This spherical bronze armillary sundial is the result of nearly one hundred years of work.
In 1856, the San Jacinto Day celebration was held at the Battleground. Texans celebrated with barbecue and dancing, and the revelers decided to “erect a suitable monument upon the battleground, over the remains that now lie there without a mark.”
The Texas Veterans Association, founded in 1873, took responsibility for raising the money for this monument. The city of Galveston built a permanent grave marker (now known as Brigham Monument) in 1881, but the TVA continued to collect money for an additional memorial until 1901, when the funds were transferred to the San Jacinto Chapter of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas.
The Daughters continued to raise money, and in 1937, they commissioned sculptor Julian Muench to create this twenty-five-foot sundial. The different rings represent the equator, meridian and equinox and are decorated with engravings of the zodiac signs.
The sundial, officially called the Texas Veterans’ Memorial, was dedicated on April 21, 1940. The name of nine of the Texians who died as a result of the Battle of San Jacinto are engraved on the base.