Your TR Source
One photograph shows the sculpture, “The crowded hour at San Juan,” which depicts Theodore Roosevelt on horseback as a rough rider. Another photograph shows the sculptor, James Edward Kelly. Included is an envelope addressed to “Mr. J. E. Kelly” from “The Vice President’s Chamber, Washington, D.C.”
Sagamore Hill National Historic Site
1901-06-08
The sculpture, “The Crowded Hour at San Juan,” was created by artist James Edward Kelly for President Roosevelt at his request. It depicts Roosevelt on horseback as a Rough Rider. Roosevelt enjoyed Kelly’s work due to his artistic “American” style. Included is a handwritten note to a Mr. Balch from Kelly dated June 3, 1928.
Sagamore Hill National Historic Site
1902-07-20
Statue of Theodore Roosevelt and facade of the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Hall at the American Museum of Natural History.
Unknown
President Roosevelt unfortunately cannot attend the dedication in New York City of the statue of Major General Franz Sigel, but did speak at the dedication of a similar statue in St. Louis.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-04-14
President Roosevelt writes to the Superintendent of Public Buildings and Grounds, Thomas Symons, that he wants a memorandum circulated saying that the Andrew Jackson elm is not to be touched concerning the installation of the Pulaski statue.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-05-14
Herman O. Fjelde thanks Frank Harper for the information about the “moving pictures” of Theodore Roosevelt and says he has written to Mr. Abernathy. The sculptor has the skeleton of the equestrian statue ready, but Fjelde does not know when the sculpture will be ready. However, he gets new subscribers and honorary members of the Roosevelt Monument Association every week, and notes that English Ambassador James Bryce recently expressed interest.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-07-15
Brander Matthews gently ribs President Roosevelt about having sent a letter signed “TR,” saying his “democratic soul is shockt.” Matthews liked a recent speech by Roosevelt about Augustus Saint-Gaudens, and appreciated Roosevelt’s use of one of his suggestions. Roosevelt’s mention of King Louis XIV of France made Matthews remember an anecdote involving Louis XIV and the sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini, which he relates to Roosevelt.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-12-16
Senator Lodge sends President Roosevelt a photograph of the equestrian statue of Bartolomeo Colleoni, a sculpture by Andrea del Verrocchio in Venice, which he thinks is the finest sculptural representation of a man on horseback. He wishes Roosevelt a merry Christmas and happy New Year.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-12-25
Postcard showing a neoclassical building, the United States Treasury, in the background with an equestrian statue of General William T. Sherman in the foreground.
In Charles C. Myers’s own words, “Directly to the east of the White House is the U. S. Treasury Bldg. This shows the north entrance as seen from LaFayette Park, looking in a south-easternly direction. This is the Great Bank of the Nation and the size of the building is a 450ft long and 250ft wide. This is General Sherman’s statue shown in the foreground.”
Postcard showing an equestrian statue of King Louis XIV in the courtyard of the Palace of Versailles. Charles C. Myers discusses the history of the palace’s creation.
In Charles C. Myers’s own words, “This is a closer view showing the statue of Louis 15th. A little to the left, not shown in this picture is the small chapel or church. The interior of the chapel was finished by the finest artists of the day and it is indeed the most beautifully finished place of the kind that it has ever been our pleasure to visit. We will see the interior view later.”
This postcard shows a view of an equestrian statue of Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte looking back towards Cherbourg’s City Hall across a wide plaza. Several people gather and sit around the base of the statue, while a crows has also assembled near the city hall. Some people walk in the plaza, but it is largely empty.
Charles C. Myers describes the Christmas celebrations held in honor of the U.S. sailors at the Cherbourg City Hall when the fleet visited France, and says that “the people of Cherbourg put forth every effort to make the visit of the Americans one of pleasure.”
In Charles C. Myers’s own words, “This is the same statue when looking another direction, and in the distant [sic] is the city hall which is a very fine stone Bldg. and it was in this Bldg that many banquets and entertainments were held in honor of the visit of the American Fleet to that place in the fall of 1910. On Christmas Eve there was an entertainment and Xmas Tree which was full of presents and souvenirs for the American Sailors and a jolly time was had by all that were present.”
The center of this card is taken up by a photograph showing an equestrian statue of Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte in Cherbourg with several people standing in front of it. This image is surrounded by sprigs of flowers with the caption (in French), “From Cherbourg I send you these Flowers.” Charles C. Myers explains that there is a fine harbor in Cherbourg, and that it is where the U.S. Fleet anchored during their stay near France in December 1910.
In Charles C. Myers’s own words, “Cherbourg is the principal seaport of Northern France and also the Naval Rendezvous. It is quite a thriving city of about 50 thousand inhabitants, but in no way a beautiful city even though it is considerable of a commercial center and the place where most ocean liners make their principal stops for France. it is about 4 hours ride by rail from Cherbourg to Paris and thru [sic] a beautiful country where agriculture is extensively carried on. This is Napoleon’s Statue which you see when you first land in the city.”
Michael Kort opens and closes his book review essay with thoughts on the equestrian statue of Theodore Roosevelt that used to mark the entrance to the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. Kort cites the statue as emblematic of the argument made in Edward P. Kohn’s Heir to the Empire City: New York and the Making of Theodore Roosevelt that New York City was more important to shaping the man and his policies than the Dakota Badlands. Kort believes that Kohn makes a persuasive case, but he does question the book’s lack of academic citations and Kohn’s use of speculative language.
The front cover of Kohn’s book, a political cartoon, and a photograph of James Earle Fraser’s equestrian statue of Roosevelt accompany the essay.
James F. Vivian describes the efforts of the Roosevelt Monument Association to have an equestrian statue of Theodore Roosevelt made for the state agricultural college in Fargo, North Dakota. Vivian highlights the sculptor chosen for the project, Gustav Viegland, and he details how Roosevelt, who initially sat for Viegland, decided that he did not want a statue made of him while he was still alive. An illustration of a model of the proposed statue appears in the article as does a reprint of a letter from the Roosevelt Monument Association on association stationery.
Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal
2007
A picture of the equestrian statue of Theodore Roosevelt as a Rough Rider in Portland, Oregon, appears on the front cover of this issue while the back cover features the famous photograph of the Rough Riders atop San Juan Hill on July 1, 1898 with Roosevelt at the center of the picture.
Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal
2001
John A. Gable critiques a book and an article that have been cited to undermine the case for awarding Theodore Roosevelt the Medal of Honor. Gable considers Teddy Roosevelt at San Juan: The Making of a President by Harold Samuels and Peggy Samuels and an article by military historian Mitchell A. Yockelson. Gable argues that the panel considering the merits of Roosevelt’s case should consider these works so that they can see the weakness of the argument against awarding Roosevelt the medal. Gable highlights some of the deficiencies in each of these works and refers to the Samuels’s book as “a blatant hatchet job.”
A photograph of Gable with Tweed Roosevelt and two photographs of the Roosevelt Rough Rider equestrian statue in Portland, Oregon, supplement the letter.
Stereograph showing the statuary and fountains at the foot of the Cascades at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. The Machinery Building is visible in the distance.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1904
Stereograph showing the statuary and fountains at the foot of the Cascades at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. The towers of the Machinery Building visible in the distance.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1904
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1904-08-22
(1901, September-1905, February) U.S. President – 1st Term
Four people stand in front of a statue of Theodore Roosevelt on horseback in Minot, North Dakota. The sign behind them appears to read, “[? fine] for [sitting] on [the horse].” The statue was commissioned by Ralph Waldo Coe and designed by Alexander Phimister Proctor in the 1920s.
1920-1929