Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry Monument is a war monument in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

that commemorates

Oliver Hazard Perry Oliver Hazard Perry (August 23, 1785 – August 23, 1819) was an American naval commander, born in South Kingstown, Rhode Island. The best-known and most prominent member of the Perry family naval dynasty, he was the son of Sarah Wallace A ...

and his victory at the

Battle of Lake Erie The Battle of Lake Erie, sometimes called the Battle of Put-in-Bay, was fought on 10 September 1813, on Lake Erie off the shore of Ohio during the War of 1812. Nine vessels of the United States Navy defeated and captured six vessels of the Briti ...

in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

. Erected at the center of the city's

Public Square A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true geometric square, used for community gatherings. ...

in 1860, its Perry statue by sculptor William Walcutt was Ohio's first monumental sculpture. The monument was relocated several times in Cleveland. After replacing the original marble statues with bronze castings in 1929, the original statues were placed in storage and in 1937 were given to the city of Perrysburg, OH where they resided until 1997 when the originals were replaced with bronze castings. Since 2002, the original statue of Perry has been loaned to the Perry International Peace Monument at put-in-Bay.The original Sailor Boy and Midshipman statues reside in the lobby of the Perrysburg Municipal Building.

Perry's victory

Perry's victory against the British Navy at the Battle of Lake Erie occurred on September 10, 1813.

Monument

In June 1857,

Cleveland City Council Cleveland City Council is the legislative branch of government for the City of Cleveland, Ohio. Its chambers are located at Cleveland City Hall at 601 Lakeside Avenue, across the street from Public Auditorium in Downtown Cleveland. Cleveland Ci ...

unanimously adopted resolutions to erect a monument to Commodore Oliver Perry in the city's Public Square. By October, Thomas Jones & Sons Marble Works, of Cleveland, was selected as contractor. The project had a budget of $6,000, to be raised from contributions by the citizens of Cleveland. Prominent sculptors

Hiram Powers Hiram Powers (July 29, 1805 – June 27, 1873) was an American neoclassical sculptor. He was one of the first 19th-century American artists to gain an international reputation, largely based on his famous marble sculpture ''The Greek Slave''. ...

, Thomas Ball, and E. D. Palmer were approached for the Perry statue, but demurred due to the limited budget. The contractor turned to William Walcutt, who produced a new design that was endorsed by the monument committee. City Council granted T. Jones & Sons the power to solicit funds for an additional $2,000 over the project's contracted budget. Fund-raising fell well short of the $8,000 target, and in 1860 City Council appropriated $3,008 to make up the deficit. Walcutt, a sculptor originally from Columbus, Ohio, had studied in London and Paris, and kept a studio in New York City. In addition to the larger-than-life Perry statue, his design proposed a stepped base with two subsidiary sailor figures ("Sailor Boy", "Midshipman"), and a pedestal featuring a round bas-relief

vignette Vignette may refer to: * Vignette (entertainment), a sketch in a sketch comedy * Vignette (graphic design), decorative designs in books (originally in the form of leaves and vines) to separate sections or chapters * Vignette (literature), short, i ...

of the battle. The monument was dedicated on September 10, 1860, the 47th anniversary of the Battle of Lake Erie. Over 100,000 people attended its unveiling, which featured speeches by Harvey Rice, chairman of the monument committee, historian

George Bancroft George Bancroft (October 3, 1800 – January 17, 1891) was an American historian, statesman and Democratic politician who was prominent in promoting secondary education both in his home state of Massachusetts and at the national and internati ...

, and the governors of Ohio and Rhode Island (Perry's home state). Following the dedication ceremony, a mock battle was staged offshore, and a grand

military parade A military parade is a formation of soldiers whose movement is restricted by close-order manoeuvering known as drilling or marching. The military parade is now almost entirely ceremonial, though soldiers from time immemorial up until the la ...

was held the following day. Public Square became known as Monumental Park, in recognition of the sculpture. In 1878, the monument was relocated from the intersection at the center of Public Square to the square's southeast quadrant. It was removed in 1892 to make way for construction of Cleveland's Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument. Following two years in storage, it was re-erected in

Wade Park Wade Park is a sports ground originally constructed for cricket located in the town of Orange, New South Wales, Australia. Cricket The park has hosted Sheffield shield matches, an International T20 match between Hong Kong and Sydney Thunder ...

in 1894, overlooking Wade Lagoon. The monument was removed in 1913 to make way for construction of the

Cleveland Museum of Art The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) is an art museum in Cleveland, Ohio, located in the Wade Park District, in the University Circle neighborhood on the city's east side. Internationally renowned for its substantial holdings of Asian and Egyptian ...

, and relocated to

Gordon Park Gordon Park may refer to: Places * Gordon Park, Cleveland, a city park located on the lakefront *Gordon Park, Milwaukee, a county park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA *Gordon Park, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Australia * Gordon Park, Zimbabwe P ...

. By 1927 winds and rain had deteriorated the statues of Perry, Sailor Boy, and the Midshipman The Early Settlers Association raised $10,000 to replace them with bronze castings, which were unveiled in Gordon Park in 1929. They were relocated within Gordon Park in 1951, and put into storage in 1988. Following restoration, the bronze statues and monument were re-erected in 1991 at a sixth (and current) location – Fort Huntington Park, on the east side of the Cuyahoga County Courthouse, in downtown Cleveland.

Sculptures

Walcutt's marble Perry statue was completed and installed for the dedication, as was the marble bas-relief on the pedestal. The two subsidiary figures intended to flank the pedestal – a midshipman and a sailor boy – were completed in plaster by 1860, but required additional funds to be carved in marble. They were completed and installed in 1869. Over the years, the three marble statues and the marble bas-relief panel suffered damage from the weather. Cleveland's Early Settlers Association raised $10,000 to replace the sculptures. In 1929, they were removed from the monument and replaced with bronze copies, created under the supervision of sculptor Herman Matzen. At the same time, a second bronze copy of the Perry statue was made for

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...

, and installed on the grounds of the Statehouse in Providence. The three marble statues and the marble bas-relief panel were donated to

Perrysburg, Ohio Perrysburg is a city located in Wood County, Ohio, United States, along the south side of the Maumee River. The population was 25,041 at the 2020 census. Part of the Toledo metropolitan area, the city is southwest of Toledo. Perrysburg is the ...

in 1929, and were installed in Hood Park, along the Maumee River, in 1937. In 1997, Perrysburg replaced the marble statues with bronze copies, and installed the bronzes on a pedestal and base that approximated Walcutt's original positioning of the figures. The marble sailor statues are currently exhibited in the town's municipal building. The marble Perry statue has been on long-term loan to the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propert ...

since 2002, and is exhibited in the visitor center at

Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial commemorates the Battle of Lake Erie that took place near Ohio's South Bass Island, in which Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry led a fleet to victory in one of the most decisive naval battles to occur i ...

Put-in-Bay, Ohio Put-in-Bay is a village located on South Bass Island in Put-in-Bay Township, Ottawa County, Ohio, United States, east of Toledo. The population was 154 at the 2020 census. The village is a popular summer resort and recreational destinati ...

. A plaster version of the Perry statue, presumed to be Walcutt's full-sized model used to carve the 1860 marble version, is in the collection of the

Western Reserve Historical Society The Western Reserve Historical Society (WRHS) is a historical society in Cleveland, Ohio. The society operates the Cleveland History Center, a collection of museums in University Circle. The society was founded in 1867, making it the oldest cul ...

in Cleveland.Hannibal. Walcutt's Perry statue is depicted on the reverse of the 2013 "Perry's Victory"

quarter A quarter is one-fourth, , 25% or 0.25. Quarter or quarters may refer to: Places * Quarter (urban subdivision), a section or area, usually of a town Placenames * Quarter, South Lanarkshire, a settlement in Scotland * Le Quartier, a settlement ...

. File:Statue of Perry, Oliver Hazard in Cleveland Park (NYPL Hades-118989-53938).tiff, 1859 chromolithograph depicting the proposed monument. Note that the scale, statue, and pedestal differ from Walcutt's design. File:Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial Vistor's Center.jpg, Perry Statue (marble, 1860), on display at the

. File:Oliver Perry Statue 01.jpg, Perry Statue (bronze, cast 1928), Rhode Island Statehouse, Providence. File:Flickr - Official U.S. Navy Imagery - Navy officers salute the national ensign..jpg, 2012 ceremony at the Perry Monument commemorating the Bicentennial of the War of 1812.

References

Sources

* *Hannibal, Joseph T.
"The Commodore Perry Statue: History and Weathering of Ohio's First Monumental Marble Sculpture."
Abstract of a paper presented at the Northeastern and North-Central Joint Meeting of the Geological Society of America (March 2011).
''Inauguration of the Perry Statue: at Cleveland, on the tenth of September 1860'', (Cleveland, Ohio: Fairbanks, Benedict & Company, 1861).
*

External links

* {{Cleveland History of Cleveland Military monuments and memorials in the United States Monuments and memorials in Ohio Tourist attractions in Cleveland Buildings and structures in Cleveland 1860 sculptures Bronze sculptures in Ohio Statues in Ohio Sculptures of men in Ohio Victory monuments Relocated buildings and structures in Ohio 1860 establishments in Ohio