The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1901-04-25
IN HONOR OF BRAVE CADETS.
Sir Moses Ezel<ieTs StntUe. ''ViT-
ginim Mourning Her Dead"

-ihIu 21puraiuE HeF DS&ao-
! LEXINGTON, Va, April 25--Sir Moses
/ Ezeders beautiful bronze statue viz
ginia Mourning Her Dead" which reach
/ ed here last week. is to be placed on the
/ parade grounds of the Virginia Military
Institute as a memorial to the dead ana
/ living Of the heroic cadet battalion who
/ took part in the battle of New Market,
/ May -. 1851 The statue has been stored
/ to await the raising of 5000 necessary to
! build the base and cost of the four bronze
tablets, with the battalion roster thereon
Sir Moses Ezekiel. who was member OF
/ the famous battalion and NirSinlan,
donated his work to his comrades
The following extract from letter
written by the artist Offering his work to
! the committee in charge Of the memorial
/ describes the statue and indicates the
! sCulptor's idea of what it is intended to
/ express.
AS orderly sergeant Of Company G
| Virginia Military Institute, l feel it al
most a duty to write and say that II you
/ intend putting up memorial to my fallen
/ comrades in the battle I hope to be the
/ means of rendering my tribute to their
memory in the work of my hands IN my
/ own art. My statue of Virginia Mourn
/ ing Her Dead / have kept in plaster all
y
/ is seated mourning upon piece of breast
work and her foot rests upon broken
cannon overgrown with ivy. and she holds
/ a reversed lance in her hands. This statue
/ in bronze Cif placed on the parade ground)
/ l would consider the most appropriate
( ideal representation of what it is propOs-
/ ed to do The hackneyed shafts and bronze
] soldiers that have so often been erected
/ have little OF nothing to do win such an
/ object as ours and mean nothing
The statue weighs 1.750 pounds, and is
! seven feet in height. 1t is a masterpiece
! of art, each minute detail being brought
/ out to perfection. and when placed in po-
/ sitiOn viii be as fine a work Of its kind as
any in the country. The cost Of the cast
! ing, which was done near Berlin and the
! freightage fees were $1,000, the sculptor,
as previously stated, donating his work
/ The base. which is still to be provided, is
I to be oval in shape, feet 5 inches in
height, and feet in thickness. 1t is to
/ be of plain native granite. solid, with four
| massive bronze tablets on the sides One
/ of these tablets is to contain '-the roll Of
/ honor-'-the names Of those killed and
I wounded in the battle of New Market
/ The other tablet viii present the complete
/ roster of the cadet battalion on that mem
/ OTabIe day when the boys Of Virginia
! Military Institute faced without finch
/ ing and ike veterans of a hundred bat
! ties. the terrible fire of the Federal bat
| terry which they charged and captured
| The site which the monument Is ex-
| pected to occupy, as suggested by the ar
/ fist when last n Lexington. is on the
west side of the Virginia Military Insti-
! tute parade grounds, where it would be in
! plain view from cadet barracks and would
! be the first striking object to greet the
eye on entering the grounds. From this
| point it would also overlook the cadet
J burial grounds, where lie the remains Of
five of the gallant boys killed in the
charge
! The Roll Of Honor" which is TO appear
| on one face Of the monument, is as fol-
! lows:
| FliIIed-Sergeant W H Cabeu Corporal
/ : F. AtwiII J 3 Stanard, T C Jeffer-
son. a J Jones, c c. Crockett, and J c.
! Wheelwrighr. Virginia, and ". II. Nc
DoweU. North Carolina
Wounded-I4eut Col S Ship Capt \
c. IIiH. Capt s S. Shriver, Sergeant J. A.
Stuart, Sergeant l. c. Wise. Corporal G. X
Macon, Corporal J. 5. Wise. D 5. Pierce,
II. c. Whitehead. G. SpiIier, H J Meade
W. D. Buster. Corporal J. r TripIett J.
Preston Cooke J. z. BransfoTd, F l.
Smith, jr., 6. T. Garnet, w. billiard. c. T
/ CorIing l. c Haynes, z. D. Christian, s
T Phillips, E II. Smith, w P Watson,
p Johnson, J n. Upshur T. w White
G H Read, jr., E Berkeley, r. \. Pen
dletOn, c. a Randolph, F G. Gibson, J.
D Dardeu, E 5. Norman, J S. Merrett.
c H Harrison. J. J. Dickinson, c D.
Walker, J. tEbOden, and W. o. Harris.
Virginia: Sergeant II. W Garrow, Ala
I bama ". Marshall, Mississippi: P W
Woodiief, Louisiana, and A. c HartsfieId,
The committee which is in entire charge
OF the monument is as follows: Greenlee
L LetcheE, chairman; z W Nichols,
treasurer: W. T. Shields. g. R X Warner
L II. Pendleton. 5. II. Letcher, J. Ham
mOnd Campbell.
Two middle-aged men were conversing
on the Virginia Military Institute grounds
/ under the famous Old Guard tree at the
alumni meeting last commencement
Ihey were both participants in the New
Market battle and were IN the cadet bat
talon. one sergeant, who was wounded
and now resides IN Texas, the other a pri-
Vate and Yet a resident of his native
State, Virginia. They We're recOunting
their experiences. and the sergeant asked
the other II he remembered seeine. two
wounded Confederate soldiers lying on the
ground about 40 yards in front of the
charge The answer was in the affirma-
tive and the private took UP the narrative
and finished It, as follows:
As we made the start one Of the two
men, resting on his elbow. took off his
old cap and waved it toward us. shout
ing: Come on, boys, Come on bovsI
Come 4 shell hit fairly between fbe
two wounded men and exploded and when
the smoke cleared away only Shreds re
NAMED of the wounded COufcderares- Al
least as We passed by where they had
/ been there was a hole in the ground and
q piece Of an old cap lying TO one side
The sculptor. Sir Moses Jacob Ezekiel
Is a native of Richmond Va where he
was born October .. 1914 He was grad
uated from the Virginia Military TnS+f-
tute in 1850. having served in the COnfeti-
crate Army the last year Of the war. He
studied art il Richmond 1S65-6S- in Cincin-
natl. lS6y-Ig- in Berlin Germany 1904
and in Rome from 1874. subsequently, max
ing repeated visits to the United States
Eis works have been exhibited in the Sa-
/ Ions Of Paris. Berlin. the National Acad-
envy OF Design. New FORK. and at various
expeditions He IS d member of leading
art associations in this country and
abroad and has been recipient of many
/ houors and medals. In 1887 the Cavaliers
cross Of merit for art and science was
! conferred upon him. His works. which
have found eager and apprecialiy4. f,rIr
CludC the colossal bust of Washington in
the Cincinnati Art Museum. marble group
of Religious Liberty. in Fairmont Park
Philadelphia; marble bust The MARTYR.
Peabody Institute. Baltimore. bronze
bust Of General HOtChkiSS in Museum, of
Navy Yard, Washington: a number or
marble statues IN the COrcoran Gallery
OF Art, marble bust Of Thomas Jeffer-
son, Senate Chamber. Washington. and
a bronze statue of Columbus. in Columbus
Memorial Building, Chicago.