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The John Marshall Statute |
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Click Here to watch the Statute Dedication Ceremony |
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The following is from Dr. Alan B.
Gould:
The desire to erect a life-size statue of John Marshall on
campus became a reality with the construction of the John
Deaver Drinko Library. Plans called for the development of
a plaza or commons area adjacent to the Library and funds
for the project came from a grant provided by Ashland Oil,
Inc. |
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The Drinko Academy, among other entities, argued that the
construction offered a clear opportunity to erect a statue
which would enhance the profile of our namesake on campus. |
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President J. Wade Gilley responded
positively to the idea and created a Public Art Committee
for the Drinko Library. One charge given the committee was
to select a sculptor for a life-size statue of the Great
Chief Justice to be located in the newly named “Ashland
Commons” adjacent to the new Drinko Library. The artist
selected was the noted American sculptor William Behrends of
Tryon, North Carolina. |
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It was decided that the statue would be unveiled in
tandem with the dedication of the Drinko Library and the
Academy was given the major responsibility of coordinating
both events. The date selected for the unveiling of the
statue was October 23, 1998 with the dedication of the
Drinko Library set for the following day. |
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In planning the dedication program, I employed Dr. Charles
H. Moffat’s History of Marshall to gain an
historical perspective on the dedication of the original
bust of John Marshall located at the west front of Old
Main. There, I learned that as part of the 1937 centennial
celebration a granite bust of John Marshall, designed and
executed by Robert Fleisch as a New Deal Federal Arts
Project, was unveiled by eleven year old Charles Marshall
Scott of Huntington, W. Va., the great, great grandson of
John Marshall. |
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I wondered if Mr. Scott might still be living and, if so,
might he be willing to participate in our unveiling.
Following an intense search, I found that Mr. Scott was
living in Bowie, Maryland. I contacted him and, during the
conversation, he told me that his daughter, Mary Ann Scott,
then seven years of age, unveiled a second bust of John
Marshall. Sadly, sometime during Easter vacation in 1957,
the original granite bust had been defaced by vandals. Thus,
in 1959 Ms. Scott unveiled the bronze bust designed and
executed by our own Professor Joseph Jablonski which stands
today in place of the earlier Fleisch monument. |
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Mr. Scott went on to relate that he had an eleven year old
grandson and when I asked if he might participate in the
unveiling, Mr. Scott responded in the affirmative. As a
result, Andrew Marshall Schiff, son of Mary Ann (Scott)
Schiff and grandson of Charles Marshall Scott unveiled the
statue during the ceremony held on the Ashland Plaza, at
2:00 p.m., October 23, 1998. Charles Scott and his wife and
Mary Ann Schiff and her husband were in attendance for the
unveiling of the statue by the great, great, great, great
grandson of John Marshall! |
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Another interesting aspect of the unveiling ceremony was the
participation in the event by leading dignitaries of the
Cherokee Nation. Again, in Moffat’s history of Marshall, he
relates that when news of the vandalizing of the Fleisch
bust was reported nation-wide by the Associated Press, then
Marshall President Stewart H. Smith received a letter of
sympathy from Alaquah, Chief of the Cherokee Nation. The
reason for the Chief’s remorse stemmed from John Marshall’s
strong defense of Cherokee rights and possessions during the
Andrew Jackson Administration. |
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Subsequently, I contacted Mr. Joe Byrd, then Principal
Chief of the Cherokee Nation located at Tahlequah, Oklahoma
and explained to him the planned unveiling and the letter
from Chief Alaquah written in 1957. Chief Byrd said his
People knew and loved John Marshall and would be honored and
proud to participate in the ceremony. True to his word,
Chief Joe Byrd along with other Cherokee dignitaries flew
from Oklahoma in their Lear Jet and participated in the
program. Chief Byrd not only extolled the virtues of John
Marshall but also presented the university with the
impressive Great Seal of the Cherokee Nation. As the chief
explained, the presentation of the seal was made only on
very special occasions and bestowed upon only select
individuals and institutions. The Great Seal now proudly
adorns a wall in the office of the Drinko Academy. |
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