St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-10-20
THE MONUMENT
Sketch of the Stone That Com
memorates q Great Battle.

Sketch of the Stone That Com
memorates a Great Battle.
TRENTON, n. j., Oct. 19.-The battle
monument in the city of Trenton. which
was unveiled today, has for its principal
ornament large bronze statue of Wash
ington, which stands on top of hand
some shaft. The monument is $50 feet
above the street level, weighs 100000
pounds, and the shaft alone cost over
10000.
For fifty years the subject of the
erection of monument to commence
rate the battle of Trenton has been dis
cussed. 1t was not until May 7, 1884,
that matters assumed any shape. At
that time the Trenton Battle Monument
association was formed. An apppropri-
alton of $4,000 was secured from the
state of New Jersey, and after some de-
lay the congress of the United States
made an appropriation of $4,000 and
Individual subscriptions to the amount
Of $4,000 were secured for the proposed
monument.
The bronze statute of Washington. at
the top of the shaft, was presented by
the state of New York through legis-
latlve appropriation. in view of the fact
that New York's troops participated in
lE0 UuIltC VI 1ICulOII, NlllCH GURdS6-
ment probably decided the fate of our
country.
Thus it is that New York's two most
distinguished citizens, President Cleve-
land and Gov. Flower, were invited to
be present at the dedicatio n, and in
addition the West Point Cadets were
asked to attend, and New Jersey, Mas
sachusettS, Connecticut and PennsyI-
vania paraded the flower of their ma
tiOnal guard, and that fifteen governors
and their stats were asked to be present
with the cabinet officers at today's cere-
monies.
The shaft in itself commentaries the
battle or Trenton, which occurred after
the stirring events about New York.
Washington is represented as he ap-
peared on the morning of Dec, &c, pre-
vious to the famous battle. On that
day Washington came down the Pen
SingtOn road to the spot where the
monument now stands and ordered
Capt. Alexander Hamilton, the nine
teen-year old artillerynan of New
York, later the distinguished statesman,
to open fire on the enemy advancing up
Warren street. Washington then gave
the order for two brigades of American
troops to hurry up the Brunswick road
and prevent the enemy FROM escaping
to Princeton. Then came the battle
and victory,
The statue of Washington surmount-
ing the shaft is the work of William
Rudolph O'DOnovan, of New York, who
has made study of the face and figure
of Washington for nearly twenty years.
The uniform represented in the statue
lis an exact copy of that worn by Wash
ingtOn during the Revolutionary war.
Mr.. O'DonoYan had the suit now in the
ffNlf NE-fNY
carefully measured and reproduced, and
had the model of man six feet three
inches high. Every portion of the uni
form and the model were doubled, and
this, with the bronze pedestal, makes
the statue Just thirteen feet high.
The style of the column erected is
known as the Roman DoIic. The base
of the pedestal is twenty-nine feet eight
inches square, and rising from the ped
estal is a hollow-huted column of
handsome proportions. the cap of which
forms an observatory. The top of the
granite work is 135 feet above the
it is 14S feet in height, or $50 feet above
The street level. The foundation is of
concrete, nineteen feet deep.
There is room inside the pedestal
nineteen feet across, of cruciform
shape. In this room there are three
inches, designed to receive such Revoiu-
tionary and historical trophies as may
be presented TO the association.
Access to the observatory at the top
OF the monument will be had by means
of an electric elevator. The view FROM
the observatory is one OF great beauty,
the country for miles around being
spread out like panorama. Thirteen
electric lights will crown the top of the
observatory. There are two bronze
statues at the doorway, one represent
ing an infantryman and the other o