Sheila here. Today we celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia, when the American colonies took the first formal step in separating themselves from England.
Picture a group of men, all formally dressed, locking into a relatively small room in Independence Hall in Philadelphia, with the windows nailed shut so nobody outside could overhear what they were planning. It’s a wonder they didn’t all pass out from the heat. But they came up with one of the most significant single documents in modern history.
That gathering doesn’t lend itself to great art. But! We in Massachusetts have a work of art that defines our concept of patriotism: the Minute Man statue that stands by the river in Concord, designed by Daniel Chester French. Yes, I know—it represents an event that took place a year earlier, on the 18th (or 19th) of April in 1775, but it conveys the same message, in a more personal way. It’s the ordinary man, standing up against a one of the major powers of the world as it was then—and winning.
It is astonishing now to think that the Minute Man statue was Daniel’s first commission. He was 23 at the time. In 1872 the town of Concord appointed a committee to plan for a monument for the Centennial of the famous battle, and provided $1,000 through a bequest from a local resident. The committee asked Daniel to make a model, which he began in his studio in Boston in April 1873. The model was approved and he was officially awarded the commission in November. (The fact that family friend Ralph Waldo Emerson was on the committee may have helped.)
The statue was unveiled on April 19th, 1875, and the dedication was attended by President Ulysses Grant, as well as Emerson and James Russell Lowell. Strange to say, French was NOT present at the unveiling, and was in fact in Italy.
The statue depicts a modest farmer, who is at the point of abandoning his plow and taking up his musket, to respond to the call to arms. The statue has become the iconic image of the Revolution, or at least our romanticized version of it. Even though the statue is a single figure, it embodies the conflict between the simple colonists who really wanted nothing more than to go on with their farming and raising families and so on, and the larger, better equipped and better trained English forces (who in their arrogance thought they could squash that puny rebellion in the colonies and go on collecting taxes from them).
So we’re celebrating the triumph of the ordinary people over a powerful antagonist they had little hope of beating—but they did. As a long-time genealogist, I can count at least thirteen ancestors from Massachusetts who took part in the Revolution in some way. They weren’t heroes—in fact, family legend says that one of those heard the alarm for the Battle at Concord said, “forget it—I’ve got to finish plowing.” How American that sounds: I’ll defend my new country against all odds, but let me get my crop planted first–my family needs to eat!
But here we are, 240 years later, still going strong. Happy Independence Day!
A lovely essay, Sheila!
I love going down to DC and looking at all the monuments. Lincoln is my favorite. Happy 4th of July. Stay safe everyone.
Happy Independence Day, and thank you for a wonderful read with which to begin the day.
The creek behind my boyhood home was the site of the “Battle of Crooked Billet.”, oldsters parading in Revolutionary military uniforms with our high school band. I did not play in the band but I walked in the parade with my local football team.
So Many years ago now., this oldster remembers our creek was alive with beaver and muscrat that we trapped every night . Many a local woman wore my lovely scarf pelts.
Jack
a good boy from meeting
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=H5K05renvLs
Our kids and grandkids still celebrate. I copied this you tube, I hope it works.
One of my favorite statues and places! I also love the French took art lessons from May Alcott. Thank you for this lovely reminder about what this day is about!
In one of Alcott’s books there is an aspiring artist and a few references to help from a locally-born, living in Europe, famed sculptor named German. Think it’s a little nod to French? 🙂
(I didn’t know French took lessons from May Alcott – what a fun fact!)
On a Sisters in Crime tour of Concord, our guide reminded us to look at the Minuteman’s.. rear end. She told us he has admirably tight buns. We all laughed… and then made a note to go look at him from behind!
I had forgotten that! (Picture all of our group of ladies staring intently at the back of the statue!) Popular mythology holds that the statue was based on Isaac Davis, who led the first attack on the British army and was the first to die in the battle at Concord. He was from Acton and was buried there. It is said that French used some of Davis’s descendants as models, as well as Davis’s plow (which is still on display in Acton, I’ve read). In any event, all that plowing seems to be good for the buns.
Sheila, thanks for such a fascinating essay. I did not know all the interesting background, though I’ve seen the statue many times. In fact, this overlaps just a bit with my own post today on the Poisoned Pen Press author blog…because I was in Lexington for a wedding last July 4th weekend.
Come say hi at:
http://www.poisonedpenpress.com/fireworks-2/
Interesting information on that statue. Thanks for sharing and happy 4th.
Happy Independence Day Sheila! And thanks for this – I can say I learned something new today!
What a great article today. I really enjoyed reading it. Thank you Sheila.