District of Columbia

Andrew Jackson, Clark Mills, 1853
Many cities around the world have sculptures of men on horses. There are also some with women riders, and a few have the horse alone. What you probably do not know is this sculpture of Andrew Jackson is the very first equestrian (equestrian means horse) sculpture to be cast in the United States. At the time of its dedication, skeptics did not believe it could remain standing because of the way the horse is balanced in its hind legs. The sculptor proved the sturdiness of his design by climbing unto the sculpture during the ceremony and throwing his full weight onto the front legs to show it would not wobble. There are two duplicates of this sculpture, one in the famous Jackson Square in New Orleans and one in Tennessee.