George H. Gordon (1823-1886) was a Framingham resident and the town’s highest ranking officer in the Civil War. When war broke out in 1861, Gordon — a West Point graduate and seasoned soldier — was commissioned Colonel and Commanding Officer of the 2nd Mass Regiment. After the war, Gordon returned to Framingham, where he lived out the remainder of his life.
In 1887, a group of Framingham citizens commissioned Daniel Chester French to create a bust of Gordon’s likeness to place in the new Civil War Memorial Library. The result, which rests on a mahogany pedestal of French’s own design, was displayed at a gallery in Boston before coming to the Edgell Memorial Library.
French — the artist behind Abraham Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial and Minute Man at the Old North Bridge in Concord — is considered one of the most important and prolific American sculptors of all time. His mark can be found on the back of Gordon’s left shoulder.