• Statue of Liberty N.M.

    Statue Of Liberty

    National Monument New York

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General Charles Pomeroy Stone

An illustration of Charles P. Stone from Harper’s Weekly in 1886.

An illustration of Charles P. Stone from Harper’s Weekly in 1886.

National Park Service, Statue of Liberty NM

Born on September 30, 1824 in Greenfield, Massachusetts, Charles P. Stone was a career United States Army officer, civil engineer and surveyor. He became the Statue of Liberty's chief engineer from 1883 to 1885 after serving with distinction in the Mexican-American War and U.S. Civil War. With a reputation as an excellent organizer and energetic worker, Stone's job was to oversee shipments, construction work, and the proper attachment of the Statue to the pedestal. When Stone's job was completed in 1886, many people said that the island would have to be overturned to dislodge the monument from its setting. Only a few months after the Statue of Liberty's inauguration, Stone died of pneumonia and was buried in West Point National Cemetery.

 
Stone2_resized
Full page illustration from The Daily Graphic shows work progress on Bedloe's Island
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, STATUE OF LIBERTY NM
 

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Did You Know?

Statue of Liberty's feet and broken chains

Freedom is not standing still.  A symbolic feature that people cannot see is the broken chain wrapped around the Statue's feet.  Protruding from the bottom of her robe, the broken chains symbolize her free forward movement, enlightening the world with her torch free from oppression and servitude.