Statues to Order

Two bronze statues in the Rose Hill Cemetery in Bloomington, Indiana, honor the men and women who fought in the service of their country.

The first statue erected was a bronze of a Union soldier placed in a circle at the highest point in the cemetery. The statue stands atop a large and elaborate limestone base. The front of the base has the initials G.A.R. carved in the center of the pediment. Each of the four sides of the base has a bronze insert—two depicting battle scenes and two showing the emblems of the Grand Army of the Republic organization.

No other war was like the American Civil War for Americans because every sailor or soldier, every collateral death, every field or railway yard that was destroyed, every city or town devastated by artillery was American. During the Civil War Americans were fighting against Americans—brother against brother—cousin against cousin. The war tore the country apart and threatened the existence of the Republic. And, more Americans were killed in the Civil War than any other war that in which Americans have fought. The total American deaths by war: Civil War 625,000.

The second statue is of an advancing doughboy, complete with metal helmet and rifle. The bronze rests on top of a limestone base that has four Doric columns supporting the platform on which the soldier is placed. Inside the colonnade is a bronze plaque that lists the 34 men who gave the ultimate sacrifice during the “Great War.” The war began in 1914 when Archduke Ferdinand was assassinated setting off a chain of events that embroiled much of Europe in the war. The United States was not initially in the war but sent forces in 1917 and 1918 with 116,516 Americans dying in battle.

Cemeteries throughout the United States pay tribute to the soldiers often with war memorials erected across America in town squares and cemeteries. In this case, both statues were produced by the W. H. Mullins Company of Salem Ohio.