General George McClellan (1891)

by Henry Jackson Ellicott (1847 - 1901)

Photo Caption: Photo Caitlin Martin © 2012 for the Association for Public Art
  • Title

    General George McClellan

  • Artist

    Henry Jackson Ellicott (1847 - 1901)

  • Year

    1891; installed 1894

  • Location

    City Hall, North Plaza (John F. Kennedy Boulevard and N Broad Street)

  • Medium

    Bronze, on granite base

  • Dimensions

    Height 14’6″, width 5', depth 15' (base height 10′, width 14', depth 13'9")

  • Themes

    The Civil War, Military Generals, Equestrian Sculpture

Gift of the Grand Army of the Republic to the City of Philadelphia

Owned by the City of Philadelphia


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George McClellan was born in Philadelphia in 1826. He left the University of Pennsylvania in 1842 to continue his education at West Point Academy, where he graduated second in his class. Though trained as an engineer, McClellan was best known for his military activities during the Civil War. He had the reputation of being a brilliant but sometimes overly cautious general: one who inspired loyalty and confidence in his men.

Henry Jackson Ellicott's equestrian sculpture of General George McClellan
Photo Caitlin Martin © 2013 for the Association for Public Art

The memorial to the general was commissioned by the Grand Army of the Republic and given as a gift to the city of Philadelphia. The artist, Henry Jackson Ellicott, completed a number of equestrian statues and memorials for cities throughout the country.

Adapted from Public Art in Philadelphia by Penny Balkin Bach (Temple University Press, Philadelphia, 1992).

Voices heard in the Museum Without Walls: AUDIO program: Gregory Urwin is a professor of history at Temple University. He has a longstanding interest in military history, especially the Civil War. Lynn D. Marsden-Atlass is the former director of the Arthur Ross Gallery at the University of Pennsylvania. She is a specialist in American and contemporary art. | Segment Producer: John Myers

Museum Without Walls: AUDIO is the Association for Public Art’s award-winning audio program for Philadelphia’s outdoor sculpture. Available for free by phone, mobile app, or online, the program features more than 150 voices from all walks of life – artists, educators, civic leaders, historians, and those with personal connections to the artworks.

This artwork is part of the Around City Hall tour

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