SS Frederick Bartholdi SS Frederick Bartholdi SS "Frederick Bartholdi" was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Frederick Bartholdi, French sculptor who is best known for designing "Liberty Enlightening the World", commonly known as the Statue of Liberty. "Frederick Bartholdi" was laid down on 29 August 1943, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 1503, by J.A. Jones Construction, Brunswick, Georgia; sponsored by Mrs. O.H. Hall, and launched on 9 November 1943. She was allocated to the West India Steamship Company, on 11 November 1943. On 24 December 1943, she ran aground off
Statue of Liberty classical contours and applied simplified modeling, reflecting the huge scale of the project and its solemn purpose. Bartholdi wrote of his technique: Bartholdi made alterations in the design as the project evolved. Bartholdi considered having Liberty hold a broken chain, but decided this would be too divisive in the days after the Civil War. The erected statue does stride over a broken chain, half-hidden by her robes and difficult to see from the ground. Bartholdi was initially uncertain of what to place in Liberty's left hand; he settled on a "tabula ansata", used to evoke the concept of law. Though