The "Genius of Liberty" reigns over the military statues in the Soldiers and Sailors Monument in Lanca
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The Soldiers and Sailors Monument, Penn Square, is seen on the day of its dedication, July 4, 1874. Th
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Four statues representing branches of the service adorn the Soldiers and Sailors Monument in Penn Squa
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The infantry, or Army, is honored by this rifle bearer on the Soldiers and Sailors Monument.
This statue, symbolizing the Cavalry, looks ready to step off the Soldiers and Sailors Monument and ri
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With the Griest Building towering in the background, this statue of a sailor, representing the Navy,
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Malvern Hill and Gettysburg are two of eight Civil War battles carved onto the Soldiers and Sailors Mo
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The inscription notes the year the monument was built, and why. It refers to the Civil War as "the war
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Though built to honor Union forces in the Civil War, the Soldiers and Sailors Monument has become a tr
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Our own Lady Liberty, titled "The Genius of Liberty," crowns the Soldiers and Sailors Monument. The ne
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She doesn't look bad for 134 years old.
And the men with whom she keeps company are in pretty good shape, too.
Since 1874, the lady atop downtown Lancaster's Soldiers and Sailors Monument has gazed upon the city, secure on her perch that overlooks Penn Square. Generations of citizens have seen the monument endure; some might recall the days when streetcars passed by its base and the Watt & Shand department store ruled the city's shopping scene.
But how much do folks know about this stately tribute to those from Lancaster County who fell in battle? Who built it, and why? Which conflict — or conflicts — does it commemorate? And does the woman at the top of the column have a name?
As Veteran's Day approaches this Tuesday, they are questions worth considering. But there is one conclusion:
"It's a very fitting monument," said historian Ronald C. Young, of Brownstown. "Very well done."
Indeed. Forty-three-feet-tall, the monument is comprised of a robed lady crowning a Rhode Island granite shaft surrounded by four men representing four branches of the armed services: Army, Navy, Cavalry and Artillery. The entire grouping, dedicated July 4, 1874, originally paid tribute to Lancastrians who paid the ultimate sacrifice during the Civil War. Today, it also represents those who have served in conflicts ever since.
The lady, by the way, does have a name, one she somewhat shares with a certain statue in New York harbor. Penn Square's woman on a pedestal is known as "The Genius of Liberty." She bears a shield and carries a drawn sword; her head is adorned with stars.
"She is beautiful," said Young.
And she stands steeped in history.
Ladies leadThe idea for the monument originated after the close of the great conflict between the Union of the North and the Confederacy of the South, a war which tore the young nation apart from 1861 to 1865.
It took a ladies' organization, the Patriot Daughters of Lancaster, spearheaded by civic leader Rosina Hubley, to get things going. In December of 1867, a fair was held in Fulton Hall, now known as the Fulton Opera House, to raise money for a memorial; some $3,500 was netted for the cause. Over the next few years, the question of just where to put the monument was a frequently discussed topic.
An excerpt from an 1892 book titled "Brief History of Lancaster County," by Anna Lyle, of the "State Normal School," Millersville, continues the story, with some slight name changes:
"In compliance with the demand of public sentiment [the monument] was placed in Center Square, in the city. This beautiful granite structure — surrounded with four emblematic statues and and capped with a figure of the Goddess [Genius] of Liberty — was unveiled with imposing ceremonies in the presence of a great multitude, on the 4th of July, 1874."
"You would have seen the square decked out in red, white and blue bunting," said Young of the dedication day. "Lady Liberty had a big flag draped over her, as well."
When the monument made its debut, it was surrounded by stockade fencing and earthen roadways. Veterans joined the assembled crowds, along with girls from the Mount Joy Soldiers Orphan Home, noted Young in his book "Lancaster County, Pennsylvania in the Civil War." At 1 p.m., the dedication was made official and the young girls marked the occasion with a solemn song, "My Father's Grave."
President and Civil War hero Ulysses S. Grant sent his regrets for not being able to attend the big day. Still, "it was quite a scene," Young said. "There had to have been a couple of thousand [people] easily." In a fitting historical footnote, the monument was later recognized as standing on the very spot where the Continental Congress met Sept. 27, 1777, in the old city courthouse during the American Revolution.
Lancaster landmarkEvents — joyous and tragic — have always swirled around the monument; in 1945, jubilant crowds celebrated the end of World War II at Liberty's feet. In 1960, Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kennedy campaigned in the square, drawing anywhere from 5,000 to 15,000 spectators (reports vary). And in 1978, a local woman committed suicide by ramming her car into the base, damaging the sailor statue.
There was also a time when the Genius of Liberty could have very well left home; in the 1950s, an idea was raised to move the monument to a park to ease traffic congestion in Penn Square. Luckily for subsequent generations who appreciate the landmark, the thought didn't take.
Until the 1970s, traffic passed around all four corners of the monument. That changed when a brick plaza was built outward from a newly-expanded Fulton Bank in the square's northeast corner, allowing pedestrians to walk right up to the base. Today, they may peruse several bronze plaques added over the years, marking two world wars and conflicts in Korea, Vietnam and the Persian Gulf. One plaque honors the service of African-Americans in the nation's defense.
They can also note, on the monument's central pillar, carved names of Civil War battles. Well-known sites such as Gettysburg and Chickamauga share honors with lesser-known, but no less important, conflicts in places such as Malvern Hill and Wilderness.
Those who want to gaze directly upon the face of Liberty, by the way, will have to do so on foot. Traffic, once two-way on Queen Street, has been one-way, approaching the square from the south, for decades.
The Genius of Liberty faces north; legend has it she's turning her back on the defeated Confederacy.
History-seekers might find further inspiration — and tribute — at the base of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument:
Erected by the people of Lancaster County/To the memory of their fellow citizens who fell/in defense of the Union/in the War of the Rebellion/1861-1865.And our own Lady Liberty still towers, even while surrounded by high-rises such as the Griest Building and the new Marriott Lancaster hotel and convention center.
"She gazes down," Young said, "on many changes in the square."
Stephen Kopfinger is a Sunday News staff writer. Contact him at skopfinger@lnpnews.com or at 291-8799.
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