File:Sgt. William Jasper Monument in Madison Square (4350262155).jpg

The Jasper Monument is located in the center of Madison Square. The monument, erected in 1888, is fifteen and one-half feet high and consists of a heroic scale bronze statue of wounded Sgt. Jasper, with sword in hand, raising the flag aloft; the bronze is mounted on a granite stepped pedestal. It has four bas relief bronze plaques. The entire monument is elevated on an earthwork of unknown composition which is surrounded by benches. The monument is in memory of Sergeant William Jasper of the Second South Carolina Regiment, who was killed at the Siege of Savannah on 9 October 1779.

Sergeant William Jasper was memorialized for three acts of heroism during the American Revolution. In 1767, Jasper emigrated from Germany to Pennsylvania. He married Mary Wheatley, a woman from Pennsylvania. Together, they settled on Sullivan Island near Fort Moultrie in Charleston, South Carolina, where they had three children. In July of 1775, Jasper enlisted in the Continental Army. His first memorialized act occurred on the 28th of June 1776, when he rescued the flag of his regiment while defending Fort Moultrie. For this act of bravery, Governor Rutledge of South Carolina (later, a signer of the United States Constitutiion), offered Jasper a commission. Jasper, feeling he was unworthy of such an honor due to his illiteracy, instead, accepted a sword from the Governor. Soon after this event, Jasper's second memorialized act occurred. At a site now known as Jasper Springs, Jasper and John Newton valiantly rescued twelve American prisoners from British soldiers. The third and final act Jasper has been memorialized for occurred during the Siege of Savannah on the 9th of October. On this day, Jasper was mortally wounded while rescuing his regimental flag from a dying lieutenant. This siege, where General Count Casimir Pulaski was also mortally wounded, was a painfully unsuccessful attempt to seize Savannah back from the British.