For everyone that has generously donated, thank you. We've raised over $2,300 but need more if we are to get matching grant funding. If you haven't donated yet, please do. The grants we are applying for only provide 50/50 matching funds. Please take a look at recent article in the Temple Daily Telegram, Back roads: Former Union soldier statue a longtime Milam landmark

I am working with Joy Graham on grants from PRESERVE AMERICA, and the Preservation Texas Grant with the Texas Historical Commission. These grants, if our project is selected, will only provide matching funds so please make a donation.

The Herman Henniger statue is one of three Civil War monuments in Texas dedicated to Texans who sided with the Union. If the statue is not restored, then the there will only be two in the entire state of Texas.

This landmark is Texas History and we need your help! Do you:

• know the whereabouts of any missing parts of the statue?
• have ANY photos of the statue before or after the destruction of the statue?

If so, please email me at david@txsg.com. We need the missing parts and photos of the statue to create the replacement statue.

The lowest cost to replace the statue is from Texas Carved Stone located in Florence, TX. They can carve a replacement using Indiana limestone for $46,000 plus the cost of transportation and installationat the cemetery. More infomation on Texas Carved Stone can be found on their website, http://texascarvedstone.com

Detailed photos of the entire statue are needed to remove any guess work.

The statue was sculpted by Frank Teich. An interesting note from The Handbook of Texas Online, "Frank Teich was responsible for, or worked on, many monuments throughout Texas and other states, many of them Confederate monuments in the southern states. He completed the Confederate monument and the Fireman's monument on the capitol grounds at Austin, the Sam Houston monument in Houston, the Luther Memorial Church in Orange, the statue "Grief" over the grave of Will Scott Youree in the Scottsville cemetery near Marshall, a carved Italian marble altar in a Durango, Mexico, church, the Governor Pease monument in Austin, and two Confederate statues in Dallas. He did much work in the San Antonio area, including the Mahncke Memorial in Brackenridge Park and the altar in St. Mary's Church. He was the sculptor of the bronze statue of René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salleqv in Navasota and the monument to Abel (Shanghai) Pierceqv near Blessing, Texas. Teich was in an indirect way responsible for bringing the sculptor Pompeo Coppini to Texas. Frank Teich married Elvina Lang of San Antonio on October 12, 1887; they had three daughters. He died January 27, 1939, in Llano and was buried there. He has been called the father of the granite industry of Texas."

According to an article in the Milam County Historical Commission Newsletter dated, Dec. 2001, vol. no. 4, - “... in 1973 the Historical Statue on Herman Henniger's grave was demolished."

From a cutout in The Reporter of Jan. 17, 1974, Juvenilel Court Action Planned On Statue Case, "Six persons ranging in age from 15 to 19 will go before juvenile authorities soon in connection with the Dec. 25 toppling of the Bushdale Cemetery statue of Col. Herman Henniger.
Sheriff Carl Black said the group, three boys and three girls, including four residents of Lexington and two from Rockdale. The two oldest, age 18 and 19 and in the Air Force, could face criminal charges, he said.
'We're going to insist on repair or replacement of the statue, and it's going to take time to get the necessary cost estimates,' Black said, noting that the landmark statue was badly broken when it was toppled from the gravesite pedestal.
The sheriff said the case is in the hands of county attorney Charles Smith and the four juveniles will go before county (juvenile) court in the near future."

An earlier article from the The Reporter, Jan. 3, 1974. "The Colonel" is fallen. After almost 70 years of overlooking the countryside around the Bushdale Cemetery, the tall marble statue of Col. Herman Henniger now lies broken at the base of its pedestal.
The statue, a landmark as well as a conversation piece for generations, was tumbled down by vandals on Christmas night, a malicious act that has prompted Sheriff Carl Black to offer a $50 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the vandals.
Constable Spud Caywood of Rockdale has added a $25 reward to that offer.
The Bushdale Cemetery is located three miles north of Rockdale just off Bushdale Road (FM 908). The statue was erected at Col. Henniger's grave near the entrance of the cemetery shortly after his death in 1908. Atop its pedestal it stood more than 10 feet in height.
"Through the years," Caywood said, "that statue has meant a lot of things to a lot of people. There was a time when the Bushdale community was a beehive of activity with picnic grounds and a community hall located near the cemetery. 'The Colonel' has looked down on a lot of activity and community life for almost 66 years."
The constable said Gary Stork discovered the broken statue on the day after Christmas. "The vandalism apparently occurred Christmas night," Caywood said, "because someone had been working at the cemetery on Christmas day about 3 p.m. and the statue had been in good condition."
The inscription on the pedestal tells something of the life of Henniger, a Civil War veteran and one of the early settlers of the Bushdale area. The inscription reads:
"Herman Henniger. Born in Wilhelmsdorf, Germany, Dec. 6, 1838. Died Jan 4, 1908. Late an honored member of Company B, 12 Regiment, Ilinois Cavalry, including the years 1862 to 1865."
The inscription concludes with the following poem:
"A precious one from us has gone, A voice we loved is still. A place is vacant in our home, that never can be filled."
Caywood said that a portion of the left arm and hand is missing from the site but that the rest of the statue is intact. "I don't know if the statue can be restored but I guarantee if we find the guilty party, they're going to restore it or replace it."

You can be a part of Texas history by making a $100 donation or more to restore a Texas landmark, the statue of Civil War veteran & civic leader of Bushdale Texas. Every dollar counts!

Please donate now!

Thanks,

David Doran
david@txsg.com