[1] The sculpture was unveiled by Senator William Sprague of Rhode Island on January 9, 1872.

[2] Simmons received the commission to execute the statue in 1868 and moved to Rome to produce the work.

After setting up his studio there and working on the statue for two years Simmons decided to remain in Italy.

[3] Lorado Taft in his The History of American Sculpture describes the statue as "a credible work, which may well have ranked for years among the best in that collection".

[4] The statue is one of three that Simmons has placed in the collection,[5] the others being William King, from Maine and Francis Harrison Pierpont from West Virginia.