Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts

This six-foot-tall zinc figure of a Union Soldier perched on a cast iron fountain base was presented as a gift to the town of Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts by Charles Strahan, a former lieutenant in the Confederate Army who relocated to Martha’s Vineyard when he married a woman from upstate New York, in 1891. The gift was intended to prove Strahan’s newfound allegiance to the Union.

The stock statue was manufactured by J.W. Fiske of New York City. After its original installation in the Village Square it was moved twice, before settling at its current location. The figure is also reported to have toppled during a hurricane over fifty years ago. A local plumber recovered and resoldered the statue.

The monument had suffered the effects of over one hundred winters in New England. At the time of examination the statue appeared to have been coated with over fifteen layers of paint. The figure was missing several pieces (a hand and a rifle, the band of the soldier’s cap and portions of his ammunition pack) and the solder joints that held the figure to the statue base were severely compromised. The plinth was deteriorating at such a rate that it appeared that the entire base would need to be reconstructed. In addition, conservation work would be needed to reverse the effects of earlier, less skilled repair jobs.

The paint was removed, revealing what further work was necessary. A new stainless steel armature was installed and new zinc formed sheets and castings were created from molds taken from another version of the stock statue. Any deformed and damaged sheets were reformed and re-soldered into their original locations.

The base of the statue was disassembled and restored, work that included the removal of all failed coatings, as well as the casting of replacement elements. Paint analysis was performed and a new paint system that matched the original finish was applied. Both units (the figure and the reconstructed base) were returned to Martha’s Vineyard for reinstallation. The fountain works were refabricated and as a result, were operational for the first time in decades.

The project received an award for the Best Conservation Treatment from SOS! Heritage Preservation in 2002.

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