General George B. McClellan Statue

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This bronze equestrian statue of General George B. McClellan stands at the crest of a hill overlooking Connecticut Avenue in the Kalorama Triangle neighborhood of Northwest Washington. McClellan rose to prominence as a major general during the Civil War and distinguished himself at the battle of Antietam when he temporarily halted the Confederate Army’s advance into the northern states. 

On March 3, 1901, Congress appropriated $50,000 for a monument to be erected in McClellan’s honor and formed a commission to oversee the project. In August of 1903, after years of debate, the commission announced that Frederick William MacMonnies, an American sculptor living in Paris, had been chosen to create the statue.

The 13.6-foot-tall bronze statue of General McClellan rests on a tall granite base adorned with bronze reliefs and escutcheons representing each of the major Civil War battles he led: Antietam, Fair Oaks, Gaines's Mill, Malvern Hill, Mechanicsville, South Mountain, Williamsburg and Yorktown. The two principal east-west facing sides are decorated with bronze trophies representing cannon, flags, and arms. At each of the four corners, eagles bear garlands of oak and laurel. McClellan is personally depicted wearing his U.S. Army uniform, while holding the reins in his left hand and resting his other hand on his hip.

The statue was dedicated on May 2, 1907 during a grand celebration that included a military parade and a speech from then President Theodore Roosevelt. Other guests included George B. McClellan, Jr. and his widowed mother Nelly McClellan, William Howard Taft, members of Congress, foreign diplomats, members of the president's cabinet and thousands of citizens.

Part of Civil War Monuments
DC Inventory: March 3, 1979
National Register: September 20, 1978