Back in 2002, the Concord Magazine published an article about the history of the US Navy ships named "Concord." In it, author D. Michael Ryan talks about the miniature Daniel Chester French (in the photo at right) Minuteman Statue that is currently aboard the USNS Concord (and shortly to be relocated before the ship is scuttled). It was a gift funded by French himself, but the statue had to be approved by the Concord Town Meeting, which it was in 1889. We know according to crew aboard the USNS Concord -- including through photos they have sent us shipboard -- that the ship's stateroom contains the statute. But... but... the Concord Museum has one, too. Ryan could not find documentation that would account for there being two statues, now how one found its way to the Concord Museum. The information stopped dead there.
In recent correspondence with Naval Sealift Command, we found occasion to ask about this. Susan Melow, a civilian working for them in Virginia, sent the question to Frank V. Thompson Curator, Naval History & Heritage Command. Curator Thompson answered thusly:
There are two minutemen statues in our collection. The one you mention in your article was aboard the two previous ships (gun boat & light cruiser) came into our collection in 1947 when the cruiser decommissioned. It was presented to the gun boat by the people of Concord, MA. It did go to the AFS-5 at one point, but was pulled from the ship in the mid-1970's to support Bicentennial exhibitions. For whatever reason, it was never returned the ship. In 1992, we loaned it to the Concord Museum, where it remains today.So while this greatly advances the story, it doesn't exactly solve the mystery. Even the Navy finds the story to be uncertain, particularly of the second statue. How did it come to be that a Brazilian battleship make a gift of it to the USS Arkansas? When was it made? Why wasn't the first one ever returned to the ship?
The second statue's origin is somewhat vague. It was created as a presentation gift from the Brazilian battleship MINAS GERAES to the USS ARKANSAS (BB-33) in 1913. There should be an inscription in front of the statue's right leg with that info. It became part of our collection in 1946 as the ARKANSAS was prepared for disposal through Operation Crossroads. It has been aboard the AFS-5 for years. I have not yet been able to determine
the date it went to the AFS-5. It was aboard the ship at the same time the one from the cruiser CONCORD was aboard. According to our records, it remains aboard today.
Given how much property the Navy owns, two historic statures probably aren't really much of a hill of beans. But it remains an oddity we'd like to someday see sorted out.
