General Andrew Jackson Statue

Artist Clark Mills (1810-1883) cast this bronze statue in December 1852 to commemorate the victory of Major General Andrew Jackson (1767-1845), later the seventh president of the United States, in the 1815 Battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812 between the United States and Great Britain. Mills set up a studio and foundry near the park in 1849, and cast the statue in ten pieces -- four for the horse and six for Jackson. In total the statue weighs 15 tons. The statue was dedicated on January 8, 1853, on the anniversary of the Battle of New Orleans.

The statue depicts Jackson as a general, riding a rearing horse and waving his hat. The statue faces west, with Jackson's and the horse's faces turned slightly toward the White House. The marble base of the statue bears the inscription, "Our Federal Union. It must be Preserved." Around the base of the statue are four Spanish cannons that Jackson captured in Pensacola, Florida.

This was the first statue in Lafayette Square, now Lafayette Park. Part of a set of four, this statue has copies in New Orleans, Louisiana; Jacksonville, Florida; and Nashville, Tennessee. The statue is a contributing feature to the Lafayette Square Historic District, recognized as a National Historic Landmark in 1970.

“Andrew Jackson Memorial,” Histories of the National Mall, accessed December 3, 2020, http://mallhistory.org/items/show/412.

McDermott, John D. "Lafayette Square Historic District." National Register of Historic Places Inventory -- Nomination Form. National Archives and Records Administration. March 10, 1970. Accessed December 3, 2020. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/117691835

National Park Service. Explore the Northern Trail (Lafayette Park), Explore President's Park. October 26th 2018. Accessed December 3rd 2020. https://www.nps.gov/whho/planyourvisit/explore-the-northern-trail.htm.