The 8½-foot statue, officially called “The Georgia Volunteer,” has returned to its historical place at the intersection of Bull Street and Park Avenue, six months after a drunken driver slammed into the monument, toppling the statue.
The figure was cast in bronze in 1931 and erected to honor Georgians who volunteered and served during the Spanish-American War, including two prominent Savannahians William L. Grayson and Stephen N. Harris.
It’s one of at least 50 copies of Theo Alice Ruggles Kitsion’s sculpture named “The Hiker,” originally sculpted in 1906. Cletus Bergen, who was known as the “Dean of Savannah Architects,” designed the base out of Georgia granite.
The statue on the southern end of Forsyth Park toppled over when Edward Gaylord, 49, crashed into it at approximately 2 a.m. on Jan. 19, 2025. He was charged with driving under the influence and driving too fast for conditions. Gaylord had previously been arrested in February 2023 for DUI, failure to maintain a lane, and speeding.
The city hired Landmark Preservation in Savannah to repair the 1,000 pound statue, and work was completed at the Inferno Art Foundry in Union City.
“It was scratched up and roughed up a bit. It had a big gun that we had to reheat and bend it back to straighten out,” says foundry owner Phil Hutzelman. “Then we redid the patina back to an original tone.”
Credit: Justin Taylor/The Current GA/CatchLight Local
Following the outbreak of the Spanish-American War in 1898, Savannah became the home of the 7th Army Corps. Camp Onward, which extended from Thunderbolt, along what is now Victory Drive, to Ardsley Park, served as the training area for over 30,000 soldiers en route to the short-lived occupation of Cuba.
By May 25, 1899, the 7th Army Corps had returned home, and the Camp disbanded.
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