This bronze sculpture was erected in 1902 as a gift from William Larrabee, former governor of Iowa. It was dedicated in 1903 during a regimental reunion held in Clermont. The ex-Governor had admired the original statue (also by George Bissell) during a visit to Edinburgh, Scotland.
The statue stands in Lincoln Park on highway 18 in Clermont Iowa. The original work in Scotland showed Lincoln with a freed slave. The Clermont version has Lincoln holding the Emancipation Proclamation. Bissell, who had fought with a Connecticut regiment during the Civil War, also created four war scenes in relief for the pedestal. Picture Copywright 2002 by Abraham Lincoln Online. Seen at http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln/art/clermont.htm |