The Nuns of the Battlefield Monument, honoring the nuns who tended wounded and sick soldiers during the Civil War, features a large bronze relief panel that depicts the life-sized figures of twelve nuns, who wear various habits. At either end of the monolith on which the panel rests are bronze figures—a bronze angel of patriotism on the north end wears a helmet and armor but carries no weapons, indicating the nuns' peaceful mission; the figure of a woman on the south end represents the angel of peace. An inscription honoring the nuns is carved on the monolith above the bronze panel.
The monument was erected and paid for by the women's auxiliary branch of the Ancient Order of the Hibernians in 1924. Ellen Jolly, who campaigned for over a decade for the statue, had grown up hearing nuns' tales of their work on the battlefields, but the War Department first rejected her proposal as she was unable to show proof of the nuns' service. She spent years collecting evidence, and her later proposal was approved by Congress on March 29, 1918.
Jerome Connor, an Irish-American artist and an Irish Catholic, was the sculptor. Following delays due to disagreements over the monument's design and intended location, the monument was installed and dedicated on September 20, 1924, as part of a meeting of Catholics from across the country.
DC Inventory: March 3, 1979
National Register: September 20, 1978
Part of Civil War Monuments
]]>This 16-foot-high equestrian statue honors Major General George Henry Thomas, a US Army officer who gained fame during the Civil War as the “Rock of Chickamauga.” The statue was a gift of the Society of the Army of the Cumberland. The Society chose John Quincy Adams Ward (1830-1910) to sculpt the statue, cast in captured bronze confederate cannons.
General Thomas is depicted observing the field of battle having just arrived on the crest of a hill. The general and his horse stand upon an oval granite pedestal which features four elaborate Baroque scrolls and a bronze casting of the badge of the Army of the Cumberland, partly surrounded by a laurel wreath.
This memorial stands in the center of Thomas Circle, a traffic circle located at the intersection of Fourteenth Street, M Street, Massachusetts Avenue, and Vermont Avenue NW. The statue was dedicated on November 19, 1879 in a ceremony attended by some 50,000 people. Prominent guests included President Rutherford B. Hayes, Generals Irvin McDowell, Philip Sheridan, and William Tecumseh Sherman. Harper’s Weekly described the unveiling as one of the grandest ceremonies ever held in the city.
DC Inventory: March 3, 1979
National Register: September 20, 1978
Part of Civil War Monuments
]]>This bronze equestrian statue of General William Tecumseh Sherman memorializes his service in the Civil War for the Union Army. At the corners of the granite pedestal stand bronze soldiers representing four branches of the army: infantry on the northwest, artillery on the northeast, cavalry on the southeast, and engineers on the southwest. Around the base of the monument is a band of mosaic six feet wide, inlaid with the names of all the battles in which Sherman took part. Near the top of the north face of the pedestal is a bronze tablet of Sherman's march through Georgia and two Sherman quotations. Other figures represent peace and war, while tablets and bas-relief details show moments from the lives of Sherman and his men in the Civil War.
The memorial is located at the site where victorious Union generals reviewed Union forces in 1865 at the close of the Civil War. The majority of the funding was provided by Congress, with a small part of the total cost of $131,055 coming from the Society of the Army of the Tennessee. The statue was approved under an Act approved on July 5, 1892 and dedicated on October 15, 1903. Although the statue was designed by Carl and Sara Rohl-Smith, many of the sculpted parts of the memorial were completed by other persons due to Carl’s early death. The equestrian statue was sculpted by Lauritz Jessen, the soldier statues by Sigvald Asbjornsen, the eight bas-relief portrait medallions by Mrs. Theodore A. Ruggles, and the war and peace groups by Stephen Sinding.
DC Inventory: March 3, 1979
National Register: September 20, 1978
Part of Civil War Monuments
]]>This equestrian statue honors General Phillip H. Sheridan, a U.S. Army officer who played an important role in securing Union victories against the Confederacy during the Shenandoah Valley Campaigns of 1864.
On March 2, 1889, Congress authorized a memorial of General Sheridan to be constructed and appropriated $50,000 for the project. The monument was sculpted by Gutzon Borglum, an artist best known for his work on Mount Rushmore. The sculpture depicts Sheridan assembling his troops during the Battle of Cedar Creek on October 19, 1864 following his famous ride from Winchester, Virginia. His horse, Renzi, is slightly reared back while standing on a rocky ground, creating an unusual placement of the horse’s legs as he tries to find footing on the uneven ground where he has been brought to a sudden stop. The active dramatic use of the horse and rider convey a sense of the power of the animal and the commanding presence of the general, who waves his hat behind him to rally the retreating troops.
Dedicated on November 25, 1908, prominent guests at the unveiling ceremony included President Theodore Roosevelt, diplomats, high-ranking military officers and veterans from the Civil War and Spanish–American War. Congress paid for the granite plaza and base, while veterans of the Army of the Cumberland paid for the statue itself.
The bronze equestrian statue is located in the center of Sheridan Circle, a traffic circle located at the intersection of 23rd Street, R Street and Massachusetts Avenue NW in the Sheridan-Kalorama neighborhood of Washington, D.C.
DC Inventory: March 3, 1979
National Register: September 20, 1978
Within Massachusetts Avenue Historic District and Sheridan-Kalorama Historic District
Part of Civil War Monuments
]]>Erected in 1874, this equestrian statue of Brevet Lieutenant-General Winfield Scott was the first memorial honoring a Civil War general to be installed in one of DC’s public traffic circles or squares. Throughout his decorated career in the US Army, General Scott led forces during the War of 1812, Mexican–American War, Seminole Wars, and the early years of the Civil War. Having served under every president from Thomas Jefferson to Abraham Lincoln, General Winfield Scott holds the record for the longest tenure as the army’s chief officer.
On March 2, 1867, Congress passed a joint resolution authorizing a statue of General Winfield Scott to be erected, naming Henry Kirke Brown as the sculptor. Scott is portrayed wearing the field uniform of a lieutenant-general, including a hat and long jacket with fringed epaulets and decorative sash. Brown had planned to depict General Scott riding his preferred horse, a mare; however, shortly before the statue was to be cast, members of Scott’s family protested the design, complaining that no other general had been portrayed riding a mare and that a stallion would be more befitting. Perturbed by the request, Brown made minimal modifications to his design, resulting in Scott, a tall and heavy man, riding a disproportionately small and anatomically inaccurate horse.
The statue was cast from bronze cannons captured by Scott’s army during the Mexican–American War and sits atop a 150 ton block of granite, the single largest stone ever quarried in the United States up until that point. The statue was quietly installed in 1874, with little fanfare and no formal ceremony to mark the occasion, in the center of Scott Circle.
DC Inventory: March 3, 1979
National Register: September 20, 1978
Within Sixteenth Street Historic District
Part of Civil War Monuments
]]>This statue of General John A. Rawlins was erected by the Federal Government in 1874 to honor the longtime friend, trusted adviser, and aide-de-camp of General Ulysses S. Grant during the Civil War. Rawlins also served as Secretary of War during President Grant's first term in office, but tragically died just five months after being appointed. During his brief tenure, Rawlins was a strong advocate for recently freed slaves and worked hard to protect Native Americans from the cruelty of military officers.
On June 10, 1872, at the request of President Grant, Congress authorized $10,000 for a statue of General Rawlins to be built. The statue, which was created by French-born sculptor Joseph A. Bailly, shows the general standing at ease while wearing his Civil War military uniform. His left hand is resting on the hilt of his sheathed sword, while he holds his field glasses in his right. Like many other Union statues created during this time period, Rawlins' figure was cast from Confederate cannons captured during the Civil War.
The 20-foot-tall, bronze statue was installed in Rawlins Park in November 1874, with little fanfare and no formal ceremony to mark the occasion. In 1880, a group of Union veterans visited the statue and were appalled by the condition of the park and its surroundings. They successfully lobbied for the statue to be relocated to a more prominent location, resulting in a series of moves to various sites along Pennsylvania Avenue. In 1931, Rawlins’ statue was returned to Rawlins Park where it now overlooks a reflecting pool added in 1938.
DC Inventory: March 3, 1979
National Register: September 20, 1978
Part of Civil War Monuments
]]>Although he is depicted in this bronze pedestrian statue as a Masonic leader in civilian dress rather than a military man, Albert Pike was a senior officer in the Confederate Army. The Albert Pike Memorial, erected by the Supreme Council, Southern Jurisdiction of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, is the only public sculpture in DC to commemorate a Confederate general.
While Masons lobbied Congress for land to erect their planned monument to Pike in the 1890s, Union Army veterans in the Grand Army of the Republic organization petitioned their Congressmen to refuse the request due to Pike’s allegiance to the Confederacy. However, Congress was satisfied with the Masons' reassurance that Pike would be depicted as a civilian rather than as a soldier.
The land for the memorial was approved on April 9, 1898. Designed by Gaetano Trentanove, the statue was dedicated on October 23, 1901. The figure of Pike stands eleven feet tall upon a granite pedestal, featuring the allegorical Goddess of Masonry, who holds the banner of the Scottish Rite.
The Albert Pike Memorial has a long history as a site of protest. Dating back to the efforts of Union veterans to prevent the statue from being erected, many have argued over the years for removal of the statue due to Pike's racism and role in the Confederacy. In 1992, members of the LaRouche movement began a series of protests demanding the memorial be removed, citing Pike's alleged links with the KKK. During one such event, LaRouche supporters draped Pike's statue with a KKK pointed hat and gown.
In 2017, following the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, VA, interest spread throughout many cities and states to remove Confederate statues and memorials from public land. The day after the rally, protesters gathered at the Pike Memorial and chanted "tear it down." Local government officials, including some members of the DC City Council, DC Attorney General Karl Racine, and Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, asked the National Park Service to remove the memorial. In July 2019, Norton introduced a bill directing that the statue be removed. The Albert Pike Memorial was toppled and burned on Juneteenth of 2020, as protests continued across the country in response to the murder of George Floyd. Protesters used rope and chains to topple the Pike statue, doused it with a flammable liquid, and ignited it. The following day, the National Park Service removed the statue. Covered with graffiti, the pedestal remained in place.
In 2025, under the direction of the Trump Administration, the National Park Service restored the statue to the Albert Pike Memorial.
DC Inventory: March 3, 1979 National Register: September 20, 1978
First conceived by Union Admiral David D. Porter in 1865, the 44-foot-high, ornately detailed Peace Monument stands as a memorial to the naval deaths at sea during the Civil War. It was completed in 1878 and stands in the circle to the west of the U.S. Capitol at Pennsylvania Avenue and First Street, N.W. Two classically robed figures representing History and Grief stand atop the monument, facing west. History holds a tablet that reads, “They died that their country might live,” while Grief weeps in mourning against her shoulder. Below them, Victory holds a laurel wreath high above her head with one hand while carrying an oak branch in the other, signifying strength. At Victory’s feet are the infant Mars, the god of war, and the infant Neptune, god of the sea. Peace is depicted on the east side of the monument, facing the Capitol, with an olive branch in her right hand. Below her are symbols of industry, which signify the progress of civilization that peace makes possible. Porter raised funds from private contributors, including many Navy veterans, and in 1871, commissioned Franklin Simmons to create the monument. The Carrara marble from which the monument is sculpted was carved in Rome, Italy. Admiral Porter worked directly with Simmons on many changes to the designs, including the addition of other figures. The marble pieces were shipped to Washington in 1876 and erected over a two-year period between in 1877-1878. The monument sits on a base made of Maine Blue Granite.
Part of Civil War Monuments
DC Inventory: March 3, 1979
National Register: September 20, 1978
]]>This impressive memorial to George Gordon Meade stands along Pennsylvania Avenue, NW in front of the E. Barrett Prettyman United States Courthouse. Meade was a career U.S. Army officer who led forces during several major battles, including Antietam and Fredericksburg, but is best known for defeating General Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Gettysburg. Unlike many Civil War generals, there were no calls to erect a memorial to Meade after his death in 1872 because he was deeply unpopular with Lincoln, Grant, and his fellow officers. He did remain a hero, however, in his home state of Pennsylvania which on October 18, 1913, commissioned a statute of him that would be given as a gift to the United States and placed in Washington, D.C. The total cost of the memorial and its installation was $400,000 with the sculptor, Charles Grafly, receiving $85,000. The memorial was formally dedicated on October 19, 1927, and was one of the last Civil War monuments erected in Washington, D.C. By the time of the dedication, only a few Civil War veterans were able to attend the ceremony. In 1969, the monument was removed from its original location at Union Square and placed in storage to make room for the construction of the Capitol Reflecting Pool. The memorial was repaired and placed in a new plaza on Pennsylvania Avenue, NW in 1983. A formal rededication took place on October 3, 1984. The Major General George Meade Statue stands 18 feet tall. The sculptor has conceived a circle of figures carved in marble and allegorically embodying qualities essential to the character of a great general. General Meade, in the uniform of a Civil War officer, stands in the focal point of the circle. Behind him is the figure of War whose broad wings surmount the sculpture. Around the circle are figures representing Energy, Military Courage, Fame, Progress, Chivalry, and Loyalty outlined against the sweep of War’s long wings. Chivalry and Loyalty to the left and right of Meade hold his cloak and standard of his achievements. The marble and granite sculpture rests on a granite base and is surrounded by a small plaza and public park.
]]>Erected in 1876, this equestrian statue of Major General James B. McPherson serves as the centerpiece of McPherson Square along Vermont Avenue between K and I Streets N.W. General McPherson commanded the Army of the Tennessee and distinguished himself at the Battle of Atlanta where he was tragically killed on July 22, 1864, making him the second-highest-ranking Union officer to be killed during the Civil War. This statue of General McPherson was sculpted by the Italian-born artist, Louis Rebisso and paid for by the Society of the Army of the Tennessee at a cost of $32,000. It is also notable for the fact that it was cast from bronze Confederate cannons captured during the Battle of Atlanta: the same conflict at which McPherson was killed. The General is depicted atop his horse, surveying a battlefield with field glasses in hand. His uniform is wrinkled, with his coat and trousers blown back by the wind.
Congress contributed $25,000 for the granite base and pedestal. The statue was dedicated on October 18, 1876 in a ceremony attended by President Rutherford B. Hayes and presided over by General William Tecumseh Sherman and General John A. Logan – both of whom are also commemorated with statues in Washington, D.C.Part of Civil War MonumentsDC Inventory: March 3, 1979
National Register: September 20, 1978
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