Lord of Flatbush

The First Great Lincoln Memorial

Feb 03, 2022

The First Memorial to Lincoln, c. 1880 Turned away from the ugly fountain.

Just as I was writing the conclusion of chapter 12, I ran across yet another event that deserves some mention. It was a dedication of what I thought was the first Lincoln monument. I turned out to be incorrect. Through more sleuthing, I found out there were others. One in 1868 in Washington D.C. It still stands. Another made of plaster was erected in San Francisco in 1866, but was destroyed by earthquake].1

This monument (pictured throughout) is beautiful for its simple elegance. It represents the modest, yet powerful, honoring of the man for his statesmanship, a rarity in politics. The best part of the entire monument is it communicates salutary principles of the American Founding. Lincoln is said to be holding a manuscript of the Emancipation Proclamation, and pointing to the words, “shall be forever free.”

The Brooklyn memorial was forged by Henry Kirke [church?] Brown who lived in the city and crafted this excellent piece at his studio. He was one of the first American sculptors to cast his own bronzes. He would go on to forge another Lincoln statue, dedicated in Union Square Park, 1870.

According to the New York Times, on dedication day—22 October 1869—the statue was unveiled with Lincoln wearing a cloak around him, reading from a manuscript upon a pedestal of Scotch granite.2 He faced West. The way he faces could not be more important. He looks over the land (territories not settled) yet to be organized and brought into the Union. The western advance would carry with it the promises of a land without slavery and liberty for all. Much of this sentiment was captured by Harper’s in the same year. One cartoon showed Columbia holding a new infant baby—from China. The under-signage of the drawing had the caption, “our new children.” Columbia would protect and cherish her new children who come to her freely, and with the intent of abiding by the principles she represented.

The Lincoln pedestal has an ornate eagle holding a shield [another paper added the eagle had a broken shackle in its talons],3 and a female holding an ax supported by a bundle of reeds [could this be a fasce? I cannot find an image of this]. In that place there is an inscription that reads “Een Draght Maakt Maght.: It’s Dutch for Unity Makes Strength. The symbols of U.S.N. and U.S.A—the army and navy—surrounded by a wreath are also featured on the sides of the pedestal. In this picture (below), Lincoln faces the same direction as the eagle—gathering from the pic in Harper’s this was the original position.4 It is not so today as Lincoln has been rotated from the original position and now faces over the emblem U.S.N.

While not in attendance, Grant wrote a letter to be read at the dedication, which amounted to expressing regret at not being able to attend.5 Hail Columbia, a song lost to us now, was played. That song was the first thing we had to a National Anthem until WW1, when the Star Spangled Banner took off in popularity. “My Country tis of thee” rounded out the musical accompaniment.

There were 12, 000 people in attendance. This is not a fair showing given the size of New York City. Two of the most populous cities in the Union were in New York—NYC, and Brooklyn. The dedication was in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park, just off Flatbush.

To give some sense of the pitiful showing, DC had 20, 000 show up to the dedication. That was about ½ the city at the time. The poor showing in Brooklyn could be because, in the case of NYC, it was over-run by Democrats, especially Brooklyn. There was no more audacious supporter of the Democrat party and southern rights than the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, which, it seems, did not even bother to cover the unveiling.

Rev. Dr. Storrs delivered the oration wherein he praised Lincoln for a “regulated liberty” and implored all listeners to not forget all those whose life was given for the preservation of the Union. Imagine what these men, our ancestors, would think of our woke destruction now—neither remembering the gains made, nor remembering their own history. It is as sad a testament as would be forgetting what Hail Columbia meant to the Founders.

For a time, Lincoln was exiled to another part of the park. He returned recently, as the NY Post reported. A skate park was built where he was moved, and for 50 years he stood looking at a chain-linked fence. A movement formed to move him back to near the original spot. No monument have been dealt with so carelessly as Brooklynites have dealt with Lincoln—moving him all over the park near more ugly constructions.

Before the skate rink, the monument was tampered with for a first time—Lincoln was staring at a newly built fountain in the late 1800s. Because this was deemed inappropriate, he was turned to face away from the fountain. The turning of the memorial is noted, here,

In 1895…the Lincoln statue was picked up, turned around and abandoned in the Prospect Concert Grove. In November, Vaux (the creator of the ugly fountain seen in the background) was found drowned in Gravesend Bay [soon thereafter].

Small mercies for those who do violence to architectural space that was first occupied by Lincoln!

As seen in 2015 in its new home, but not in its original space

The turning of Lincoln away from the eagle takes away from the powerful message of the memorial. Harper’s appears to have captured it in its original state:

Facing in the original position over the eagle sends a message that slavery is at an end, and liberty can now fly over the entire country, under the protection of the Union. There can be no more salutary message that “all men are created equal” while noting that great deeds make men worthy of our honor.

As I prepared to send this message, I did one more search, and found a detail of a model of the eagle. I see no shield, but this is as close as I can get. Clearly there is a shackle busted at the talon 👇

American Savage

Discussion about this post