been captured by a British expeditionary corps under Lieutenant-Colonel Archibald Campbell. The siege itself consisted of a joint Franco-American attempt to retake Savannah, from September 16 to October 18, 1779. On October 9 a major assault against the British siege works failed. During the attack, Polish nobleman Count Casimir Pulaski, leading the combined cavalry forces on the American side, was mortally wounded. With the failure of the joint attack, the siege was abandoned, and the British remained in control of Savannah until July 1782, near the end of the war.
Sgt. John Newton (1755–1780) was a soldier of the American Revolutionary War who was popularized by Parson Weems in his school books in the early 19th century. Newton served under Brigadier General Francis Marion, the famous "Swamp Fox". Today Newton appears to have been a very minor figure. However, place names across the United States demonstrate his former fame. He is considered one of the popular fictionalized heroic enlisted men of the American Revolution.
General Pulaski Memorial Day is a United States public holiday in honor of General Kazimierz Pułaski, a Polish hero of the American Revolution. This holiday is held every year on October 11 by Presidential Proclamation, to commemorate his death from wounds suffered at the siege of Savannah on October 9, 1779, and to honor the heritage of Polish Americans. The observance was established in 1929 when Congress passed a resolution designating October 11 as General Pulaski Memorial Day. Every President has issued a proclamation for the observance annually since.
The city of Savannah, Province of Georgia, was laid out in 1733, in what was colonial America, around four open squares, each surrounded by four residential ("tything") blocks and four civic ("trust") blocks. The layout of a square and eight surrounding blocks was known as a "ward." The original plan was part of a larger regional plan that included gardens, farms, and "out-lying villages." Once the four wards were developed in the mid-1730s, two additional wards were laid. Oglethorpe's agrarian balance was abandoned after the Georgia Trustee period. Additional squares were added during the late 18th and 19th centuries, and by 1851 there were 24 squares in the city. In the 20th century, three of the squares were demolished or altered beyond recognition, leaving 21. In 2010, one of the three "lost" squares, Ellis, was reclaimed, bringing the total to today's 22.
Alexander Doyle (1857–1922) was an American sculptor.
Casimir Pulaski was a Polish nobleman, soldier and military commander who has been called "the father of the American cavalry". He has had hundreds of monuments, memorial plaques, streets, parks and similar objects named after him.
The Casimir Pulaski Monument in Savannah, or Pulaski Monument on Monterey Square, is a 19th-century monument to Casimir Pulaski, in Monterey Square, on Bull Street, Savannah, Georgia, not far from the battlefield where Pulaski lost his life during the siege of Savannah.
The following is a timeline of the history of Savannah, Georgia, United States.
The Civil War Memorial in Savannah, Georgia, is a monument honoring soldiers who died during the American Civil War. Located in Forsyth Park, it consists of a 48 foot (15 m) tall shaft topped with a bronze statue of a Confederate soldier. Two bronze busts commemorating notable Confederate army officers flank the monument, which is protected by a railing, one of the only two that still stand around a monument, the other being the Casimir Pulaski Monument in Monterey Square. Originally known as the Confederate Monument, it was dedicated in 1875 to honor Confederate soldiers who died during the Civil War. Following the Unite the Right rally, the city of Savannah renamed and rededicated the structure in 2018. The monument is one of the oldest and largest Confederate monuments in Georgia.
The equestrian statue of John Brown Gordon is a monument on the grounds of the Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The monument, an equestrian statue, honors John Brown Gordon, a general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War who later become a politician in post-Reconstruction era Georgia. Designed by Solon Borglum, the statue was dedicated in 1907 to large fanfare. The statue has recently become a figure of controversy over Gordon's racist views and associations with the Confederacy, with some calling for its removal.
The Defenders of Fort Moultrie, also commonly known as the Jasper Monument, is a monument in Charleston, South Carolina, United States. Located in White Point Garden, the monument depicts Sergeant William Jasper and was dedicated in 1877 to all South Carolina militiamen involved in the Battle of Sullivan's Island during the American Revolutionary War.
The William Washington Gordon Monument is a public monument in Savannah, Georgia, United States. Located in Wright Square, the monument honors politician and businessman William Washington Gordon and was designed by Henry Van Brunt and Frank M. Howe. It was completed in 1883.
The Nathanael Greene Monument is a public monument in Savannah, Georgia, United States. Located in Johnson Square, the monument was designed by William Strickland and honors Nathanael Greene, a general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. While the cornerstone was laid in 1825, the monument was not completed until 1830, at which time it served as a joint monument for Greene and fellow Continental Army general Casimir Pulaski. The monument became solely dedicated to Greene in 1853, after which two bronze plaques honoring Greene were added to the structure. In 1902, Greene's body was reinterred under the monument. In 2018, one of the bronze plaques was vandalized with googly eyes, which drew national attention to the monument.
Savannah City Hall is the seat of government for the city of Savannah, Georgia, United States. Designed by architect Hyman Witcover, the building was built between 1904 and 1905 and opened the following year. It is a contributing property to the Savannah Historic District.
The James Oglethorpe Monument is a public monument in Chippewa Square, Savannah, Georgia, United States. The monument honors James Oglethorpe, the founder of the Province of Georgia, who established the city of Savannah in 1733. Efforts towards the monument's erection began in 1901 and were led by members of several patriotic groups in the city, who secured government funding for the monument. The monument consists of a bronze statue of Oglethorpe, designed by Daniel Chester French, atop a large granite pedestal designed by Henry Bacon. It was dedicated in 1910, in a ceremony that attracted several thousand spectators and was attended by several notable government officials.
The Stewart–Screven Monument is a monument in Midway, Georgia, United States. Erected in 1915, the monument honors Daniel Stewart and James Screven, two generals from the American Revolutionary War. The monument is located in a cemetery in the Midway Historic District.
A statue of Benjamin Harvey Hill stands inside the Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The monumental statue was designed by American sculptor Alexander Doyle and originally dedicated in 1886 at what is now Hardy Ivy Park. The statue was relocated to the capitol building in 1890.
Madison Square is one of the 22 squares of Savannah, Georgia, United States. It is located in the fourth row of the city's five rows of squares, on Bull Street and Macon Street, and was laid out in 1837. It is south of Chippewa Square, west of Lafayette Square, north of Monterey Square and east of Pulaski Square. The square is named for James Madison, fourth president of the United States. The oldest building on the square is the Sorrel–Weed House, at 6 West Harris Street, which dates to 1840.
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