When Congress commissioned Mills to create the monumental equestrian group of General Jackson, it was agreed that the government would provide the sculptor with the necessary bronze (from a melted-down cannon captured by the General at New Orleans). In 1853, the monument was unveiled in Lafayette Park across from the White House to much public acclaim. Congress was so pleased with the work that it voted to award the sculptor an extra $20,000 in addition to the original amount of $12,000. The present bronze is an example of the reduction of the monument which Mill's new foundry began casting in 1855.