Iowa Courthouses: Civil War Soldier Statues

A tour of Iowa’s courthouses is an opportunity to learn about what the citizens treasure. The courthouse itself is a monument to the importance of government, and on its square you will often discover memorials to the soldiers who have defended our freedom.

Several Civil War monuments feature the same soldier at parade rest, such as this monument in Guthrie County. What initially appears to be a stone carving is actually cast from zinc. The Western White Bronze Company in Des Moines, a subsidiary of Monumental Bronze in Bridgeport, Connecticut, sold many Civil War soldier statues and other cast monuments across the state.

An article on “white bronze” monuments in Greenwood Cemetery offers more details on the monuments and the Western White Bronze Company.

Here is another good collection of articles on Civil War white bronze monuments.