The Sherman Monument
A major work by the American sculptor Augustus St. Gaudens, whose Farragut Memorial graces Madison Square Park more than a mile and a half to the south, the Sherman Monument commemorates the controversial Civil War general William Tecumseh Sherman, infamous for “Sherman’s March,” one of the earliest “scorched earth” campaigns of modern warfare.
As depicted by St. Gaudens, Sherman rides behind a personification of Victory, who welds a palm frond. The sweep of the lady’s draperies, Sherman’s cape and the horse’s tail and mane, the calm beauty of the advancing Victory and the Sherman’s wearied yet concentrated gaze combine to make this a masterful balance of idealism and realism.
The statue was cast in 1902 and installed in 1903; it has been re-gilded twice.