The General Wadsworth Statue Campaign is an effort to honor a true hero of the Civil War.
General James S. Wadsworth (1807 - 1864) served the Union with such bravery and distinction that the State of New York honored him in 1914 by placing a bronze statue of him on the battlefield at Gettysburg, where his contributions had proven invaluable. We seek to raise enough money over the next three to five years to recast the statue from the model and erect a nine-foot bronze of General Wadsworth here in Livingston County, where he spent most of his life.
Before entering the army at age 53, Wadsworth had already lived a full life of service to Geneseo, the Genesee Valley, and the State of New York. His commitment to the United States and to the cause of antislavery inspired him to sacrifice all his comforts and devote the rest of his life to preserving the nation and freeing the slaves. Wadsworth died May 8, 1864, after being mortally wounded at the Battle of the Wilderness.
The original model by R. Hinton Perry from which the Gettysburg statue was cast still exists (see photo). At its February 13, 2002, meeting the Livingston County Board of Supervisors granted its approval for placing the statue on the lawn in front of the Livingston County Courthouse in Geneseo. To realize this plan will require the help of many people. Please consider making a donation to the General Wadsworth Statue Campaign.
To contribute to our efforts to erect a statue to General Wadsworth in Geneseo, Livingston County, New York, please send your tax-deductible contribution payable to APOG - General Wadsworth Statue to
General Wadsworth Statue Committee
P.O. Box 91
Geneseo, NY 14454
Thank you for your support! If you have any questions, feel free to contact us via email.
September 17 Event to Be Held at the General’s Home
Thanks to the generosity of Corrin Strong, Hartford House will be the venue on September 17 for our second wine-tasting and silent auction. Art works by many local artists will be available for bidding, just like at our very successful event two years ago. Wines will be provided by Barb and Greg Brown of Good Spirits. Plan to spend the evening (7:30 to 10:00) at the beautiful home James Wadsworth built for his family in the 1830s. Tickets are $20 each and are available at Pictures and Presents and B&D Art and Framing. Call Donna Kelsey at B&D for more information (585-243-3060).
Painting To Be Raffled For Statue Campaign
Jon and Elizabeth Porter of Geneseo have donated a pastel by Jon’s father, J. Erwin Porter, to the Statue Campaign. Porter’s reputation has been steadily growing in recent years, and his paintings have been consistently appraised at roughly $3,500. The Statue Campaign will sell just one hundred chances for the painting at $50 each. Once we have sold the 100 tickets, we will draw one winner at random. The painting is a riverscape of the Hudson from Garrison Park with West Point in the background. You may purchase raffle tickets at the Wine-tasting event on September 17.
The following resources provide more information about the life and times of James S. Wadsworth. Note that the General Wadsworth Statue Campaign receives no money from the vendors associated with some of the links below: they are merely listed as information sources.