Peace Monument
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| Artist | Franklin Simmons |
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| Year | 1877 |
| Type | Carrara Ravaccione marble |
| Dimensions | 12 m × 3.0 m × 3.0 m (40 ft × 10 ft × 10 ft) |
| Location | Washington, D.C., United States |
| Owner |
Architect of the Capitol |
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Peace Monument
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| Location | Washington, D.C. |
| Coordinates | 38°53′26.28″N 77°0′44.39″W / 38.8906333°N 77.0123306°WCoordinates: 38°53′26.28″N 77°0′44.39″W / 38.8906333°N 77.0123306°W |
| Part of | Civil War Monuments in Washington, DC. |
| NRHP Reference # | 78000257 |
| Added to NRHP | September 20, 1978 |
Architect of the Capitol
The Peace Monument, also known as the Naval Monument or Civil War Sailors Monument, stands on the grounds of the United States Capitol in Peace Circle at First Street, N.W., and Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, D.C. The 44 foot (13.4 m) high white marble memorial was erected from 1877-1878 to commemorate the naval deaths at sea during the American Civil War. Today it stands as part of a three-part sculptural group including the James A. Garfield Monument and the Ulysses S. Grant Memorial.
At the top of the monument, facing west, stand two classically robed female figures. Grief holds her covered face against the shoulder of History and weeps in mourning. History holds a stylus and a tablet that was inscribed "They died that their country might live." Below Grief and History, another life-size classical female figure represents Victory, holding high a laurel wreath and carrying an oak branch, signifying strength. Below her are the infant Mars, the god of war, and the infant Neptune, god of the sea. The shaft of the monument is decorated with wreaths, ribbons, and scallop shells.
Facing the Capitol is Peace, a classical figure draped from the waist down and holding an olive sprig. Below her are symbols of peace and industry. A dove, now missing and not documented in any known photographs, once nested upon a sheaf of wheat in a grouping of a cornucopia, turned earth, and a sickle resting across a sword. Opposite, the symbols of science, literature, and art (including an angle, a gear, a book, and a pair of dividers) signify the progress of civilization that peace makes possible.
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