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On January 3, 1777, General George Washington and his tattered American forces defeated a British force at Princeton, New Jersey. Coming just a week after the Americans surprised the British at Trenton, the victory provided a second much-needed boost to patriot morale.

The fifty-foot-tall Princeton Battle Monument was conceived more than a century later. Frederic MacMonnies was the sculptor, Thomas Hastings the architect. (The firm Carrère and Hastings was responsible for the New York Public Library, among many other works.) The sculpture was in progress for fifteen years, at first because the monument committee and MacMonnies disagreed on the design, then because the committee couldn’t agree on a site (it was finally positioned on Stockton Street, Princeton), and finally because of the Great War (a.k.a. the First World War). The work was carved on site by the Piccirilli brothers, with finishing touches added by MacMonnies. It was dedicated ten days after the Lincoln Memorial, whose monumental portrait sculpture was created by Daniel Chester French – the other important American sculptor of the time. The Monument and the Memorial are both examples of the City Beautiful movement.

MacMonnies wrote of the Princeton Battle Monument in 1918, four years before its dedication:

It is essential in making a permanent work of art in sculpture that every line, every form in it should not only express to the utmost capacity the spirit or sentiment of the movement , but at the same time should be woven into a pattern which also effects the eye – as chords, or arrangements of chords, affect the ear and hold the attention long enough to express the central idea – in this case, of disaster, defeat, misery, suffering despair – triumphed over and forgotten and cast aside by the unconquerable spirit of love of liberty.

This is not one of my favorite MacMonnies sculptures: I prefer his earlier works, such as Bacchante with Infant Faun and Nathan Hale. The complicated group on the Monument is more reminiscent of his sculptures for the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Arch at Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn. But as one of MacMonnies’ major, later works, the Monument is certainly worth a look. Unfortunately, it’s badly in need of a cleaning, and the dark stains sometimes make it difficult to tell what’s going on.

From Stockton Street, you see only the side of the Monument.

To see the front, you must park your car and walk around.

At the top center is Washington, seated on a horse. The standards to the left suggest the presence of far more soldiers than are shown here.

Directly below Washington is the dynamically twisting figure of Liberty, wearing a Phrygian cap and brandishing the torch of freedom.

At the lower left, a soldier supports the body of General Hugh Mercer, who died at the Battle of Princeton. Mercer is identifiable by his epaulets. There’s a brief reference to him in Hamilton: An American Musical. (“The Mercer legacy is secure.” “And all he had to do was die.”)

At the lower right is a young drummer boy, wrapped in rags, whose toes protrude from his shoes.

On the side of the monument facing the street are an eagle and an arrangement of swords, cannon, and other accoutrements of war.

On the opposite side of the Monument are a similar arrangement, an eagle with more martial accoutrements.

At the base on this side is a sphere with the terse legend: “[Skull] or liberty”. Unfortunately I don’t have close-up photos that would allow me to figure out what seal or coat of arms appears above it.

And finally, the inscription on the back of the monument.

The Latin at the end reads, “Saecula praetereunt rapimur nos ultro morantes adsis tu patriae saecula qui dirigis.” Roughly translated: “Centuries pass by. We who linger are also carried off. Aid our homeland, you who guide the centuries.”

More

• Henry Van Dyke wrote a poem for the dedication, “A Ballad of Princeton Battle“.
• For a lengthy description of the commissioning and dedication of the Monument, see this article.
• In Getting More Enjoyment from Sculpture You Love, I demonstrate a method for looking at sculptures in detail, in depth, and on your own. Learn to enjoy your favorite sculptures more, and find new favorites. Available on Amazon print and Kindle formats.
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