Statues that represent the personification of an idea
Franklin Square, situated between K St, I St, 13th St, and 14th St, sees no end of vehicle or pedestrian traffic throughout the day. Food trucks line the eastern end of the park at lunch time while workers from the nearby office buildings enjoy lunch around the park’s broken fountain. On the western edge, overlooking 14th St’s never-ending stream of traffic, is the largely forgotten father of the United States Navy.
Standing in a lonely traffic circle west of the U.S. Capitol building is a memorial that has come to be called the Peace Monument. Most of the visitors it receives have come to see the Ulysses S. Grant Memorial, and few know that it stands in honor of the naval war dead of the American Civil War.
Although Washington, D.C., is a city known for its statuary, the most compelling – and the most admired – are the statues of a horse and its rider. There are over 20 such statues in the District (more than any other American city) and they represent not just Americans, but foreigners and even ideals.
Less than 1,000 feet south of the Lincoln Memorial at the southern terminus of 23rd St is a forgotten monument honoring the memory of the inventor of the USS Monitor, America’s first ironclad warship. Sitting on a tear-drop-shaped traffic island, John Ericsson’s memorial is cut off from pedestrians and tourists by traffic coming into and out of Arlington.
The Lincoln Memorial is the most visited monument in Washington, D.C. According to the National Park Service statistics, nearly 8 million people visited the memorial in 2015. The site is open to the public all day, every day, and it is rare to see it without any visitors. Thousands of drivers pass it every day coming to or from Arlington or West Potomac Park.
Plans for the construction of a monument to Lincoln began less than three years after his death. Clark Mills – the sculptor of the Andrew Jackson statue in Lafayette Park and George Washington’s at Washington Circle – was chosen for the task. His design called for a monument 70 feet high with 36 bronze sculptures, including six equestrian statues. At the top would have been Lincoln signing the Emancipation Proclamation. The monument, which would have stood next to the Capitol, was never made due to a lack of funds.
Most prominent among the statuary found around Washington are those of Civil War generals. Of the 18 grouped together by the National Register of Historic Places, half of them are equestrian statues. Only three of the non-equestrian statues are dedicated to a single individual. Not included on the list – but more than worthy of inclusion – is the African American Civil War Memorial that was completed 70 years after the last memorial was built.
Ten of the 18 monuments had dedication ceremonies that were attended by sitting presidents; three didn’t even have a ceremony. The first was dedicated in 1874 (nine years after the end of the war) and the last (before the African American Civil War Memorial was built) was dedicated in 1927. Read more for quick facts about these 19 monuments. Continue reading “Civil War Monuments”
Perched atop the dome of the Capitol stands one of the most misinterpreted statues in all of Washington D.C. Often confused for a Greek goddess or a Native American woman, the truth is, it is Freedom personified, although its design was inspired by both classical motifs and Native American culture.
