Historical/Biographical Sketch
Processed by
Laurie Randall, Robert W. Smith
Dorothy A. Nicholson
February 2007
Manuscript and Visual Collections Department
William Henry Smith Memorial Library
Indiana Historical Society
450 West Ohio Street
Indianapolis, IN 46202-3269
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VOLUME OF |
1 OVA box of photographs, 1 cirkut photograph |
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COLLECTION |
1907 |
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PROVENANCE: |
Unknown; Mrs. Benjamin D. (Elizabeth Holliday) Hitz, Indianapolis 1957; Antique Helper, Indianapolis 2003 |
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RESTRICTIONS: |
None |
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COPYRIGHT: |
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REPRODUCTION |
Permission to reproduce or publish material in this collection must be obtained from the Indiana Historical Society. |
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ALTERNATE |
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RELATED |
Hilton U. Brown Papers, (M 0031) |
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ACCESSION |
0000.0631, 1957.0030, 2003.0089 |
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NOTES: |
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The name Henry W. Lawton does not resonate in households of many Hoosiers. To early twentieth century Americans, however, his nearly 38 years in the army created almost a legend, particularly after the American Civil War (1861-1865) and the Philippine Insurrection (1899-1902). In May, 1907, in the Hoosier capital, his admirers fulfilled their desires to honor the deceased general.
Henry W. Lawton, son of George W. and Catherine (Daley) Lawton, was born in Manhattan, Ohio, 17 March 1843 though he considered Fort Wayne, Indiana, his home. In 1881 he married Mary Craig who bore seven children, three of whom died in infancy. As a teenager, he attended Fort Wayne (Ind.) Methodist Episcopal College from which he withdrew to join the army after the attack on Fort Sumter (April, 1861). He rose through the ranks of enlisted men and officers, attaining the rank of Major General before his death. He participated in twenty major engagements in the War Between the States and received the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Following the War he enrolled in Harvard Law School but dropped out of the program, re-enlisted in the army and received a lieutenant’s commission. He remained in the army and participated in the search for the Apache Indian, Geronimo. Lawton and a small party found the chief and his followers and persuaded them to surrender. When war broke out between Spain and the U.S., Lawton again saw action prior to becoming the military governor of Santiago, Cuba. In the Philippine Insurrection Lawton and his men fought 22 engagements in 20 days in the Islands.
On December 19, 1899, General Lawton was shot and killed at San Mateo, Northeast of Manila. Private funeral services were held in the Lawton home in Manila before the Army shipped his body back to the U.S. and buried it in Arlington Cemetery. En route to Washington, the funeral train passed through Indianapolis where the body lay in state at the capitol before proceeding to Fort Wayne, then on to the nation’s capitol.
Both Manila and Fort Wayne, Indiana, erected statues to him—Manila going a step further when in the 1920s the country commemorated him on its currency. In 1901, settlers in Oklahoma’s Comanche County adopted Lawton as the name of their new municipality, in honor of the one who in 1886 had captured Geronimo.
Dedication of the Lawton Statue
After his death the city fathers of Indianapolis wished to commemorate the life and contributions of the Hoosier general. Accordingly, they commissioned sculptor Andrew O’Connor, Jr., (1874–1941) to craft an appropriate bronze model. O’Connor studied under his father and Daniel Chester French, and is most famous for his sculpture of Lincoln at the Illinois state capitol in Springfield. He cast the Lawton statue, exhibiting it first at the Paris Salon (1906) before bringing it to Indianapolis for the Memorial Day dedication.
In Indianapolis, on 30 May 1907, decorum and pageantry prevailed throughout the day, and particularly at the ceremony. Thousands gathered in the afternoon at the Marion County Court House for the occasion. After Governor James F. Hanly, M.C. for the program, made a few opening remarks, Miss Frances Lawton, daughter of the deceased general, pulled the cord, unveiling the larger-than-life statue of Henry Lawton. Hanly introduced the featured speaker for the afternoon with a few preliminary remarks, concluding with, “Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States”.
President Roosevelt honored Lawton, but also spoke to his political themes: dislike for trusts and businesses who exploited stockholders and working people, and the rail companies. He concluded with a quote from Abraham Lincoln, who as a lad had lived in Indiana: Governor Hanly said a few words then introduced Indiana poet James Whitcomb Riley who read his poem “Voyage Home,” the last lines of which paid tribute to the general with “[You hear no] salutation from your State alone,/But all the States, gathered in mighty fleet,/ Dip colors as you move to anchorage.” After Riley, Vice President Fairbanks assured the crowd that the President would return to Washington knowing that Indiana stands for “cleanliness in civil life and honor in the public service.”
The subsequent parade to the Fairbanks’ home saw thousands line the streets. Later the President departed aboard his private railroad car, traveling through Anderson, Muncie and Fort Wayne before leaving the state. Thus on 30 May 1907 did the city of Indianapolis and a President honor Major General Henry W. Lawton. For eight years the Lawton statue remained on the southwest corner of the Court House grounds, but in 1915, because it posed a traffic hazard, workers relocated it in Garfield Park on the city’s near south side where it stands today.
Sources:
Greiff, Glory-June. Remembrance, Faith and Fancy. Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Society Press, 2005. Reference Room Collection: NB230.I6 R46 2005
Hilton U. Brown Papers, 1853-1958, M 0031, Manuscript Collections
Indianapolis News and Indianapolis Morning Star, May 30 and 31, 1907
Roosevelt, Theodore, Theodore Roosevelt; An Autobiography. New York: Scribner, 1919 Indiana State Library
Staff of Fort Wayne Public Library, Major General Henry W. Lawton of Fort Wayne Indiana. Privately Published: 1954
The collection consists of photographs taken of President Roosevelt on Memorial Day 30 May 1907. They show President Theodore Roosevelt dedicating the Lawton Monument at the Marion County Courthouse in Indianapolis and at Vice-President Fairbanks home after the dedication. The image at the Fairbanks home is a Cirkut photograph taken by Charles Bretzman.
The president is seen standing on the podium beside the statue addressing the crowd. The photographs have been numbered [1–7]. Images 1–3 are duplicates and James Whitcomb Riley is seen behind and to the right of President Roosevelt.
There are also two copies of a Cirkut photograph of President Roosevelt and dignitaries on the lawn of Vice-President Fairbanks home after the dedication. One of the images is a small reprint from 1940 and includes a numbered list of everyone in the photograph. The list of names is transcribed in the Contents section of the collection guide. The other copy of the image is full size.
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CONTENTS |
CONTAINER |
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Photographs 1–7 of President Theodore Roosevelt speaking to the crowd from the podium behind the Lawton Monument |
OVA Photographs: |
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President Roosevelt at the
Residence of Vice-President Fairbanks, Indianapolis. May 30, 1907 Front Row—Left to Right |
OVA Photographs: |
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President Roosevelt and Party at the Residence of Vice-Pres. Fairbanks, Indianapolis, May 30, 1907 |
Oversize Photographs: |
For additional information on this collection, including a list of subject headings that may lead you to related materials:
1. Go to the Indiana Historical Society's online catalog: http://opac.indianahistory.org/
2. Click on the "Basic Search" icon.
3. Select "Call Number" from the "Search In:" box.
4. Search for the collection by its basic call number (in this case, P0118).