Concord, Massachusetts The "Minute-Man"
1875 (photo taken 1890-1935)
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The Minuteman was the first major commission of renowned sculptor Daniel Chester French. French, a native of Concord, Massachussetts, won the commission for the statue at the age of 23. The statue stands defiantly with one foot in front of the other. His head is held high and his rolled-up sleeve reveals the firm grasp his right hand has on his musket. His other hand lingers on the coat and plow that stand beside him. The east side of the pedestal is inscribed with the first stanza of the Ralph Waldo Emerson's Concord Hymn: "BY THE RUDE BRIDGE THAT ARCHED THE FLOOD, THEIR FLAG TO APRIL'S BREEZE UNFURLED, HERE ONCE THE EMBATTLED FARMERS STOOD, AND FIRED THE SHOT HEARD ROUND THE WORLD."
The statue was unveiled on the west bank of the Concord River on April 19, 1875, the centennial of the Battle of Lexington and Concord. The bronze statue stands seven feet in height and was cast in the round, enabling one to view the figure from every angle. The 1,280-pound figure is said to have been cast with bronze containing the melted down pieces of a condemned cannon that was captured by New Englanders in the Battle of Louisburg.
The statue was unveiled on the west bank of the Concord River on April 19, 1875, the centennial of the Battle of Lexington and Concord. The bronze statue stands seven feet in height and was cast in the round, enabling one to view the figure from every angle. The 1,280-pound figure is said to have been cast with bronze containing the melted down pieces of a condemned cannon that was captured by New Englanders in the Battle of Louisburg.
This primary source comes from the Records of the National Park Service.
National Archives Identifier: 155823623
Full Citation: Concord, Massachusetts The 'Minute-Man'; 1875 (photo taken 1890-1935); Landmarks of Boston; Henry Peabody Collection, 1959 - 1960; Records of the National Park Service, Record Group 79; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/concord-massachusetts-the-minuteman, April 29, 2024]Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions. Learn more on our privacy and legal page.