The State of Texas erected and unveiled the Sam Houston Monument on April 21, 1911, the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Battle of San Jacinto, before several thousand spectators that included Houston family members, state officials, the two surviving veterans of San Jacinto, and descendants of prominent early Texans. Dedicatory addresses were delivered by William Jennings Bryan of Nebraska and Texas Senator McDonald Meachum of nearby Grimes County, who sponsored legislation for the ten-thousand-dollar gray Texas granite monument by Italian sculptor Pompeo Coppini, whose other works include the Alamo cenotaph. Sam Houston is portrayed as the general in command of the Texas army, flanked by symbolic figures of victory and history, with history holding the first chapter of Texas history. Andrew Jackson’s words came from a tribute made after the Battle of San Jacinto. Coppini also designed the black iron fence, featuring Roman battle axes inverted to indicate an end of fighting and connected by laurel wreaths signifying the Texan victory.