He stands at the corner of East Washington Avenue and Milwaukee Street. His golden backpack glistens when the sun shines just right and even in the -40 degree windchill, his footing is unwavering.
He doesn't have a name but he’s one of Madison’s newest pieces of public art, installed outside the Nexus apartments. The building is part of the Union Corners development, an $85 million, 255-unit mixed-use project that opened in the summer of 2023 after a decade of construction.
The lifesize golden Union soldier statue honors the importance of the area during the Civil War. Men who enlisted to fight in the war would often visit the Union House Tavern, which occupied the space now held by the Malt House Tavern, after training at Camp Randall. During the war, wives of Union soldiers received their allotment checks from an office on the building’s second floor.
The statue is made of 24-carat gold leaf on a bronze cast by artists in Pennsylvania. On the front of its stone pedestal, a plaque on the statue reads:
I am a young Union Solider from Wisconsin quickly trained at Camp Randall in Madison then sent East to the front battle. I left my home and family as all those that went before me and after me. I am the color Gold as a symbol of respect, honor and praise for all the Civil War Union soldiers of Wisconsin.
On the back of the statue’s pedestal, another plaque titled, “My Beautiful Child,” recalls a mother’s reflections on her son going to war:
My beautiful child, you left home to join this epic War of the State. My Heart aches until the day of your return. You left for the call of honor, duty and freedom for all. I pray every night for your safe return and wonder what kind of person you will become. With loving hope and safe journey back to us, Your Mother.
