Blue and Gray in Bronze

Stephen Richard Kerbs Exhibit Area

The Blue and Gray Colors of the Georgetown Hoyas

The Blue and Gray Colors of the Georgetown Hoyas
Painted bronze by Wayne Hyde, 2010
Gift of the Liljenquist Family, 2010

 

This statue, commemorating the reconciliation after the Civil War of two Georgetown students, depicts Union soldier Patrick H. Brennan on the right and Confederate soldier Thomas H. Stack on the left. The subjects were chosen after extensive research at the National Archives and the Archives of Georgetown University. Both soldiers went on to become Jesuit priests after graduating from Georgetown College. Brennan taught theology at Georgetown and endowed the Brennan Medal of Theology with his Union Army pension. Stack also taught at Georgetown as well as other Jesuit colleges, and went on to become the fifth president of Boston College. The sculpture was commissioned by the donors from the distinguished Pennsylvania sculptor Wayne Hyde. The models for the soldiers were Brandon Liljenquist, a senior at Georgetown Prep, and his brother Jason, a freshman at Stanford University. 

Acknowledgments

Curated by Lynn Conway, University Archivist