Bunker Hill Monument
Emily L.
In Charlestown, Massachusetts you will find Bunker Hill Monument, a structure that was built to commemorate the Battle of Bunker Hill. In 1823 the Bunker Hill Monument Association was assembled to plan out the construction of the monument. Daniel Webster, Gilbert Stuart and Loammi Baldwin were a part of this organization.
Daniel Webster was a prominent lawyer and statesman in Boston, Massachusetts.
He was a very skilled orator who influenced many students all over. The
words coming from his mouth were always very powerful, such as; "Liberty
and Union, "one and inseparable" and many more. While he was
involved with the Bunker Hill Association, Webster was a part of the House
of Representatives on behalf of Massachusetts.
Bunker Hill Monument Association member, Gilbert Stuart was a renowned
American artist. He is famous for his portrait of President George Washington.
It is said to be one of the finest portraits to this day. Stuart gave
advice to many other painters and was noted for his speed in finishing
his works of art. Not only was Stuart a an excellent artist, he was a
talented conversationalist, with a great personality.
Another well known member of the Bunker Hill Monument Association was
the lawyer, author and engineer, Loammi Baldwin. This was a man of many
great thoughts who came in handy with the association because of his philosophical
views on subjects that came up. His main job for this was to decide the
"proportions of the shaft" and create models of the structure
in all sorts of sizes.
It was decided to have a competition for the modeling
of the monument but there is conflict in who won. One source says it was
Horatio Greenough while another says it was Solomon Willard. The design
itself was an Egyptian form made of marble and granite that many people
observe today.
Solomon Willard was the chosen architect for the project but there were
financial problems so they Association decided to sell "ten acres
of the battlefield as house lots", preserving only the top of Breed's
Hill as the monument land. The cornerstone of the monument was laid on
June 17, 1825. Seventeen years later, on July 23, 1842, the capstone was
placed, with the monuments consisting of two hundred and ninety four steps
from the bottom to the top. The height of the structure is two hundred
and twenty one feet. From experience, it is a very tiresome hike!
Tourists from all over visit Bunker Hill Monument,
which is a Boston National Historical Park, everyday because it is a link
to the past that will be remembered forever.
Bibliography
Brochure. Ed. Boston National Historical
Park. "Bunker Hill Monument"
The Freedom Trail: Bunker Hill Monument. Boston National Historical Park.
6 March
2000. http://www.nps.gov/bost/bunkhill.htm
"Baldwin, Loammi." Dictionary of American Biography. 1964.
"Stuart, Gilbert." Dictionary of American Biography. 1964.
"Webster, Daniel." Dictionary of American Biography. 1964.