DEDICATED ON May 15, 1902, downtown Indianapolis’ soaring, 284 ½ -foot-tall Soldiers and Sailors Monument is the most recognizable icon of the Circle City. Staring up at its imposing facade, it’s easy to miss individual details among so many, like the powerful anthropomorphic bronze bears at the base of its 40-foot candelabras. They stand in an unnatural, Atlas-like position, posed on two feet with their arms raised to support metal bands that surround the candelabras, as if the structures will topple over if the bears let go. Even easier to miss is the fact that these are Eurasian brown bears—which don’t live in Indiana. That’s because the monument’s designer, Bruno Schmitz, and his team of artisans including sculptors Rudolf Schwarz (who created the statuary groups) and George Brewster (who sculpted the figure of Victory that tops the monument) were all German. Talk of building a memorial to honor Indiana’s Civil War veterans began before the war was over, but plans didn’t truly come to fruition until 1887, when the Indiana General Assembly formed a monument commission and established an international contest to solicit designs. Renowned throughout Europe, Schmitz was the unanimous winner despite his ignorance of American culture. As a result, numerous German symbols appear: bears as emblems of strength; eagles, which coincidentally have significance in both cultures; panthers and serpents, which are popular in German heraldry; and others. In fact, says Indiana War Memorials tour manager Jason Edwardson, beards on the sculptures of soldiers had to be removed because while facial hair was common among German soldiers, it wasn’t among Hoosiers.
