Description:
Dedicated in 1919, this statue honors Civil War general and former governor Richard Oglesby. Located in Lincoln (Abraham) Park, the ten-foot monument consists of a bronze statue on a granite pedestal. Despite serving in the 8th Illinois Infantry Regiment and being appointed Major General by President Lincoln, artist Leonard Crunelle chose to portray Oglesby in a humanist manner. The decision to honor his political achievements over his military service may stem from the statue's funders, John Barton Payne, J.S. Runnels, John W. Bunn, L.C. LaForce, and Martin B. Bailey, who were five prominent Chicagoans and politicians. Following a wave of graffiti and monument defacement in the 1990s, the monument became a focal point for debates about monument preservation and appreciation.
