August 27, 1976 (Capitol Hill Historic District) July 14, 1978 (American Revolution Statuary) April 24, 1997 (L'Enfant Plan)
Designated DCIHS
January 19, 1971 (L'Enfant Plan) June 19, 1973 (Capitol Hill Historic District) March 3, 1979 (American Revolution Statuary)
Major General Nathanael Greene is a bronze equestrian statue honoring Nathanael Greene, a military leader during the American Revolutionary War. Greene was from modern-day Rhode Island and after laws passed by the Kingdom of Great Britain, along with the burning of one of his ships, Greene formed a state militia. He was later promoted to brigadier general in the Continental Army where he became a trusted adviser to Commander-in-Chief General George Washington. Greene played an active role during the war, participating in battles, sieges, and campaigns from New England to the Southern Colonies. For his service to the war, Greene was offered free land and settled in Georgia with his family. He died a few years later from a heatstroke.
Soon after the war concluded, the Congress of the Confederation passed a resolution to honor Greene with a memorial in the nation's capital. Nothing happened for almost 100 years until 1874 when Congress authorized $40,000 to be spent on an equestrian statue of Greene. A further $10,000 was allocated the following year for the pedestal. The sculptor chosen to create the statue, Henry Kirke Brown, had already made a statue of Greene that stands in the National Statuary Hall Collection. The pedestal was installed Christmas Eve 1877, and the statue was placed in position early the following year. The statue was well-received and is considered one of the best equestrian statues in Washington, D.C. It is located in the center of Stanton Park in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, a couple of blocks east of the U.S. Capitol.
The Kingdom of Great Britain imposed heavy fines and taxes on the Thirteen Colonies after the French and Indian War. On one occasion, a British officer seized a boat owned by the Greene family. Greene sued, and although he won the case, his boat was burnt during the 1772 Gaspee affair. He became disillusioned with not only his loyalty to the British, but also his religious faith. Greene was ultimately banned from Quaker meetings in 1773. After what the colonists nicknamed the Intolerable Acts, in 1774 Greene organized the Kentish Guards, consisting of Rhode Island militia. Due to a limp Greene had since childhood, he was not commissioned an officer in the Kentish Guards.[2][3]
After the war concluded, many people considered Greene to have been the second-best general in the Continental Army, with the first being Washington.[5] Some of the southern states offered Greene land confiscated from loyalists. He settled in Georgia at the Mulberry Grove Plantation, but died three years later on June 19, 1786, from a heat stroke.[4] His ashes were interned under the Nathanael Greene Monument in Savannah, Georgia.[2][6]
Memorial plans and dedication
Soon after the Revolutionary War ended, the Congress of the Confederation passed a resolution to erect a memorial in the nation's capital honoring Greene.[7] For unknown reasons, this did not occur until almost 100 years later.[4] The area that now surrounds Stanton Park was named after Abraham Lincoln's Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton, sometime in the early 1870s. The area was mostly undeveloped after the Civil War. In order to spur growth around the square and to honor a national hero, Congress authorized the erection of an equestrian statue of Greene on June 23, 1874.[8][9] One member from the Senate and one from the House of Representatives were to join Green's grandson, George Washington Greene, on a commission to complete the statue's installation at a cost of $40,000.[10][11] Congress authorized an additional $10,000 for the pedestal on March 3, 1875.[12]
Congress authorized the placement of the statue in 1877.[15] On Christmas Eve 1877, the pedestal, made by the Quincy Granite Company, was installed. Brown returned to Washington, D.C., after the holidays to supervise the statue being placed on the pedestal.[16] The statue, which was founded by Robert Wood & Company, was praised by critics, who noted the fine details of the horse and Greene.[17][18] It is considered one of the best equestrian statues in Washington, D.C.[6][8][18] The surrounding park was improved over the next couple of years, with fencing, sidewalks, and trees added.[8]
Later history
The statue in 1930 after corroded rivets and high winds resulted in it falling off the pedestal
In June 1930, what newspapers called a "freakish gust of wind," blew through Stanton Park, toppling the statue. The statue's head and shoulders were buried into the ground, but remarkably the statue was unharmed, except for a small crack on the horse's left thigh.[12] It was found the rivets were corroded, making the statue easily susceptible to falling.[12] The statue was lifted back in place by using a derrick.[17]
Greene's statue is sited in the center of Stanton Park (Reservation 15), also known as Stanton Square, in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Stanton Park is bounded by 4th Street, 5th Street, 6th Street, and C Street SE, and is also where Maryland Avenue and Massachusetts Avenue SE intersect.[9][4] The park is around 0.5 miles (0.8 km) northeast of the United States Capitol.[20] It is the only public space in Washington, D.C., that is not named after the memorial which is located there.[8]
Design
The bronze statue of Greene is 11-feet (3.4 m) tall and 15-feet (4.6 m) long. It rests on a granite oval base measuring 14-feet (4.3 m) tall, 17-feet (5.2 m) long, and 8-feet (2.4 m) wide. Greene is riding a horse that has its right leg up while trotting. Greene is wearing his Colonial Army uniform and a three-cornered hat. He is depicted leading his soldiers into battle while holding the horse's reins with his left hand.[17][5] Greene's right arm is pointing ahead, reminiscent of a military officer pointing the enemy to his troops.[5]
^ abcdBednar, Michael (2006). L'Enfant's Legacy: Public Open Spaces in Washington, D.C. Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 39, 201–202. ISBN9780801883187.
