Photos & Videos
This page contains various photos and videos related to General McPherson...
Photos from the Cyclorama Exhibit at the Atlanta History Center
McPherson Portraits
Site of McPherson's Death in East Atlanta
McPherson Monument in East Atlanta
During my last public tour on 11.19.22, I took everyone to a secret spot, so they could see and stand on top of the “steep hill” that General McPherson climbed (on horseback; July 22, 1864) after he crossed Sugar Creek in the modern-day Atlanta neighborhood of Edgewood; between Woodbine Ave and Memorial Dr (formerly Fair St). Just moments later, he would ride just a few thousand yards further south, where he was shot and killed by skirmishers from Patrick Cleburne's division, who were just then penetrating a gap on the left side of McPherson's Army of the Tennessee's battle line.
In his 1930 essay, McPherson’s Last Ride, historian Wilbur Kurtz described it this way: “In 1864, the road continued across the valley of the east and west branches of the stream, climbing the steep hill to Fair Street.”
McPherson Statues
Photo by ATLsherpa (2021). Note the pigeon caught in mid-flight, almost as to embrace the General with its outstretched wings...
The McPherson Sculpture
Major General James B. McPherson is a public artwork by American artist Louis Rebisso, located at McPherson Square in Washington, D.C., United States. Major General James B. McPherson was originally surveyed as part of the Smithsonian's Save Outdoor Sculpture survey in 1993. The monument is a bronze equestrian statue of Civil War hero James B. McPherson. The statue is a contributing monument to the Civil War Monuments in Washington, DC, of the National Register of Historic Places.
The memorial shows General McPherson sitting upon a horse, turned slightly to the proper right, as if surveying a battlefield. He is holding the horse's reins in his proper left hand and a pair of field glasses in his proper right hand. His horse, caught in mid-stride, walks with its proper right foot raised, and its head turned down. The statue sits upon a rectangular granite base (H. 12 ft., D. 6 ft.). The base is adorned with a ring of small wreaths around the top and a ring of stars around the bottom, along with a ring of cannonballs.
Confederate cannons that were captured at the Battle of Atlanta were used in the casting of the piece. The base was designed by Smithmeyer & Pelz and Westham Granite Works provided the stone work.
The sculpture was authorized by the United States Congress on March 3, 1875, and was paid for by the Society of the Army of the Tennessee. Major General James B. McPherson was installed in Scott Square (now McPherson Square) on October 18, 1876, on the 11th annual reunion of the Army of the Tennessee.
The west side of the base is inscribed with:
MAJ. GEN. JAMES B. McPHERSON
ATLANTA
JULY 22, 1864
The east side of the base is inscribed with:
ERECTED BY HIS COMRADES
OF THE SOCIETY OF
THE ARMY OF THE TENNESSEE
Source: Wikipedia
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
McPherson, Kansas
Clyde, Ohio