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Statue of Civil War Gen. Burnside given facelift

Tom Hoepf
Tom Hoepf
Monument to Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside, Burnside Park, Providence, R.I. Photographed by Hal Jespersen, June 2008, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Monument to Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside, Burnside Park, Providence, R.I. Photographed by Hal Jespersen, June 2008, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) – A century-old statue of a Civil War general in downtown Providence is riding high again.

The Providence Journal reports sculptor Jeffrey Buccacio Jr. spent last week going over Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside’s statue, blasting away corrosion and pollutants that have caked the 20-foot-tall figure.

Providence hired the Massachusetts-based sculptor for $13,500 to spruce up the image of a man who sideburns were named for. He says he removed the green copper sulfate on its surface, a byproduct of acid rain and pollutants eating into the metal. He then heated its surface with a blowtorch and applied lacquer to recreate its original color.

The statue, which depicts Burnside on a horse, was unveiled in 1887 as a tribute to the former governor, senator and first president of the National Rifle Association.

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Information from: The Providence Journal, http://www.providencejournal.com

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AP-WF-08-03-15 1542GMT