Trenton Battle Monument
Encyclopedia
Column
A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a vertical structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. For the purpose of wind or earthquake engineering, columns may be designed to resist lateral forces...
-type monument in Trenton, New Jersey
Trenton, New Jersey
Trenton is the capital of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Trenton had a population of 84,913...
. It commemorates the December 26, 1776 Battle of Trenton
Battle of Trenton
The Battle of Trenton took place on December 26, 1776, during the American Revolutionary War, after General George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River north of Trenton, New Jersey. The hazardous crossing in adverse weather made it possible for Washington to lead the main body of the...
, a pivotal victory for the Continental
Continental Army
The Continental Army was formed after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America. Established by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, it was created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies in...
forces during the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
.
Description
Designed by John H. DuncanJohn H. Duncan
-Biography:He was the designer of the Wolcott Hotel. One of the most famous architects in the United States at the turn of the 20th century, his popularity rose after being selected as the architect of what is now Grant's Tomb, another "reconstruction" of the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus .Another of...
, the architect of Grant's Tomb
Grant's Tomb
General Grant National Memorial , better known as Grant's Tomb, is a mausoleum containing the bodies of Ulysses S. Grant , American Civil War General and 18th President of the United States, and his wife, Julia Dent Grant...
, the memorial is an early example of the Beaux Arts style in America. Its design is based on "The Monument
Monument to the Great Fire of London
The Monument to the Great Fire of London, more commonly known as The monument, is a 202 ft tall stone Roman Doric column in the City of London, England, near the northern end of London Bridge. It stands at the junction of Monument Street and Panda Bear Hill, 202 ft from where the Great...
", a 1671 structure built to commemorate the Great Fire of London
Great Fire of London
The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through the central parts of the English city of London, from Sunday, 2 September to Wednesday, 5 September 1666. The fire gutted the medieval City of London inside the old Roman City Wall...
, on the London street where the 1666 fire started. The height of the Trenton monument is intentionally the same height as the London monument.
The hollow Roman-Doric fluted column of the memorial is of granite construction, as is the pedestal which supports it, although slightly darker stone was used to give the appearance of more solidity to the base. The column is capped by a small, round pavilion, forming an observatory; accessible by means of an electric elevator, it has provided thousands of tourists an excellent view of Trenton
Trenton, New Jersey
Trenton is the capital of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Trenton had a population of 84,913...
, and the surrounding battle scene, over the years. Encircling the column, just above the cap, thirteen electric lights, symbolic of the original Thirteen Colonies
Thirteen Colonies
The Thirteen Colonies were English and later British colonies established on the Atlantic coast of North America between 1607 and 1733. They declared their independence in the American Revolution and formed the United States of America...
, shed their radiance at night.
The pavilion is surmounted by an acanthus
Acanthus (ornament)
The acanthus is one of the most common plant forms to make foliage ornament and decoration.-Architecture:In architecture, an ornament is carved into stone or wood to resemble leaves from the Mediterranean species of the Acanthus genus of plants, which have deeply cut leaves with some similarity to...
leaf pedestal where, atop the entire structure, a bronze statue of General George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
, as he appeared at the opening of the engagement, crowns the impressive monument; with his extended right hand, Washington directs the fire of the Continental artillery down King (now Warren) Street. The figure is 13 feet (4 m) feet high while the monument, including the statue, is 150 feet (45.7 m) above street level.
On the east, west and south sides of the base of the pedestal are three bronze reliefs depicting "The Surrender of the Hessians," "The Continental Army Crossing the Delaware River" and "The Opening of the Battle," respectively; the latter shows the battery of Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton was a Founding Father, soldier, economist, political philosopher, one of America's first constitutional lawyers and the first United States Secretary of the Treasury...
about to fire down King Street. On the north side of the pedestal is a bronze tablet presented by the Society of the Cincinnati
Society of the Cincinnati
The Society of the Cincinnati is a historical organization with branches in the United States and France founded in 1783 to preserve the ideals and fellowship of the American Revolutionary War officers and to pressure the government to honor pledges it had made to officers who fought for American...
of New Jersey.
Guarding the entrance to the monument stand two bronze figures of Continental soldiers. One is the statue of Private John Russell, a member of Colonel John Glover's Marblehead Regiment of seafaring men from Marblehead, Massachusetts
Marblehead, Massachusetts
Marblehead is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 19,808 at the 2010 census. It is home to the Marblehead Neck Wildlife Sanctuary and Devereux Beach...
, who gained fame by transporting Washington's army across the ice-choked Delaware River
Delaware River
The Delaware River is a major river on the Atlantic coast of the United States.A Dutch expedition led by Henry Hudson in 1609 first mapped the river. The river was christened the South River in the New Netherland colony that followed, in contrast to the North River, as the Hudson River was then...
on Christmas night, 1776. The other figure is modeled after a likeness of Private Blair McClenachan
Blair McClenachan
Blair McClenachan was a United States Representative from Pennsylvania. Born in Ireland, he immigrated to the United States at an early age and settled in Philadelphia. He engaged in mercantile pursuits and in banking and shipping, and was one of the founders of and served with the First Troop...
, of the Philadelphia Light Horse Troop, a unit which also took part in the Battle of Trenton.
History
The monument is located in an area of the city known as "Five Points". It was here, at the intersection of Warren (King) Street, North Broad (Queen) Street, Brunswick, Pennington and Princeton Avenues, that the American artillery was placed. From this vantage point, they dominated the streets of Trenton, preventing the Hessian troops from organizing an effective counter attack.A movement to erect a monument commemorating the success at Trenton began in 1843. About forty years later in 1886, the property for the monument was acquired by the Trenton Monument Association. To build the monument, the New Jersey legislature appropriated $15,000, Congress $30,000, and citizens contributed $15,000. Monument Park at the "Five Points" was acquired under the provisions of an ordinance passed June 28, 1893.
The cornerstone was laid Saturday, December 26, 1891, on the 115th anniversary of the Battle of Trenton. The base and pedestal were erected in the spring of 1892, the capstone raised into position on Saturday, August 31, 1893, and the statue of General Washington finally placed atop the shaft September 5th of the same year. The completed memorial was dedicated with elaborate ceremonies on October 19, 1893, the 112th anniversary of the surrender of General Lord Cornwallis
Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis
Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis KG , styled Viscount Brome between 1753 and 1762 and known as The Earl Cornwallis between 1762 and 1792, was a British Army officer and colonial administrator...
at the Siege of Yorktown
Siege of Yorktown
The Siege of Yorktown, Battle of Yorktown, or Surrender of Yorktown in 1781 was a decisive victory by a combined assault of American forces led by General George Washington and French forces led by the Comte de Rochambeau over a British Army commanded by Lieutenant General Lord Cornwallis...
in Virginia; in attendance were eight governors of the original thirteen states.
Although various changes have taken place in the immediate vicinity of the monument since its dedication, the commanding figure of Washington still looks down upon the city, which has developed from what was a small village in 1776. The monument was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1977.
See also
- Battle of the Assunpink Creek (Second Battle of Trenton)
- Battle of PrincetonBattle of PrincetonThe Battle of Princeton was a battle in which General George Washington's revolutionary forces defeated British forces near Princeton, New Jersey....
- Princeton BattlefieldPrinceton BattlefieldThe Princeton Battlefield is where American and British troops fought each other on January 3, 1777 in the Battle of Princeton during the American Revolution. The battle ended when the British soldiers in Nassau Hall surrendered...
- List of Registered Historic Places in Mercer County, New Jersey
- List of monuments in the United States
- List of monuments dedicated to George Washington