General Andrew Jackson Statue (Washington, D.C.)

 1850s construction, equestrian statue

This monument, located in the center of Lafayette Park, portrays Major General Andrew Jackson (1767-1845) as he appeared while reviewing his troops at the Battle of New Orleans, Louisiana, on January 8, 1815. Thirteen years later he became the seventh president of the United States.

The bronze statue faces west, while Jackson and his charger look slightly south toward the White House. Grouped at the base are four of the cannons Jackson captured in Pensacola, Florida. These four are rare pieces cast by Josephus Barnola at the royal foundry in Barcelona, Spain, and are named El Aristeo (1773), El Apolo (1773), El Witiza (1748), and El Egica (1748) for Greek gods and Visigoth kings.

The sculptor erected a studio and furnace near the proposed site in 1849. He had to make six castings of the horse before the final casting was completed in December, 1852. The entire statue was cast in ten pieces, four of the horse and six of Jackson, for a total weight of 15 tons. The statue, the first in the park, was dedicated on January 8, 1853, on the thirty-eighth anniversary of the Battle of New Orleans.