Spirit of Liberty, 1905
Ogdensburg, New York
Ogdensburg's Civil War monument was the most personal of all of Farnham's commissions. On September 15, 1904, Sally James Farnham was contracted to create a monument whose purpose was meant as "a lesson in patriotism and a work of art" to honor the soldiers and sailors who died from the Town of Oswegathchie during the Civil War. Farnham's beloved father, Col. Edward C. James, as the youngest colonel in the volunteer's history, headed the 106th New York Volunteers. The monument became a way for Farnham to honor his ideals and memory in her own hometown.
The figure of Victory atop the granite shaft has been called by critics a "masterpiece" and "a piece of modeling, one would have to search long and far among American works of sculpture to find anything finer." Farnham was so fond of her Victory, that she would later incorporate it into the design she competed with for the World War One Victory Medal competition. That commission was later won by James E. Fraser.
The granite shaft upon which Victory stands has been the subject of some controversy. Farnham's sister, Mrs. Grant C. Madill, wrote in 1931 that the column was originally part of the second U.S. Mint building in Philadelphia. When the Mint was torn down, it has been claimed, that the columns were offered to communities for use in war memorials. According to Mrs. Madill, their father paid to have the column moved to Ogdensburg, where it sat in the marble yard for many years. The United States Mint can not verify this claim and the date for the demolition of the second Mint building does not accurately fit the timetable for this monument. The shaft is made of Barre granite from Vermont.
Dedication of the monument was held on August 23, 1095, before a crowd numbering in the tens of thousands and in the presence of Charles Fairbanks, Vice-President of the United States. The monument and its dedication were reported in newspapers all across the country. Sadly today, the monument is in a sad state of disrepair. The soldier was removed from the base twenty- five years ago due to damage caused by excessive vandalism.
In 1912, Farnham was commissioned to create a similar monument in Bloomfield, NJ. She obtained permission from Ogdensburg to recreate their monument--pared down without the war eagles, plaques and soldier--as long as it wasn't erected within the state of New York. The Bloomfield monument was dedicated on Jun 11, 1912. Eighty-nine years later, in 2001, the Town of Bloomfield had their monument restored to it's former beauty.