Taken from "The Grant Memorial in Washington"
Government Printing Office 1924
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The monument as it now stands consists of a marble platform 252 feet 7/8 inch in length and 71 feet 1/2 inch at its greatest width, with steps approaching it on the east and west sides. In the center is a pedestal 22 feet 6 inches high, and surmounting this in heroic size is the bronze figure of General Grant on horseback.
The horse, two and one-half times life size, is 17 feet 2 inches high, and the entire figure weighs 10,700 pounds. The casting was done at the plant of the Roman Bronze Works, in Brooklyn, N.Y. The figure of this thoroughbred animal is regarded by artists as the finest example of equestrian bronze in the world. The horse selected for the model was chosen from more than 300 belonging to the New York police force, and was similar in all respects to the Kentucky thoroughbred which was General Grant’s favorite mount during his most successful campaigns. The alertness of the animal as he hears the roar of musketry and his nostrils catch the scent of battle is in striking contrast with the calm intenseness of the rider in characteristic pose as the carnage rages. The statue is a faithful portrayal in bronze of General Grant’s attitude while watching the outcome of his carefully laid plans and awaiting the result. It was said of him that even during the fiercest engagement he would sit serenely upon his charger and whittle a stick.
	Mr. Shrady, in his efforts to execute a lifelike portrayal of this subject, constantly sought the criticism of Army officials and veterans of the war, in order that no characteristic of General Grant might be ignored. His father, Dr. George F. Shrady, had been the attending physician upon General Grant during his last illness, and the sculptor, out of his personal acquaintance, had the opportunity of obtaining the best advice from the general’s family, and particularly from his eldest son, the late Gen. Frederick Dent Grant. To the left of the central figure, at the far south end of the platform, is the Artillery group, representing a field battery wheeling into position. There are five horses and four soldiers [actually there are 6 soldiers (Ed.)] in this group.
	At the right of the central figure, at the far north end of the platform, is the Cavalry group, depicting a color squad of a Cavalry regiment making a charge on the field of battle. There are seven horses in this group. Years were spent by Mr. Shrady in working out the details of these groups. A plaza treatment similar to that of the Place de la Concorde in Paris has been given to the Grant Memorial. The total length stretches the major portion of a city block, and the central figure, that of Grant on horseback, reaches a height of 44 feet.
A great bronze lion reposes at each of the four corners of the main pedestal guarding the flags of the Army and of the United States. The memorial is lighted by eight bronze lamp-posts surmounted by bronze eagles [lamp-posts were later removed (Ed.)], four on each side of the central pedestal.