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A second statue of Colonel Thomas Cass Unveiled in Boston's Public Garden on September 22, 1899

Photo Credit: Digital Commonwealth

For the second time in a decade, a resplendent bronze statue honoring Irish-born Civil War Colonel Thomas Cass was unveiled on the Public Garden in Boston on September 22, 1899. Cass was commander of the 9th Irish Regiment, and died in July 1862 from wounds at Malvern Hill, VA.

An Illustration of the new statue appeared in The Boston Globe

Several thousand people attended the unveiling, including Boston Mayor Josiah Quincy along with Mrs. C. B. Craib, the daughter of Colonel Cass, who unveiled the statue to great applause. Major Daniel G McNamara, a member of the 9th who served with Cass in the 9th Regiment, was the orator for the day.

The bronze statue by sculptor Richard Edwin Brooks was hailed as a brilliant and fitting depicting of Cass, a larger-than-life leader who was beloved by his men. Mayor Quincy called the sculpture "a work of art as well as a memorial to the brave colonel, and must be considered by all as such." The statue, Quincy said, had already won an award at the Paris Exposition by the time it was unveiled.

First Cass Statue


The first statue of Cass had been unveiled a decade earlier on November 12, 1889, and caused controversy from the start. It had been created by Irish-born sculptor Stephen J. O’Kelly, under the direction of J.J. Horgan of Cambridgeport, who did the pedestal. The piece was never intended to be placed in a public place such as the Public Garden. Rather, it was designed as a decorative piece at Mt. Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, where Cass was buried.

But some where along the line, members of the Society of the Ninth Regiment saw the O'Kelly piece and decided to present it to city officials, and the Boston City Council pushed it through.  But even O’Kelly was reluctant to see his granite piece place in the Public Garden, knowing that it would dimmish his reputation as an artist.  By the time of the unveiling, O'Kelly himself had disavowed the statue and refused to have his name associated with it. 

According to the Boston Daily Globe, "The city officials were between the devil and the deep blue sea. A statue of a brave and noble Irish commander had been offered to Boston. If they refused it they might be accused of race prejudice. If they accepted it they might be accused of having no artistic sense."

Almost immediately, city officials, art critics, Cass family members and the 9th Regiment Society realized the grave mistake of having this statue as a representation of Cass and by extension, the officers and soldiers of the 9th Regiment.

In 1894, according to the Boston Pilot, Mayor Quincy recommended that the City Council should “appropriate the necessary sum for erecting a suitable monument to Colonel Cass, in place of the present statue on the Public Garden. Every lover of art, as well as admirers of the patriotic soldier, will be glad to see this good work accomplished as the Mayor suggests.” The City Council agreed and encumbered the funds for the new statue.

The new statue was similar to the first statue in some ways.  For one thing, it was placed upon the same foundation as the original. And, the Boston Evening Transcript noted, "Cass is represented in the position of a colonel at the moment of receiving the command of his regiment from a superior officer. It is the same pose as that chosen by the projectors of the statue in granite, a choice deserving of commendation because it is military and historical - a rare fact in the statues of American officers."

The Transcript noted that the old Cass statue was taken down on September 12 and sent to Mount Auburn Cemetery.

The 9th Regiment included companies from Milford, Salem, Marlboro and Stoughton along with the Boston companies. The regiment was organized May 3, 1861, and mustered into the Ninth Massachusetts on June 11, 1861, for three years.

The Thomas Cass statue is part of Boston's Irish Heritage Trail, which highlights public memorials in Boston and its neighborhoods.

Research + Text, Michael Quinlin

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