The Ft. Greene Community (Brooklyn), is planning a widening of the triangle where the statue of Gen. Fowler is located. A letter was requested from the Society regarding the expansion. George Munkenbeck sent the following.....
June 29, 2010
Mr. Vaidila Kungys
NYC Department of Transportation
55 Water Street, 9th Floor
New York, NY, 10041
Dear Mr. Kungys:
I am the President of the Fourteenth “Brooklyn” Regiment New York State Militia Society of New York, Inc. (Company H). We are a group of descendants and living historians dedicated to preserving the history of the “Fighting Fourteenth” from Brooklyn. I am writing to support the efforts of the Fulton Area Business Alliance (FAB) and the Fort Greene Association (FGA) to have the Department of Transportation to demap the tiny section of South Elliott Place in Fort Greene between Lafayette and Fulton. This closure and demapping would allow the expansion of the small triangle where the statue of Brigadier General Edward B. Fowler's statue now stands, enabling a larger pedestrian plaza and placing the Statue in a more accessible position. This would certainly enhance the "Gateway to Fort Greene" -- the vista one first sees of that Historic District when either coming uphill east along Lafayette Avenue or Fulton Street. Our only concern is that the statue of General Fowler is respected in this alteration and stays where it has been placed after removal from Fort Greene Park. At the present time the statue faces the location of one of the homes the General lived in after the Civil War.
Brigadier General Edward Brush Fowler’s story needs to be remembered. A citizen soldier who preferred to return to his regular life rather than to take advantage of the fame his service had brought him. That his men and the citizens of Brooklyn referred to him as “Ned” shows the great affection that the city of Brooklyn held for him. He was born in Manhattan, and his family moved to Brooklyn when he was still an infant. He clerked in order to become an accountant at Brooklyn Gaslight before becoming a member of the local militia organizations. By the time he was18 he had reached the rank of first sergeant. In 1847, Fowler - then a lieutenant - began a long association with the 14th Regiment of the New York State Militia (later called the National Guard). The regiment was largely comprised of Brooklyn tradesmen, businessmen or members of the Brooklyn Fifth Fire Brigade. In 1852, then-Lieutenant Colonel Fowler married Annie Cook at the Methodist church on nearby Hanson Place. To that union there were born three children - Sara Emma (1853), Robert (1854) and William (1869).
At the outbreak of the Civil War, the 14th Regiment was under Fowler’s command and stationed in Fort Greene Park. Two months later, Fowler’s regiment was engaged in combat at the Bull Run in Virginia. Their ferocity in battle, coupled with their distinctive bright red breeches, earned them the name, the “Red-Legged Devils.” The regiment was well-regarded for its spirit and camaraderie, and was fiercely loyal to Fowler. They subsequently fought at Second Bull Run, on August 30, 1862, and there the regiment was nearly destroyed, losing 860 of its 960 members. Fowler survived, though he was hospitalized with “a lot of lead” in his thigh from skirmishes at Groveton. While convalescing at Alexandria, he was promoted to full Colonel and named commandant of the military hospital. Poet Walt Whitman (1819–1892), was sending dispatches from Washington to the Brooklyn Eagle at the time, and mentioned Fowler in the descriptions of his encounters with wounded Brooklyn men.
Fowler returned to the field in January 1863, and the Union forces were in disarray. In early July 1863, the Red-Legged Devils were involved in the horrific Battle of Gettysburg. At that battle they fought all three days and were responsible for the capture of Davis’ Mississippi Brigade at the Railroad Cut and saved the right of the Union line on Culp’s Hill. Fowler’s regiment went on to distinguish itself at the Battle of Mine Run (November 1863), the Wilderness campaign, and at Spotsylvania (May 1864). Under his command the Fourteenth fought in 22 military engagements. When the regiment was mustered out of active duty, Fowler was brevetted a Brigadier General on June 6, 1864. When he returned to Brooklyn, Fowler resided first at 208 and then 178 Fort Greene Place (later razed for the Atlantic Terminal). Retaining an affiliation with the 14th Regiment for two more years, he worked as an officer of the Long Island Savings Bank, treasurer of Atlantic & Pacific Company, and auditor of Commercial Cable Company. Fowler also served as chief clerk of the Brooklyn Board of Audit, and was a member of the Kings County 11th Ward Board of Supervisors.
Fowler died at his 47 Brevoort Place home on January 16, 1896. His body lay in state at Brooklyn City (now Borough) Hall, and he was buried in full regalia at Greenwood Cemetery. On May 18, 1902, the Borough of Brooklyn dedicated the sculpture of Fowler in Fort Greene Park. Positioned on a cylindrical granite pedestal, the statue depicts the general in military garb, cap in his left hand and sword in his right. The statue was created by sculptor Henry Baerer was born in Kirscheim, Germany, and came to the United States in 1854. He was especially well-known as a portrait sculptor, and contributed six sculptures to the parks of New York City, including statues of composer Ludwig van Beethoven in Prospect and Central Parks, General Gouveneur Kemble Warren in Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn, and a bust of industrialist Conrad Poppenhusen in College Point, Queens.
Today, the statue is a reminder of a person that served his city at a loss to himself without thought of personal gain. As an unidentified author commented in the Brooklyn Eagle in 1902, “Dear old ‘Ned,’ when in the flesh, would have been embarrassed could prophetic eyes have realized the imperishable bronze, but his heart would have been gladdened by a practical recognition of his services also.” We of the Fourteenth Brooklyn Society commend the efforts of the Fort Greene Association and the Fulton Area Business Alliance to improve this area and look forward to participation in the dedication of this area when work is done.
In Service,
George J. Munkenbeck, Jr.
Commander, USCGR (Ret.)
President
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