Browse Exhibits (4 total)

"Chivalric Patriotism": U.S. Nationalism, Military Service, and White Manhood in the Statue of General Ambrose E. Burnside (1887) in Providence, Rhode Island

Throughout history, equestrian monuments have paid tribute to prominent military leaders. In ancient Rome, for instance, equestrian monuments played the role of “honoring the emperor for singular military and civic achievements,”[1] framing the equestrian monument as a tool that lifts the subject above their contemporaries and captures a particular moment of power and control. Equestrian monuments became particularly popular after the United States Civil War, when both the Union and the Confederacy erected equestrian statues to commemorate prominent military leaders. The Statue of General Ambrose E. Burnside, located in Burnside Park, Providence, Rhode Island, serves as another example of this movement of equestrian monuments. The monument was built by Irish sculptor Launt Thompson and dedicated on July 4th, 1887.[2] The immensely grandiose dedication and the extensive celebrations that surrounded it suggest that the General Committee and the subsequent Building Committee that was established intended for it to have a very nuanced function. Based on the dedication of the monument and the articles published in The Providence Journal, the Statue of General Ambrose E. Burnside was intended to establish a flawless, glorified version of Burnside’s life in history, to promote a heroic, unwavering image of selfless patriotism for Rhode Island and the United States, to glorify military service, and to promote a noble ideal of white manhood.

bronze, burnside park, civil war, equestrian monument, launt thompson, manhood, providence, rhode island, soldier, war memorial

Korean War Memorial: The Face of Struggle and a Space for Grieving

The Korean War Veterans Memorial adds a more somber and mournful tone to Memorial Park. It is unique from the other monuments in the park, and most war monuments in general. It does not simply laud soldiers’ service and America’s role in the war. The monument also emphasizes the soldiers’ suffering in the Korean War, showing a disheartened man facing miserable weather conditions. The soldier is nondescript - he is meant to be representative of all the soldiers in the war. As such he evokes the adversity that every Korean War soldier experienced. Soldiers in the Korean war had to face particularly harsh weather as depicted in the monument. Senator John H. Chafee, who commanded a rifle company in the Korean War, spoke to these difficult conditions in a speech given at the dedication of a monument at Brown University. He said that American soldiers were not just fighting against North Koreans and the Chinese army, they were also fighting against the weather and the terrain. Senator Chafee told listeners that “the rugged hills and mountains, the scorching hot summers, and subzero winters were challenges that no Marine or soldier who fought there will ever forget. It was aptly called ‘the coldest war.’”[1] The senator praised the soldiers resilience in these conditions, and opined that their endurance was the reason America was able to drive the North Koreans out of South Korea. The soldiers’ courage in the face of great struggle is strongly conveyed by the monument itself.

bronze, casualty lists, figurative statue, korean war, memorial park, providence, public grief, rhode island, robert shure, soldier, veterans, war dead, war memorial

Soldiers, Sailors, and Slavery, Oh My: The Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument and Chains of the American Past

The Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument was designed to be a site of both honor and grief. Celebrating all men of Rhode Island who served and died, this monument would become notable for the inclusion of Black history through memorializing fallen colored soldiers in bronze both by name and figurative statue. While contributing to the space created for Black figures in the monumentscape, there are possible complications with how these men were represented and consequently consumed, obstructing the progress of Black individuals and freedom.

allegorical figure, bronze, causality lists, civil war, granite, kennedy plaza, manhood, providence, randolph rogers, rhode island, soldier, united states colored troops, war dead, war memorial

The Hiker Monument: White Manliness, US Imperialism, and Colonial Erasure

Kitson condensed the Spanish-American War, Philippine-American War, and China Relief Expedition by following the popular tradition of centering the white male American soldier as a representation of the whole US military. As it promotes notions of Western imperialism and white manliness, the Hiker does not represent non-white Americans that fought in these altercations. From this monument we cannot know a version of history that isn’t white and male-centered; in other words, we cannot know a version of history that is authentic.

As I proceed to discuss the Hiker in its many historical, racial, and gendered implications, I will describe its positioning within the space of Kennedy Plaza and subsequently focus on its representation of white manliness, US Imperialism, and the erasure of colonial violence.

bronze, figurative statue, kennedy plaza, manhood, providence, rhode island, soldier, spanish american war, theodora alice ruggles kitson, veterans, war memorial

Featured Exhibit

The Hiker Monument: White Manliness, US Imperialism, and Colonial Erasure

Kitson condensed the Spanish-American War, Philippine-American War, and China Relief Expedition by following the popular tradition of centering the white...