Soldiers & Sailors Monument, Jackson, Michigan

This Soldiers and Sailors Monument in Michigan is actually Lorado Taft's second version of Defense of the Flag—the slightly smaller first iteration stands on the battlefield at Chickamauga, honoring the Second Minnesota Infantry Regiment who fought the Confederacy.

Originally sculpted in the 1880s, early in the Chicago sculptor’s career, this one was installed in Jackson's Withington Park in 1904. As Taft's fame grew, he looked back on the civil war monuments he did in his early years with mild embarrassment, saying “such sculpture may be significant but it isn’t beautiful”. In addition to this one and the one at the battlefield in Georgia, the monument maker made at least two other casts of Taft’s piece, which stand in Marion, Indiana and Gloversville, New York.

Postcard on the left, person sitting on bench at a small park, sculpture on a large plinth surrounded by flowers, bronze of three men one with gun one waving flag, home in background, tree-lined street. Photo on the right, no bench no people, monument unchanged, flowers, big road, no sidewalks, fewer trees. — 1907 postcard / 2022 photo

So, what's changed? Well, what was once a cute little park for people is now a lifeless little decoration for passing cars—but the monument itself is clearly well taken care of. Too bad that the lack of sidewalks makes it awkward as hell to visit. Still technically known as Withington Park, it's actually bigger today than it was a century ago—a good example that the sheer amount of green space is only a small part of the overall quality of a park. Sidewalks, shade trees, comfortable routes of access, programming, benches, nearby housing, etc. are all more important than acres of ecologically-sterile turf grass.

Postcard on the left, portrait orientation specifically focused on the monument, sculpture on a large plinth surrounded by flowers, bronze of three men one with gun one waving flag, home in background. Photo on the right, monument unchanged, flowers, memorials in background to veterans of other wars. — 1907 postcard / 2022 photo

Sculptor Lorado Taft created the original version of “In Defense of the Flag” on spec in the late 1880s—the burgeoning artist wanted to flex his muscles and show his ability to sculpt a dramatic, complex monument. He’d hoped the Illinois Gettysburg Monument Committee would buy it and install it on that battlefield, but instead the Minnesotans bit—it was erected at Chickamauga as a memorial to the Second Minnesota Regiment in 1895. By the time wealthy Jackson industrialist and Civil War veteran William H. Withington came around, looking to commission a monument to honor his Union comrades, the original mold had been destroyed, so Taft offered to remake it.

“Gifting” a monument to a city is an exercise in power—choosing who and what to memorialize isn’t an act of altruism and our cities shouldn’t give the wealthy that power—but at least in this case Withington wasn’t just a rich asshole who owned a company. Fighting for the Union in the Civil War, he was wounded and captured at the First Battle of Bull Run. Eventually brevetted as a general, he was later awarded the Medal of Honor. After the war, General Withington used the labor of inmates at Jackson's Michigan State Prison to build Withington, Cooley & Company into a major agricultural tool manufacturer—the company produced hoes, rakes, forks, etc.

1907, mold in Taft's studio, Chicago History Museum via Chicago Collections | 1903, University of Illinois Archives | 1902 article on Withington's donation

A city leader of an ambitious Midwestern town, Withington picked a similarly ambitious artist from the big city for the monument to his Union comrades. Getting Taft—by then a rising star—to remake (and presumably improve upon) his 1880s original would've been a little bit of a get for Jackson. Taft grew dismissive of his early-career monument work later in his life, but he clearly must have been happy enough with this one if he made it again.

“Our land is peppered with cast-iron soldiers in badly fitting belted jackets and baggy pantaloons…I’ve made some of these effigies myself, I’m ashamed to say, and such sculpture may be significant but it isn’t beautiful.”

Lorado Taft in Roadside Meetings by Garland Hamlin, 1930

1903, accident at foundry and Taft apologizes for the delay | 1903, the monument is installed and dedicated | 1904, in a *Monumental News* ad

The monument was supposed to be unveiled for Memorial Day 1903, but problems with the casting and the plinth delayed things more than a year. In the meantime, Withington died—poor guy. Presumably feeling pretty bad, Lorado Taft came to Jackson for the dedication on June 16th, 1904 and sat with Withington's widow, Julia.

A small triangular park between Wildwood and Michigan Avenues abutting a row of homes, Withington Park also had a unique memorial fountain that honored the women who stayed behind to manage the homefront during the Civil War– remember, nearly 25% of men in Michigan left to fight.

Withington Park an 1881 panorama, Library of Congress | the park in a 1907 Sanborn Map | Undated photo | 1941 article | 1949 articles about the plan to carve it up and letters to the editor opposed

The first major blow to Withington Park came in 1949, when the city punched First Street through the park, despite at least some local opposition. It's encouraging (and quite sad) to realize that even in small-town Michigan in 1949 there were people fighting the demolition of our cities for cars.

Most of the homes abutting the park were demolished in the 1950s or 1960s, and it appears that the fountain was removed around then (although that exact story remains a mystery). The park became the consolidated home for Jackson's veteran memorials in the 1980s, with monuments honoring World War 2, Vietnam, and Unknown Soldier casualties joining Defense of the Flag. A memorial honoring Jackson-area soldiers who died in Iraq and Afghanistan was added in the 2010s--understandably, this is where Jackson commemorates Veterans Day every year.

1985 article on the moving of other monuments to the park | 2024 satellite view

The last home in this awkward spit of land hung on until 2015, when it was acquired by the city and demolished. First Street was returned to the park in 2017, more than 65 years after it was carved up, and today Withington Park (the third smallest in the city) is the largest its ever been—but drivers flying down Wildwood and Michigan make it an awkward place to linger (and in 2013 someone hit it with their car). Not exactly a contemplative spot.

Soldiers & Sailors Monument, Jackson, Michigan

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