Gen. Kearny's Rumson/Fair Haven Family Wants His Statue To Stay

RUMSON, NJ — It's tough, at the moment, to be Gen. Phil Kearny. Or his descendants.

If you're unfamiliar with Kearny, he was a hero of the U.S. Civil War, where he fought for the Union, and the Mexican-American War, where he lost his arm. He was also a New Jersey resident (born in New York) and is memorialized with a statue at the National Statuary Hall in Washington, D.C. The town of Kearny in Hudson County is also named after him.

But a group of legislators in New Jersey now want to take down his bronze statue and replace it with a figurine of Alice Paul, a leader in the suffragist movement that gave women the right to vote. The timing is significant, as the 19th Amendment was written in 1920, a century ago this year. Paul was born and raised in New Jersey, and did much of her activism in the Mount Laurel area.

Kearny's family, several of whom still live in New Jersey, are very upset.

"I've been contacted by four relatives today, all of whom live in Monmouth County," said Assemblyman Gerry Scharfenberger (R-Monmouth). “I was contacted directly by two of General Kearny’s great-great granddaughters who live in my district and have asked me to please prevent this from occurring.”

The two great-great granddaughters live in Rumson and Fair Haven, he said.

"I was very glad to hear from the family," he continued. "They are very passionate about this."

On Feb. 10 the New Jersey state Senate bill passed a bill that formally asks the U.S. Library of Congress to remove Kearny’s statue and replace it with Paul's.

State Senator Linda Greenstein (D-Plainsboro) was one of those who voted in support of the bill. She said nobody takes issue with Kearny, and she commends him for being a war hero. Every state gets to put in two statues to the hall, and Kearny represents New Jersey alongside Richard Stockton. She said it was her understanding that when the bill was written, he was selected to be replaced.

"This was certainly no attempt to delegitimize Kearny," Greenstein said. "He's a great man and I would love to celebrate him, right back here in New Jersey, where he belongs. He was a war veteran."

She also said that many states are going through the process of replacing their two statues in the hall, not for political reasons, but to put up figures more contemporary with modern history. For example, President Ronald Reagan was added a few years ago and civil rights leaders have replaced statues from other states, she said.

"If you're unfamiliar with Paul, she really was monumental to our history," she added.

"I don't even know if they have a problem per se, except that they want the space he's in," said Scharfenberger. "It would be wrong to take down any statue in any hall. This is an easily solved problem and didn't have to get this fiery. We can memorialize all great figures of our past. Put her statue up anywhere in a visible place that will give her her due justice."

The mayor of Kearny is also upset about the decision.

"The state Senate is insulting the legacy of someone who made the supreme sacrifice for equality and democracy," said Kearny Mayor Alberto Santos in an email to Patch Friday. "In leading the New Jersey regiment in the Civil War, General Kearny fought to preserve the Union and eradicate slavery. His contributions to our freedoms cannot be rewritten through an emergency legislative bill that was voted on without advance notice or public hearing."

"General Kearny was literally ambushed by the State Senate," he continued. "Alice Paul should be honored for her extraordinary contributions to our democracy, but not through an undemocratic process and definitely not at the expense of a Civil War freedom fighter."