Someone asked this morning about the similarity of the statue atop Chariton's Civil War monument and others in Iowa, which brings up an interesting point.
Chariton's guy is not the archetypal soldier who crowns most Iowa Civil War memorials of this type. The Lucas County monument has the added distinction of being extraordinarily tall although the veteran who crowns it is similar in size to his mates across the state.
Most veteran statues in Iowa are wearing greatcoats and forage caps, as is the soldier atop the Wayne County monument, below. A soldier clad in slouch hat and sack coat actually is more common atop monuments honoring Confederate dead in the South.
The great push to erect monuments of this sort came about during the late 19th century and pre-World War I years of the 20th century, both north and south. Nearly all were supplied by New England granite works and/or monument companies. Many were made of cast "white bronze" --- actually, zinc --- and these are virtually identical.
The statues in both Chariton and Corydon are granite, but carved to patterns using the latest technology of the time, then finished by hand.
When Chariton's Grand Army of the Republic Iseminger Post finally got around to ordering its memorial, the contract went to a local monument firm, Harding & Viers, which ordered all of the components from New England, probably working from a catalog (presumably reviewed by G.A.R. members).
The components arrived in Chariton by rail during late spring, 1916, along with a specialist from the manufacturer who oversaw assembly on the southeast corner of the square. The monument was put into place during May, in time for Memorial Day.
The gear being worn by statues north and south really has little to do with what soldiers of the opposing armies actually wore. Few on either side wore slouch hats, caps were favored; all on both sides wore the warmest coats they could lay hands on when it was cold but nothing elaborate unless occasions were ceremonial.
Initially, the New England firms thought they could get away with providing nearly identical statues to fill orders from both the North and South. Eventually, the South complained and the slouch-hatted version became more popular down there.
If you'd like to review the costuming of all of Iowa's Union soldier statues, the Iowa chapter of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War maintains an excellent site here, "Iowa Civil War Monuments.com."
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