Sedgwick County Memorial Hall and Soldiers and Sailors Monument (1911–13) is a

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

monument on the grounds of the Old Sedgwick County Courthouse, in

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had ...

. It was designed by E. M. Viquesney, with sculpture by

Frederick Hibbard Frederick Cleveland Hibbard (June 15, 1881 – December 12, 1950) was an American sculptor based in Chicago. Hibbard is best remembered for his Civil War memorials, produced to commemorate both the Union and Confederate causes. Born and raised i ...

and the W. H. Mullins Manufacturing Company. The idea to construct a memorial to Sedgwick County Civil War veterans began with two local

GAR Gars are members of the family Lepisosteidae, which are the only surviving members of the Ginglymodi, an ancient holosteian group of ray-finned fish, which first appeared during the Triassic, over 240 million years ago. Gars comprise seven livin ...

posts in 1904, but sufficient funds were not available until in 1911. In that year the

Kansas State Legislature The Kansas Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Kansas. It is a bicameral assembly, composed of the lower Kansas House of Representatives, with 125 state representatives, and the upper Kansas Senate, with 40 state senators. ...

passed a one-time county tax levy to fund the building of monuments in counties with a population of over 72,000. The monument consists of a

Second Empire Second Empire may refer to: * Second British Empire, used by some historians to describe the British Empire after 1783 * Second Bulgarian Empire (1185–1396) * Second French Empire (1852–1870) ** Second Empire architecture, an architectural styl ...

granite pavilion adorned with five statues. Its dome is crowned by a hammered copper figure of ''Liberty'' holding a flag and a

laurel wreath A laurel wreath is a round wreath made of connected branches and leaves of the bay laurel (), an aromatic broadleaf evergreen, or later from spineless butcher's broom (''Ruscus hypoglossum'') or cherry laurel (''Prunus laurocerasus''). It is a sy ...

, made by the W. H. Mullins Company of

Salem, Ohio Salem is the largest city in Columbiana County, Ohio, with a small district in southern Mahoning County. At the 2020 census, the city's population was 11,915. It is the principal city of the Salem micropolitan area in Northeast Ohio. It is 18 m ...

. At the base of the dome are four life-sized bronze figures by Hibbard representing the ''Infantry'', ''Cavalry'', ''Artillery'', and ''Navy''.Polk, Chris Paulsen, ''Beautifying Wichita Through Sculpture'' (Wichita, KS: Project Beauty, Inc., 1980, revised and enlarged 1996), pp. 14-15. Inscriptions on the monument's four facades list the battles, dates and locations in which local soldiers fought. The ''Liberty'' figure originally faced the courthouse, but after its installation the veterans decided that the statue should face outward. Rotating it 180 degrees delayed the monument's dedication from

Lincoln's Birthday Lincoln's Birthday is a legal, public holiday in some U.S. states, observed on the anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth on February 12, 1809 in Hodgenville (Hodgensville, Hodgen's Mill), Kentucky.Cal. Gov. Code �6700(c) Connecticut, Illinois, ...

to Flag Day. The monument's interior features a Memorial Hall, 12 feet square, with two marble-and-glass cases displaying war relics. The Hall remained locked for 25 years because the key had been lost. The key was found again in 1948.Baughman, Joe and Linda, ''Sedgwick County Soldiers and Sailors Civil War Monument'', pamphlet created by the Historic Preservation Alliance, Wichita River Festival, 2002. The monument was dedicated June 14, 1913.Soldier's and Sailor's Monument
from SIRIS. It was restored (2000–01), and rededicated on

Veterans Day Veterans Day (originally known as Armistice Day) is a federal holiday in the United States observed annually on November 11, for honoring military veterans of the United States Armed Forces (who were discharged under conditions other than di ...

, November 11, 2001. File:Sedgwick county kansas courthouse 2009.jpg, Old Sedgwick County Courthouse File:Figure_atop_Sedgwick_Co._KS,_USA,_Monument.jpg, ''Victory''

References

{{reflist 1913 sculptures Allegorical sculptures in the United States Bronze sculptures in Kansas Buildings and structures completed in 1913 Copper sculptures in the United States Granite sculptures in the United States Monuments and memorials on the National Register of Historic Places in Kansas National Register of Historic Places in Sedgwick County, Kansas Sculptures of men in Kansas Sculptures of women in Kansas Union (American Civil War) monuments and memorials

See also

References