Uncle Sam Memorial Statue

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Uncle Sam Memorial Statue in Arlington, Massachusetts
Uncle Sam Memorial Statue in Arlington, Massachusetts

The Uncle Sam Memorial Statue is a statue commemorating Samuel Wilson, perhaps the original Uncle Sam, near his former birthplace in the center of Arlington, Massachusetts, USA. It was sculpted by Theodore Cotillo Barbarossa.

The sculpture is a bronze relief of Uncle Sam and three-dimensional sculpture of Samuel Wilson, installed on a limestone base in front of a wall rising from the base's rear. It was funded by Frederick A. Hauck of Cincinnati, Ohio, cast in 1976, installed during the United States Bicentennial on September 11, 1976, and dedicated April 18, 1977.

The bronze relief depicts the life and work of Samuel Wilson in Troy and Mason, New Hampshire, and in Menotomy, Massachusetts (now Arlington, Massachusetts). The relief includes a depiction of the familiar image of the elderly "Uncle Sam" figure in top hat and tails. At its top is a butcher and a ship coming in to dock next to the word "TROY"; in the middle is a pioneer couple standing behind a fence with the words "MASON N-H"; and at the bottom is a soldier on horseback above the word "MENOTOMY." To the relief's right is a standing portrait of Wilson carrying his top hat in the crook of his left arm and extending his right hand slightly.

The sculpture is approximately 8 feet, 8 inches high, on a base approximately 15 feet, 8 inches high by 10 feet wide. Its weight is 17 tons. It was cast and erected by Eleftherios Karkadoulias, with stone work fabricated by Woolery Stone Company, and contains a number of inscriptions, including:

  • Base, front above sculpture: SAMUEL WILSON / 1766-1854
  • Base, front below figure: IN HONOR OF SAMUEL WILSON / A NATIVE SON / BORN NEAR THIS SITE / ON SEPTEMBER 10, 1766 / HE BECAME / OUR NATIONAL SYMBOL / UNCLE SAM
  • Base, bronze plaque on side of base: UNVEILED / SEPTEMBER / 11-1976 / DEDICATED / APRIL-18, 1977 / FREDERICK A HAUCK / A GIFT TO THE TOWN OF ARLINGTON / MASS. AND THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES THROUGH THE GENEROUS / CONTRIBUTION OF FREDERICK A. HAUCK / OF CINCINNATI, OHIO / DESIGNER-SCULPTOR T.C. BARBAROSSA / BELMONT, MASS. / CAST BY ELEFTHERIOS KARKADOULIAS / CINCINNATI, OHIO / PROJECT COORDINATOR / THE ARLINGTON JAYCEES / BOARD OF SELECTMEN / ARTHUR D. SAUL, JR., CHAIRMAN / ROBERT B. WALSH / ANN MAHON POWERS / MARGARET H. SPENGLER ROBERT H. MURRAY / TOWN MANAGER / DONALD R. MARQUIS / UNCLE SAM STATUE COMMITTEE / WILLIAM J. BECK / JACK R. DONALSON / JAMES D. HOBBS / JAMES F. LAWSON, JR. / STEPHEN PEKICH / FREDERICK E. PITCHER / JOHN G. PERRY / WILLIAM J. SCAGLIONE.

[edit] References

The description above is closely patterned on the following description in the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Art Inventories Catalog, and as a product of the United States Government is not subject to copyright restrictions.

Uncle Sam detail

Samuel Wilson detail