Here’s a lesson in carefully reading your source: In the previous post I paraphrased the 1892 newspaper article and wrote that the pedestal was nine feet high. After a more careful reading of the original source, I discovered my mistake. The actual quote states “The figure is life size and with the pedestal stands nine feet high.” Oops!

With this more accurate information, one can conjecture that the current base of the statue was the original pedestal. Or was it?