Victory

Thi em, born in 1859, studied sculpture in Berlin, Germany before immigrating to Hamilton in 1887. His work at the Estate Stove Company in Hamilton included the art that adorned the nationally recognized Estate stoves. His design for "Victory", a 3,500 pound, 14 foot, bronze statue of a young Civil War soldier, was selected in a national competition in 1906. Details on the statue are so exact that coat buttons on the bronze soldier include the letters USA. Thiem modeled the soldier's face after his own. The statue is waving his cap victoriously in the air while standing on an exploded shell.