| Colonel Thomas Cass | |
|---|---|
.jpg) The statue in 2017 | |
 | |
| Artist | Richard E. Brooks |
| Year | 1899 (1899) |
| Subject | Thomas Cass |
| Location | Boston,Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 42°21′09″N71°04′08″W / 42.352602°N 71.068800°W /42.352602; -71.068800 |
A statue ofThomas Cass byRichard E. Brooks,[1] calledColonel Thomas Cass,[2] is installed inBoston'sPublic Garden, in theU.S. state ofMassachusetts.[3]
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After a previous statue at the same site was found to be ugly, Brooks was commissioned to design a statue of Cass by the Boston Arts Commission in 1897.[4] Thebronze sculpture was cast in 1899 and unveiled on September 22 of the same year.[5][6] It replaced a previous granite memorial of Cass.[2] The statue earned Brooks a gold medal at theExposition Universelle of 1900.[7][8]
The statue depicts Cass in a Civil War uniform with his arms folded across his chest. It measures approximately 8 ft. x 2 ft. 4 in. x 2 ft. 4 in., and rests on a granite base measuring approximately 6 ft. 6 in. x 3 ft. 8 in. x 3 ft. 8 in.[2] The granite came from Red Beach, Maine. The artwork was surveyed as part of theSmithsonian Institution's "Save Outdoor Sculpture!" program in 1993.[2]
The monument has been recognized as an historic feature of the Public Garden, which is listed on theNational Register of Historic Places, by theNational Park Service.[9][10]
In 2009, Peters F. Stevens of theBoston Irish Reporter wrote:
A statue of Colonel Cass was erected in the Boston Public Garden, but surviving veterans of his regiment railed that the memorial was both stiff and a poor likeness of the fallen hero. The Society of the Ninth Regiment raised funds to tear down the statue and commissioned noted sculptor Richard E. Brooks to craft a bronze statue of Cass. On September 22, 1899, the striking bronze, which captured the visage and commanding presence of Colonel Thomas Cass and garnered high praise and a prestigious award for Brooks, was unveiled. It stands there today, testimony to a hero – a Boston Irish and American hero.[11]
