Alexander Mitchell, the prominent Milwaukee businessman, agreed to finance a Civil
War monument for Milwaukee in 1885. He commissioned John S. Conway for the project.
Conway had previously finished the murals in Mitchell’s Chamber of Commerce
building. Unfortunately, Mitchell died before deciding on the design of the
monument. U.S. Senator John Mitchell, Alexander Mitchell’s son, agreed to satisfy
his father’s commitment after his father’s death. He, with the help of the Soldier’s
Memorial Committee, decided on a design for the monument. However, with the
financial panic of 1893, he was forced to withdraw his support for the project.
Lydia Ely, a local art patron in Milwaukee, spearheaded the effort to get the
monument for the Civil War soldiers built after John Mitchell pulled out of the
project. As part of her campaign to raise funding for the monument, she compiled a
book of 2,300 autographs from nationally known people. When her campaign failed to
bring in the necessary revenue to pay for the monument, Captain Frederick Pabst
agreed to purchase the autograph book from her for the remaining balance to be paid
on the monument. (The Autograph Book was later donated to the
Milwaukee Public Library and is available for viewing by appointment only.)
The Victorious Charge is made of cast bronze. It
depicts four Union soldiers in action. As is described in Outdoor Sculpture in Milwaukee: "The
standard bearer, having fallen, supports himself on his left forearm. His weapon has
dropped from his left hand and his cap has fallen from his head, but he still
clutches a portion of the broken flag staff in his right hand. The flag is borne
aloft by a young private, who appears to have just taken it from the hand of his
dying comrade. By the private’s side, an officer, pistol in left hand and drawn
sword in his right, continues forward. Alongside the officer, a private advances
with fixed bayonet. While artists of most Civil War monuments chose to soften and
idealize the horrors of war, Conway dramatically captured the moment in battle with
great intensity and realism" (p. 61).
