This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

This October Museum Showcases Bronze "Sheridan's Ride" during the Civil War Battle of Cedar Creek

Contact: Karen
Hollywood, Publicity and Programs Coordinator Macculloch Hall Historical Museum
/ khollywood@maccullochhall.org / www.maccullochhall.org / (973) 538-2404 ext.
15



 



This October
Museum Showcases Bronze “Sheridan’s
Ride” during the Civil War
Battle of Cedar Creek

Find out what's happening in Ridgewood-Glen Rockwith free, real-time updates from Patch.



 



An exhibit of bronze sculptures is on display in the upstairs gallery of Macculloch Hall Historical
Museum through October
31, 2013.  “American Heroes in Bronze:
The Artwork of James E. Kelly” is co-curated by William B. Styple and
the Museum’s Curator of Collections Ryan Hyman. 
This unique exhibit explores the work of Irish-American sculptor James E. Kelly
(1855-1933).  In the decades
following the American Civil War, over forty Union
Generals visited the New York City studio of
Kelly, who was highly respected for his artwork’s historical
accuracy.  While the war heroes sat, the artist conducted in-depth
interviews regarding their wartime service, and heard their very
personal stories of Fort
Sumter,
Antietam, Gettysburg,
and Appomattox.  
The work resulting from these personal interviews presents a unique perspective
on the famous figures and events from the Civil War. Also included in this
exhibition are Kelly’s depictions of notable events from the
Revolutionary War and well known civilians such as Thomas Edison and Clara
Barton.  Bas reliefs, busts, engravings and bronze sculptures depict these
heroes.

Find out what's happening in Ridgewood-Glen Rockwith free, real-time updates from Patch.



 



“Sheridan’s
Ride” (1878), a bronze
sculpture from the Museum’s collection, exemplifies the exhibit.  General Philip Sheridan was James Kelly’s
boyhood idol; once he met Sheridan,
his life as an artist was changed forever.  Kelly became good friends with
Sheridan and perhaps had more (and
better) opportunities for accurate observations of the General than any other
artist.  Kelly and Sheridan met many times, and from November 1878 through
February 1879 Kelly worked on the piece depicting Sheridan’s
famous ride. 



 



The Battle of
Cedar Creek, fought October 19, 1864, was the culminating battle of the 1864 Valley Campaigns during the American Civil War. Confederate Lt. Gen. Jubal Early
launched a surprise attack against Sheridan’s
encamped army, northeast of Strasburg, Virginia. During the morning fighting, seven
Union infantry divisions were forced to fall back. Early failed to continue his
attack north of Middletown, and Sheridan,
dramatically riding to the battlefield from Winchester, was able to rally his troops to hold a
new defensive line. A Union counterattack that afternoon routed Early's
army.  At the conclusion of this battle,
the final Confederate invasion of the North was effectively ended. The
Confederacy was never again able to threaten Washington, D.C.
through the Shenandoah Valley, nor protect one of its key economic
bases in Virginia. The stunning
Union victory aided the reelection of Abraham Lincoln
and Sheridan won lasting fame.



 



The “Sheridan’s Ride” statuette was first cast in plaster
and eventually cast in bronze several times. The bronzes were created about
fourteen years after the actual event took place and at least a dozen copies
are thought to be in existence today.  Sheridan
was the first general in bronze that Kelly made, and collectors consider it to
be the most desirable of his works. 
General Sheridan was very pleased with Kelly’s design, so much so that
he used it to grace the cover of his memoirs. The book, “Personal Memoirs of P.H. Sheridan, Volume
II”, by Philip Sheridan, is also displayed in the exhibit.



 



While Kelly was
sketching Theodore Roosevelt for another work, Roosevelt said, “this statuette
[Sheridan’s Ride] I have in my
possession.  I bought it when a student at Harvard, with the last fifty
dollars I had at the time.  This…I consider the finest type of American
bronzes.”  Roosevelt’s bronze of Kelly’s “Sheridan’s Ride” and the bronze that Kelly
created of Roosevelt, “Crowded Hour at
San Juan”, are in the
collection of Sagamore Hill National Historic Site.  Kelly met Roosevelt before he was elected President, and
visited him at the White House in 1902 during his term of office. The Museum’s
founder, W. Parsons Todd, purchased the Museum’s copy of Kelly’s “Sheridan’s Ride” at auction from the Parke-Bernet
Galleries in 1956.  The Museum’s
bronze, along with the collection of Kelly’s work on loan from private
collectors, and a vivid oil painting of “Sheridan’s
Ride” by T.B. Read, can be viewed until October 31



Macculloch Hall
Historical Museum preserves the history of the Macculloch-Miller families, the
Morris area community, and the legacy of its founder W. Parsons Todd through
its historic site, collections, exhibits, and educational and cultural
programs. The Museum is open for house and exhibit tours on Wednesdays,
Thursdays & Sundays from 1 to 4 p.m. The last tour leaves at 3pm. Adults
$8; Seniors & Students $6; Children 6 – 12 $4. Members and children under 5
are free. The gardens at Macculloch Hall Historical Museum are open Monday to
Friday 9am - 4pm and Sundays 1pm - 4pm unless posted otherwise. The gates are
secured at all other times. Please check our website for any holiday closings.
Call (973) 538-2404 ext. 10, visit our website www.maccullochhall.org or find
us on Facebook.  Macculloch Hall Historical Museum, 45 Macculloch Ave.,
Morristown, NJ 07960.  Macculloch Hall Historical Museum received an operating
support grant from the New Jersey Historical Commission, a division of the
Department of State.  Macculloch Hall Historical Museum is a nonprofit
educational affiliate of the W. Parsons Todd Foundation.



Image attached: Sheridan’s Ride James
Kelly (1855-1933) American Bronze 1878 Collection of MHHM Morristown, NJ_Image
courtesy of Stan Freeny



 

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?