As a young Polish-Lithuanian military engineer, Kościuszko offered his service in the American Revolution. This memorial to Polish Brigadier General Kościuszko was presented by the Polish Alliance and the Polish American people of the United States. The work of the Polish sculptor Antoni Popiel (1865-1910), this bronze pedestrian statue depicts Kościuszko in the uniform of a general of the Continental Army with a cocked hat, holding a map of his fortifications at Saratoga in his right hand. The sculpture rests atop a square tiered base adorned with bronze sculptures on all four sides. On the north side, there is an eagle perched on top of a globe with an American flag, a sword, and a shield. On the south side, there is a globe showing Poland with an eagle fighting a snake on top. On the east side, a figure group depicts Kościuszko with a drum at his feet and a flag in his left hand. With his right hand, he unties a rope from around the waist of an American soldier, who symbolizes the American army. On the west side, Kościuszko is dressed in a Polish military uniform, lying on the ground and pointing into the distance with his right hand. Assisting him is a Polish soldier dressed in peasant military attire to symbolize the Polish Army. This statue was dedicated in 1910 by President William Howard Taft in Lafayette Park, which is now under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service. A copy of the statue was erected in Warsaw, Poland in 2010.
DC Inventory: March 3, 1979
National Register: July 14, 1978
Within Lafayette Square Historic District
Part of American Revolution Statuary
]]>Designed by architect Edward P. Casey and sculpted by John J. Boyle, this memorial is an eight-foot bronze statue of Commodore John Barry, who is depicted standing on a high marble pedestal. An Irish immigrant, Commodore Barry joined the American colonial navy and was the first officer to capture an enemy war vessel during the Revolutionary War. The statue was erected by Congress at the request of Irish-American groups.
The figure of Barry is depicted in the uniform of the mixed forces, as he served both at sea and on land. His orders are grasped in his right hand, which rests firmly on the hilt of his sword. A heavy cape falls from his shoulders. On the front of the marble pedestal is powerfully carved female figure of Victory holding a laurel branch as she stands on the prow of a ship, her drapery fluttering as if in the wind. An eagle rests on her right side.
An Act approved the statue on June 8, 1906, at a cost of $50,000 in government funding. The finished memorial was dedicated on May 16, 1914, with a large number of Irish-Americans in attendance. The statue is currently owned by the National Park Service.
DC Inventory: March 3, 1979
National Register: July 14, 1978
Part of American Revolution Statuary
]]>To commemorate George Washington's leadership as Commander in Chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolution, Congress commissioned this bronze equestrian statue from sculptor Clark Mills after his successful completion of the equestrian statue of Andrew Jackson located at Lafayette Square.
It depicts Washington in uniform, advancing in front of the American lines in a surprise attack on the British forces. The horse rears slightly while Washington calmly holds the reins in his right hand and his sword down at his left side. Mills based the face of Washington on the famous bust by Jean-Antoine Houdon. Great attention was given to the veins of the horse and the pattern of its mane and tail. The base is marble, patched with cement where it is cracked.
Acts of January 25, 1853 and February 24, 1860 appropriated $60,000 for the statue and pedestal, and it was dedicated in 1860. The statue is currently owned by the National Park Service.
DC Inventory: March 3, 1979
National Register: July 14, 1978
Part of American Revolution Statuary
]]>This memorial honors Massachusetts native Major General Artemas Ward, an experienced military leader who was second-in-command to General George Washington at the creation of the Continental Army. Although Ward had to resign his command in 1777 due to health problems, he continued to serve the newly-formed nation through politics. He was elected Governor of Massachusetts before the state ratified its constitution, and he held a seat in the state House of Representatives, serving as one of its delegates to the Continental Congress. In the years before his death in 1800, Ward also completed two terms as a U.S. Congressman.
After donating the Ward House and $4 million to the general's alma mater, Harvard University, Ward's great-grandson George Artemas Ward stipulated that the university had to fund a statue to commemorate the general. The university commissioned the statue and later donated it to the U.S. Government.
This 10-foot bronze pedestrian statue of Artemas Ward rests on a plain granite base of the same height. Ward stands erect, striding slightly with his left leg, looking straight before him. A butt end of a cannon rests at the base by his feet. Sculptor Leonard Crunelle used Ward's actual cape and an oil portrait by Charles Willson Peale as a model for this statue, which was authorized by Congress and dedicated in 1938. Now owned by the National Park Service, the statue stands at the center of Ward Circle.
DC Inventory: March 3, 1979
National Register: July 14, 1978
Part of American Revolution Statuary
]]>This monument commemorates Prussian-born Baron Frederick Wilhelm von Steuben, Major General of the Continental Army and the man most responsible for the training of American troops during the Revolutionary War. Sculpted by Albert Jaegers, the monument was dedicated at a ceremony that featured President William Howard Taft.
The 11-foot-tall bronze portrait statue portrays von Steuben as he inspected American troop maneuvers at Valley Forge in 1778. He is clothed in the uniform of a Major General of the Continental Army with a cocked hat and heavy cloak draped around his shoulders. On the northeast face of the pedestal, a seated warrior teaches a youth to handle a sword, symbolizing von Steuben's contribution to the American fight for independence. On the southwest face, a woman assisted by a child grafts his foreign stock onto the tree of American life as she recounts his heroic deeds. On the southeast face, a bronze relief portrait medallion honors von Steuben's aides-de-camo, Colonel William North and Major Benjamin Walker.
This monument was established by an act of Congress and dedicated on December 7, 1910. Now owned by the National Park Service, it is located at the northwest corner of Lafayette Square.
DC Inventory: March 3, 1979
National Register: July 14, 1978
Within Lafayette Square Historic District
Part of American Revolution Statuary
]]>Jean-Baptiste Dontatien de Vimeur, better known as the Comte de Rochambeau, was a commander of the French Army that fought alongside General George Washington and the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. Unlike the Marquis de Lafayette, who defied King Louis XVI's orders to join the Colonies' forces, Rochambeau led as the official commander of the French Army following formal recongnition of Amercian revolutionary efforts, making him the ideal figure to symbolize official relations between France and the United States.
A few years after the Spanish-American War, the French Chancellor to the United States requested that a replica of a statue of the Comte de Rochambeau located in Vedôme, France, be erected in Washington, DC, in hopes that it would repair and strengthen France's strained relationship with the United States. Congress provided funds and passed legislation in April 1901 authorizing sculptor Fernand Hamar to cast a replica statue for the United States.
This pedestrian bronze statue depicts Rochambeau directing his forces, pointing decisively with his right hand and holding a plan of battle unfurled in his left. At his feet, a female figure of Liberty disembarks from a boat with waves breaking at her feet and grasps two flags in her left hand, symbolizing the unity of France and America. With a drawn sword in her right hand, she prepares to defend an embattled eagle symbolizing America. The eagle holds, with its right claw, a shield with 13 stars for the 13 colonies. A sheaf of laurel lies on the pedestal at its feet. On the west face of the pedestal, carved in granite, is the coat of arms of the Rochambeau family, and that of France is on the east.
On May 24, 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt, members of Congress, the Diplomatic Corps, and French miliary and civil delegations dedicated the Rochambeau statue in front of a crowd of thousands. The statue is located at the southwest corner of Lafayette Square and is managed by the National Park Service.
National Register: July 14, 1978
Within Lafayette Square Historic District
Part of American Revolution Statuary
]]>This equestrian monument to Brigadier General Count Casimir Pulaski was erected by Congress to honor the famed Polish Marshal General who came to fight and gave his life for American Independence. Having military experience in Europe, Pulaski became a strong asset for the Patriot cause and formed the first American cavalry legion in 1778. His heroism and sacrifice have made him a symbol of both American and Polish Independence.
The nine-foot bronze statue portrays Pulaski in the uniform of a Polish marshal, which he preferred to wear rather than the uniform of the Continental Army. Dramatically posed with his shoulders thrown back and cape flowing behind him, he looks to the left as he reins in his horse.
Carved into the oblong granite pedestal are the names of the American Revolutionary War battles in which Pulaski participated. The statue was erected by the government at a cost of $40,000 and approved February 27, 1903. Created by sculptor Kazimierz Chodziński and architect Albert R. Ross, the finished statue was dedicated on May 11, 1910.
DC Inventory: March 3, 1979
National Register: July 14, 1978
Within Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site
Part of American Revolution Statuary
]]>This memorial commemorates the Marquis Gilbert de Lafayette, a French nobleman who at the age of twenty crossed the Atlantic to fight for American Independence, despite a royal decree prohibiting French officers from joining the Continental Army. Lafayette was commissioned as a Major General and he became a member of General George Washington's staff. During his return to France in 1779, Lafayette helped secure 6,000 French troops for the American cause. Lafayette returned to the colonies in 1780, and in 1781, Lafayette and his men fought in the Battle of Yorktown, which led eventually to the British surrender and the end of the Revolutionary War.
Created by sculptors Jean Alexandre Joseph Falquière and Marius Jean Antonin Merci and architect Paul Pujol, this elaborate monument is composed of a statue of Lafayette surrounded by four additional bronze figural groups placed lower down on the marble pedestal. The standing portrait statue of Lafayette depicts him civilian dress, but carrying a sword, petitioning the French National Assembly for assistance for the Americans. On the south pedestal face, a draped nude bronze figure, symbolizing America, turns toward him and imploringly lifts up a sword. The standing figures on the east and west faces of the pedestal represent French military leaders, including Comte d'Estaing and Comte de Grasse who commmanded the French naval forces, and the Comte de Rochambeau and the Chevalier du Portail who led the French Army in America. On the north face of the pedestal, two bronze cherubs point to a cartouche bearing the inscription of commemoration.
The monument was erected by Congress at the cost of $50,000 under an Act approved March 3, 1885 (23 Stat. 508). Work on the memorial finished in April 1891. Now owned by the National Park Service, the monument is located in Lafayette Park at the corner of Pennsylvania Ave. and Madison Place, N.W.
Part of American Revolution Statuary
National Register July 14, 1978
]]>John Paul Jones was a British merchant marine turned fugitive who took refuge in Virginia in 1773. At the outset of the Revolutionary War, he entered the Continental Navy as a lieutenant. Swiftly promoted to captain, Jones was given command of his first ship in 1776. His aggressive tactics led to his promotion to commodore and earned him a reputation as a pirate among the British.
Created by sculptor Charles Henry Niehaus and architect Thomas Hastings, this memorial to John Paul Jones consists of a bronze portrait statue mounted against a marble pylon. The statue itself depicts Jones in a naval officer's uniform, holding the pommel of his sword in his left hand. On the rear of the pylon, a relief shows Jones hoisting the American flag on a war vessel. Tradition says that he was the first to raise the new flag on a foreign war vessel.
Congress authorized the statue on June 8, 1906 (34 Stat., 224) with an appropriation of $50,000. It was dedicated April 17, 1912. The statue is located at 17th St. and Independence Ave., N.W. and currently owned by the National Park Service.
Part of American Revolution Statuary
National Register: July 14, 1978
]]>American spy Captain Nathan Hale became the first famous martyr of the American Revolution when he was captured and later executed by the British in 1776. At the gallows, Hale gained renown through his final words which appear around the circular base of the statue: "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country."
This life-sized standing bronze figure of Hale was bequeathed to the United States by George Dudley Seymour of New Haven, Connecticut. The sculpture shows Hale at the moment of his famous speech prior to his execution. He stands erect and proud with his feet and hands bound and a blindfold draped over his shoulders. The statue rests on a pedestal of granite about three feet high.
The statue was authorized by public law No. 683 by the 79th Congress on August 8, 1946. Prior to being moved to DC, the statue was formerly situated at Hale's birthplace in South Coventry, Connecticut. A replica of the figure is at Yale University. Designed by Bela Lyon Pratt around 1915, the statue is believed to have been cast in 1930. The statue is currently owned by the National Park Service.
Part of American Revolution Statuary
DC Inventory: March 3, 1979
National Register: July 14, 1978
Within Federal Triangle Historic District and Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site
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