Today In History: January 25, 1776: First National Memorial is ordered by Congress On this day in 1776, the Continental Congress authorizes the first national Revolutionary War memorial in honor of Brigadier General Richard Montgomery, who had been killed during an assault on Quebec on December 31, 1775. Montgomery, along with Benedict Arnold, led a two-pronged invasion of Canada in late 1775. Before joining Arnold at Quebec, Montgomery successfully took Montreal. But the Patriot assault on Quebec failed, and Montgomery became one of the first generals of the American Revolution to lose his life on the battlefield. When word of his death reached Philadelphia, Congress voted to create a monument to Montgomerys memory and entrusted Benjamin Franklin to secure one of Frances best artists to craft it. Franklin hired King Louis XVs personal sculptor, Jean Jacques Caffieri, to design and build the monument. Upon its completion in 1778, the Montgomery memorial was shipped to America and arrived at Edenton, North Carolina, where it remained for several years.
Posted on: Sun, 25 Jan 2015 07:04:11 +0000
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