Peace Monument

The Peace Monument, also known as the Naval Monument, stands on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., and honors the members of the U.S. Navy who died in the Civil War. Built in 1877 and 1878, the white marble monument is part of a group of three along with the memorials to James A. Garfield and Ulysses S. Grant. Designed by Admiral David Dixon Porter and executed by sculptor Franklin Simmons, it presents a complex allegorical composition. At the top, the figures of Grief and History gaze westward, with History holding a tablet inscribed "They died that their country might live." Below them sits Victory, crowned with a laurel wreath and holding an oak branch, flanked by the childlike gods Mars and Neptune. The side facing the Capitol shows the goddess Peace holding an olive branch, while the opposite side bears symbols of science, literature, and art. The monument rests on a base of blue granite surrounded by a fountain, whose water flows into a quatrefoil-shaped basin. The architecture and sculptures embody Simmons's neoclassical style; he carved the marble pieces in Rome before they were shipped to Washington.