Artwork Details
- Title
- General George McClellan
- Artist
- Henry Jackson Ellicott (1847 – 1901)
- Year
- 1891; installed 1894
- Medium
- Bronze, on granite base
- Dimensions
- Height 14'6″, width 5', depth 15' (base height 10′, width 14', depth 13'9")
Artwork Description
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.
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.
Content on this page was adapted from Public Art in Philadelphia by Penny Balkin Bach (Temple University Press, 1992). Bach was the longtime Executive Director of the Association for Public Art, working with the organization from 1980 to 2022.
Artwork Credits
Gift of the Grand Army of the Republic to the City of Philadelphia
Owned by the City of Philadelphia
Artwork Media
Museum Without Walls
Voices:
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.
Producer: John Myers