Michigan Soldiers & Sailors Monument at Campus Martius by Andrew McFarlane
Historic Detroit shares that although there is probably no other area of Detroit has changed more often and more drastically over the years than the city center, Campus Martius, the Soldiers and Sailors Monument has endured:
Over the years, Old City Hall, the Majestic Building, the Pontchartrain Hotel, the Family Theatre, the Hammond Building and the old Detroit Opera House have all come and gone.
Only one landmark has outlived them all.
The Soldiers and Sailors Monument is among Detroit’s oldest pieces of public art and was one of the first monuments to honor Civil War veterans in the United States. It was announced by Gov. Austin Blair in 1865 that money would be collected to erect a tribute to Michigan’s soldiers killed in battle. Detroit, being the largest city, won the right to the monument.
…The bronze and granite sculpture was formally unveiled on April 9, 1872, though some of its statues were not added until July 18, 1881. Among the military commanders of Civil War fame attending the ceremony were Gens. George Armstrong Custer, Ambrose Burnside, Philip Sheridan, Thomas J. Wood and John Cook. The estimates were that 25,000 visitors turned out for the event, and each of the state’s main cities was represented by a marching delegation. Detroit’s hotels could not accommodate the crowd and some people had to sleep on the floors of the halls and parlors of taverns.
The Classical Revival monument stands more than 60 feet tall and cost more than $75,000 ($1.3 million today) to build. It was sculpted by Randolph Rogers, who grew up in Ann Arbor and studied at the Academy of St. Mark in Florence, Italy, under Lorenzo Bartolini. Rogers won the commission after a public competition in 1867. He also is known for the bronze doors for the U.S. Capitol’s main entrance and created monuments like the Sailors and Soldiers in other cities.
Read on for much more at Historic Detroit, and for sure thank a veteran today and every day for stepping up to serve.
Although most of the photos that appear on Michigan in Pictures are by other photographers, I took these photos. I don’t sell my photos, but you can for sure throw me a few bucks through Patreon if you enjoy Michigan in Pictures! The top photo is from second floor the new glass pub on Campus Martius looking south down Woodward and the detail shots are from just after they cleaned the monument before the 2024 NFL Draft.
Michigan in Pictures 
I didn’t know this was the oldest monument to honor Civil War veterans in the U.S. – that is impressive. I remember the monument being in the middle of what was once Cadillac Square. When my boss and I went out on our own and left the Buhl Building for Stroh River Place, I never saw any of the renovation of downtown that became Campus Martius. I can remember for years, walking by myself or with coworkers to Hudson’s on our lunch hour and we would cut through Cadillac Square to save time, hoping the many pigeons that sat on/around the statue wouldn’t leave us splattered. :)
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It’s wild that Detroit was once the most dynamic city in America! You still see signs of it but it’s still amazing. They moved it from Cadillac Square in 2003.
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When I first began going downtown, first to WSU then working downtown, Downtown Detroit was always bustling with workers who were shopping on their lunch hours. There was Hudsons, Crowleys and stores up and down Woodward Avenue, not to mention the shops and restaurants in the Downtown Business District.
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