Carl Conrads

The American Volunteer, at the 1876 Centennial Exposition. Installed at Antietam National Cemetery in 1880. Carl H. Conrads (February 26, 1839 in Breisig, Germany – May 24, 1920 in Hartford, Connecticut) was an American sculptor best known for his work on Civil War monuments and his two works in the National Statuary Hall Collection at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. He was also known as Charles Conrads.

Biography He was born in Sinzig-on-the-Rhine, the son of Heinrich Joseph Conrads and Johanna Maria Catherina Fleischer. His father was mayor of their town until removed from office by the Prussians in 1850. In 1853 his parents and brother Robert emigrated to Texas, where they became farmers and furnituremakers. Carl remained in Munich and received a diploma from the Koeniglich Bayerische Akademie der Bildenden Kunste. and served as an artilleryman in the 20th New York Volunteers during the American Civil War. He moved to Hartford, Connecticut in 1866 to work for James G. Batterson at the New England Granite Works, where he worked until 1903.

Sculptor and sculpture historian Lorado Taft said of him: "a German of good training, has identified himself with sculpture in granite, and has done much creditable work well adapted to the requirements of that ungrateful material."

Noteworthy among his granite works are his colossal American Volunteer statue at Antietam National Cemetery in Sharpsburg, Maryland; his seated figure of Morality on the National Monument to the Forefathers in Plymouth, Massachusetts – "said to be the largest solid granite monument in the world;" and his Alexander Hamilton statue in Central Park, New York City.

Conrads is buried in West Hartford, Connecticut; his grave is marked with a simple stone.

Selected works

Oswin Welles Memorial, bronze figure, Cedar Hill Cemetery, Hartford, Connecticut, 1873. Bust of Laurent Clerc, American School for the Deaf, West Hartford, Connecticut, 1874. The pedestal features a frieze of Clerc's name spelled in sign language. Moorhead Column, Allegheny Cemetery, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1877. Alexander Hamilton, Central Park, New York City, 1880. Conrads's plaster model for this is at the Museum of American Finance in New York City. Joel Thayer Monument, granite, Lake View Cemetery, Skaneateles, New York, 1882–83, George Keller, architect. Colonel Sylvanus Thayer Monument ("Father of the Military Academy"), U.S. Military Academy, West Point, New York, 1883. Relief bust of Noah Webster, Connecticut State Capitol, Hartford, Connecticut, 1885. Relief bust of Reverend Horace Bushnell, Connecticut State Capitol, Hartford, Connecticut, circa 1885. General Henry W. Halleck, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, California, 1886. National Monument to the Forefathers, Plymouth, Massachusetts, 1889. With sculptors William Rimmer, John D. Perry (attributed), Alexander Doyle and James H. Mahoney; and architects Hammatt Billings and Joseph Edward Billings. Morality (seated figure), granite. Embarkation at Delft Haven (bas-relief plaque), marble. General John Stark, bronze, New Hampshire Statehouse, Concord, New Hampshire, 1890, John A. Fox, architect. John B. Ford, bronze, Third Street Park, Ford City, Pennsylvania, 1891. John Stark from New Hampshire, marble, National Statuary Hall Collection, United States Capitol, Washington D.C., 1894. Currently residing in the United States Capitol crypt. Daniel Webster from New Hampshire (after Thomas Ball), marble, National Statuary Hall Collection, United States Capitol, Washington D.C., 1894. Samuel J. Tilden Monument, Cemetery of the Evergreens, New Lebanon, New York, 1895, Ernest Flagg, architect. The Archangel Gabriel, marble, George H. Thacher Monument, St. Agnes Cemetery, Menands, New York, 1896. Minute Man, granite, Union Square, Elizabeth, New Jersey, 1905. Relief bust of Henry Keney, Keney Park Entrance Gates, Hartford, Connecticut, circa 1905.

Civil War monuments 100px 1868 Granby Green,3 East Granby Road,Granby, Connecticut Brownstone Statue:Monument:approx. 21 ft (6.4 m) George Keller, architectPart of Granby Center Historic District. Forlorn Soldier Statue thumb 100px 1866-1869 Connecticut State Capitol,Hartford Brownstone from quarry in Portland, CT Statue:Monument: Contractor: Batterson's Monumental WorksSculptor: Charles Conrads Knight Hospital Monument 1870 Evergreen Cemetery,92 Winthrop Avenue,New Haven, Connecticut Granite Statue:Monument:approx. 26 ft (7.92 m) Dedicated to the 204 Union soldiers who died while in the hospital's care. Soldiers' Monument 1872 Main & Bartlett Streets,Portland, Connecticut Brownstone Statue:Monument:33 ft (10.06 m) Soldiers' Monument thumb 100px 1873 Meriden City Hall,East Main & Catlin Streets,Meriden, Connecticut Granite Statue:7 ft (2.13 m)Monument:approx. 45 ft (13.72 m) The Soldiers' Monument 1875 Chelsea Parade Green,Washington & Williams Streets,Norwich, Connecticut Granite Statue:12 ft (3.66 m)Monument:27 ft 6 in (8.38 m) Octagonal pedestal. The American Volunteer (statue),U.S. Soldier Monument thumb 100px 1876Dedicated 1880 Antietam National Cemetery,Sharpsburg, Maryland Granite Statue:21 ft 6 in (6.55 m)Monument:44 ft 7 in (13.59 m) Conrads, sculptor; James W. Pollette, carver; George Keller, architect.The American Volunteer was exhibited at the 1876 Centennial Exposition. Soldiers Monument 1876 Courthouse Park,Cortland County Courthouse,Cortland, New York Bronze statueGranite pedestal "Centennial Offering of Cortland County in Memory of Those Who Foughtin Defence of the Union 1861. 1865. - A. D. 1876."Signed: C. Conrads. Soldiers' Monument thumb 100px 1876Dedicated 1877 Center Park,Main & Center Streets,Manchester, Connecticut Bronze statueGranite pedestal Statue:Monument:approx. 15 ft 6 in (4.72 m) Signed C. Conrads 1876Geo.Fischer & Bro. Bronze Foundry. N.Y.At base of granite monument: "In memory of the soldiers of Manchester who died in the War of the Rebellion 1861 - 1865" Wolcottville Soldier's Monument 1879 Coe Memorial Park,South Main & Litchfield Streets,Torrington, Connecticut Tan granite Statue:Monument:16 ft (4.88 m) The statue is one-third-size copy of The American Volunteer.Cylindrical pedestal (unusual). : Made by the New England Granite Works Soldiers' Monument thumb 100px 1883 East Main Street & Broadway AvenueMystic in Stonington, Connecticut Tan granite Statue:Monument:approx. 19 ft (5.8 m) Part of Mystic Bridge Historic District. Soldiers and Sailors Monument thumb Originally a fountain statue atNew York State Soldiers' and Sailors' Home, Bath."Manchester" model. Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument thumb 100px 1902 Taunton Green,Taunton, Massachusetts Granite Statue:8 ft (2.44 m)Monument:22 ft (6.71 m) Soldiers' Monument (attributed work) 1912 93 Grove Street,Putnam, Connecticut Bronze statueGranite pedestal Statue:Monument:approx. 19 ft (5.79 m) Civil War Monument (attributed work) 1915-16 Monument & Smith Streetsopposite Fort Griswold State Park,Groton, Connecticut Granite Statue:Monument:approx. 22 ft (6.71 m) Donated by Robert A. Gray.