The equestrian statue of Charles Devens in Worcester

Wander through Worcester, Massachusetts, and you will find the Institutional District, home to the equestrian statue of Charles Devens. Designed by Daniel Chester French and Edward Clark Potter, this statue honors a man who served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War and later as United States Attorney General.

Born on April 4, 1820 in Charlestown, Massachusetts, Charles Devens attended the Boston Latin School before graduating from Harvard College in 1838. He earned a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1840 and began practicing law in 1841. He served as a member of the Massachusetts Senate from Franklin County between 1848 and 1849, and between 1849 and 1853, he served as the United States marshal for the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. In 1873, he became an associate justice for the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. In 1877, President Rutherford B. Hayes appointed him as United States Attorney General, a position he held until 1881.

During the American Civil War, Devens served as the major of a rifle battalion and later as colonel of the 15th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment. He was wounded at both the Battle of Fair Oaks and the Battle of Chancellorsville, eventually reaching the rank of general.

On January 7, 1891, Devens died in Boston. Efforts towards the erection of a monument honoring Devens began in late 1891 when United States Senator George Frisbie Hoar of Massachusetts sent requests to prominent citizens. The statue was dedicated on July 4, 1906.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons