When the Grand Army of the Republic Rejected Ulysses S. Grant

I am currently enjoying a few days of rest and relaxation in Cape Elizabeth, Maine with my wife and dog Otis. Yesterday we spent a couple hours in the Portland Art Museum. I didn’t expect to come across a beautiful statue of Ulysses S. Grant, but it certainly was a welcome suprise on the bicentennial of his birth.

The statue was commissioned by the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) completed in 1894 by Franklin B. Simmons, who was also responsible for the beautiful monument commemorating Union soldiers, just a few blocks away, in the city’s Monument Square.

Interestingly, the GAR rejected it.

According to the museum, “this projection of a stoic and peaceful Grant fell short of the group’s hope to showcase the General-turned-President in his military glory.”

Apparently, the olive-leafs—a symbol of peace and victory—were a problem as well as the fact that Grant is not wearing his military sword and the U.S. flag is draped so that it touches the ground.

Simmons executed a second version of the work, which was approved by the GAR and dedicated in the Capitol Rotunda where you can see it today.