The Coast Guard Academy unveils its newest monument on the Washington Parade Field on Friday.
A monument dedicated to U.S. President George Washington will be dedicated as a 50th reunion gift from the Class of 1969.
This statue is a bronze reproduction using molds pulled from the original statue created by famous French sculptor Jean-Antoine Houdon in 1792 and is considered by historians to be the greatest likeness of Washington. Houdon was commissioned by the Virginia legislature in 1784 to create the statue in commemoration of Washington’s role in winning American independence from Great Britain.
Four bronze replicas of historic documents will be displayed behind the statue, including key documents between Washington, Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton and Hopley Yeaton that chronicle Yeaton’s selection as the first person to receive a commission in the U.S. Revenue Marine.
“The history of Washington’s central role in the origins of those federal agencies that over time were merged to create today’s Coast Guard is compelling,” said retired Capt. Dan Garrison, president of the Academy Class of 1969. “The criteria set forth by Washington in his selection of the first group of officers for the U.S. Revenue Marine became the catalyst, ultimately, for the establishment of the Academy.”
