General Scott Condominiums

In the middle of Scott Circle in Washington, D.C., a bronze equestrian statue honoring General Winfield Scott rises above the intersection. This traffic circle, at the junction of 16th Street, Massachusetts Avenue, and Rhode Island Avenue, is also a small park managed by the National Park Service. The statue was created by New York sculptor Henry Kirke Brown and erected in 1874. It is considered the first of many monuments to Civil War generals in the capital's circles and squares. The pedestal is made of a single block of granite, which at the time of its manufacture was the largest piece of stone ever quarried in the United States. The monument is part of a group of eighteen Civil War monuments that were added together to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

Winfield Scott, often called the "Grand Old Man of the Army," had a military career of more than fifty years, serving under several presidents and commanding troops in numerous conflicts, including the Mexican-American War and the Civil War. After his death in 1866, veterans and citizens began campaigning for a memorial, which was ultimately funded by acts of Congress. Bronze cannons that Scott had captured during the Mexican-American War were even used to cast the statue. The original plan called for a different location, but the circle was renamed Scott Circle after the statue was installed. The statue faces south toward the White House and marks the southeastern end of what is known as Embassy Row, where the Australian Embassy overlooks the circle.

Despite its historical significance, critics and historians often regard the monument as one of the worst equestrian statues in the city. The proportions of the horse, which was designed as a small mare with the physical features of a stallion, and the figure of the large, heavy general atop the small animal were harshly mocked both at the time and later. Scott is depicted in the field uniform of a lieutenant general, holding a field glass in his right hand, which rests on his hip. The park itself has no walkways for pedestrians, but is flanked by two small triangular green spaces that hold other historic monuments, such as the Daniel Webster Memorial. Today, visitors experience the site mainly as an architectural and historical curiosity in the heart of the city.