Waterbury evening Democrat., 1891-04-28
THE TOWER OF VICTORY.

| completion OF the Monument at Newbure
After Nearly Two Years Labor.
The Tower of Victory at Washington's
headquarters in Newburg, work upon
which was recently completed, is the
outcome of a movement which was
originated in the years 1ssO-S1, the
primary design being to mark by a fit
ting monument the spot where the Con-
tinental army disbanded, as well as the
encampment grounds at New Windsor
and those of Fishkill. This design,
however, was subsequently changed to
single monument at Newburg which
| should commemorate the whole.
work was begun upon the structure,
says the New York Herald, early in the
spring of 1889, and the tower itself was
completed in October of that year.
There wasn't enough money, however,
and things were at standstin from
that time till the appropriation of thirty
Two thousand dollars was made by the
national government. The latter was
to pay for the four bronze gates and the
four bronze statues that adorn the
inches on the exterior of the memorial.
The design represents tower Of VIC
tory, built of stone, of a rectangular
form. Its dimensions on ground lines
are thirty-seven by thirty-two feet, and
its total height is fifty-three feet. Four
large archways open into the atrium,
one on each side.
In the center of the atrium, upon a
polished pedestal of red granite, which
stands upon four large crabs, stands a
life-size statue of Gen. Washington.
This is the work Of William Rudolf
ODonovan, Of New York, and the
statue is said to have cost ten thousand
dollars. Mr.. O'Donovan has repre-
sented Washington in the act Of sheath
ing his sword.
From the ground floor Of the tower
two narrow spiral staircases Zone for
ascent and one for descent) lead to a
be1videre or open outlook, capable of
holding about one hundred persons.
The view from the belvidere embraces
broad expanse of river and mountain
scenery, with outlying valleys. North
and South Beacon, upon whose tower
ing tops the signal fires were lit during
the revolution, are directly in front,
while to the right is seen the northern
gate to the Highlands, and West Point
in the distance. The belvidere is sur
mounted by an iron and tile roof,
afording protection from sun and rain.
The roof is supported by thirteen mas
sive columns, upon which the shields of
the thirteen original states of the union
may eventually be placed. The interior
walls are also provided with recesses
for the reception of bas reliefs and
medallions, which can be supplied in
the future.
Resting in inches on the east and
west walls of the structure are four
bronze figures representing the four
arms Of the service in the continental
army in the revolution-the dragon,
the artilleryman, the rifeman and the
line of6cer-each Of whom is dressed in
the exact uniform of the time.
On the east side of the tower is set a
bronze tablet, with its figure of peace
in relief The tablet bears this expla-
natory inscription:
This monument was erected under the
authority Of the congress Of tho United States
and OF the state Of New York in commemor-
alton Of the disarmament under proclamation
OF the continental congress OF October 49, 1888,
Of the armies by whose patriotic and military
virtue our national independence and sover-
eighty was established.
-Four large bronze gates guard the
approaches to the atrium, and are raised
and lowered by portcullis. They are
modelled entirely of bronze.
The keys of the Tower of Victory
have been handed over to Mr.. John Fl.
Martin, superintendent at Washing
toms headquarters, by Lieut.. John
Biddle. of the Engineer corps stationed
at West Point, who received them from
the contractor last week.
1t is probable that the structure will
soon be formally accepted by the state
government. There is no probability
that any celebration will mark the
completion of the memorial The fact
of the matter is that the trustees of
Washington's headquarters don't seem
to like the design or appearance of the
structure and never did, and this dis
like is quite largely shared by New
burg people generally.