Arsenal Monument, (sculpture).

Arsenal Monument, (sculpture).

Flannery, Lot, active 1850-1859, sculptor.

Flannery Brothers Marble Manufacturers, fabricator.

Arsenal Monument, (sculpture).

U. S. Arsenal Monument, (sculpture).

Installed June 17, 1865.

Digital Reference:

Sculpture: marble; Shaft: marble; Base: grey granite.

Sculpture: approx. 25 ft. x 5 ft. 6 in. x 5 ft. 6 in.; Base: approx. 1 ft. 1 in. x 6 ft. x 6 ft.

(On south face of shaft:) KILLED/BY AN EXPLOSION/AT THE U.S. ARSENAL//WASHINGTON D.C./JUNE 17TH 1864/Flannery Bro.'s/Washington, D.C. (On north face:) ERECTED/BY PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION/BY THE CITIZENS OF/WASHINGTON, D.C./JUNE 17TH, 1865 (On east face:) ELLEN ROCHE./JULIA MCEWEN./BRIDGET DUNN./E. TIPPET./MARGARET HORAN./JOHANNA CONNORS./SUSAN HARRISI./LIZZIE BRAHLER./MARGARET C. YONSON./BETTIE BRANAGAN./ELIZA LACEY. (On west face:) EMMA BAIRD./KATE BROSNAHAN./LOUISA LLOYD./MELISSA ADAMS./EMILY COLLINS./REBECCA HULL./ANNIE S. BACHE./MARY BURROUGHS./SALLIE McELFRESH./PINKEY SCOTT. unsigned Founder's mark appears.

A shaft topped with a small allegorical female figure symbolizing Grief. The female figure's head is bent and she looks down. Her hands are clasped in front of her on her proper right. She has long curly hair and wears a long gown. The shaft below her is inscribed with the names of the twenty-one women who died in the June 17, 1864 explosion at the Washington Arsenal. The lower front portion of the shaft is adorned with a relief illustrating the explosion. The shaft is decorated around the top with a grape vine, which symbolizes sacrifice. Around the middle of the shaft, on all four sides, are winged hourglasses that indicates "my time has flown." The shaft rests on a low square base that is carved on the front with a relief depicting the explosion and fire at the arsenal.

Figure female -- Full length

Allegory -- Passion -- Grief

Disaster -- Fire

Architecture -- Military -- Armory

Outdoor Sculpture -- District of Columbia -- Washington

Administered by United States Department of Veterans Affairs, National Cemetery Administration, 810 Vermont Avenue, N.W., Washington, District of Columbia 20420

Administered by Association for the Preservation of Historic Congressional Cemetery, 1801 E Street, S.E., Washington, District of Columbia 20003

Located Congressional Cemetery, 1801 E Street, S.E., Northwest section, range 97, section 142, Washington, District of Columbia 20003

This monument is a memorial to twenty-one women who died in an explosion at the Washington Arsenal on June 17, 1864. The explosion was caused when fireworks stored in the lot next to the Arsenal building at 4 1/2 Street, S.W. accidentally ignited. The summer heat had apparently caused the fireworks to go off and a spark flew into an open window of the Arsenal building where the women worked making gunpowder cartridges. The exposed gunpowder caught fire and exploded killing twenty-one of the 108 women who worked there. The memorial was erected on June 17, 1865, the first anniversary of the fire, and marks the grave of the twenty-one women who died. The memorial was paid for through contributions made by the citizens of Washington. IAS files contain excerpts from Dean W. Holt's "American Military Cemeteries, a Comprehensive Illustrated Guide to the Hallowed Grounds of the United States, Including Cemeteries Overseas," Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc., pg. 400-401; and Washington History 4 (Spring/Summer 1992): pg. 43.

Index of American Sculpture, University of Delaware, 1985

Goode, James M., "The Outdoor Sculpture of Washington, D.C., A Comprehensive Historical Guide," Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1974, pg. 96.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, District of Columbia survey, 1993.

SOS Assessment Award, 1998.

Inventory staff, 2000.

Michael Richman, SAAM curatorial assistant, 1967-1969.

National Cemetery Administration Memorials Inventory Project, 2002-2005.

Goode, James M., "Washington Sculpture: A Cultural History of Outdoor Sculpture in the Nation's Capitol," Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008, no. 1.47.

Goode, James M., "The Outdoor Sculpture of Washington, D.C., A Comprehensive Historical Guide," Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1974, A-44.

Goode, James M., "Washington Sculpture: A Cultural History of Outdoor Sculpture in the Nation's Capitol," Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008, no. 1.47.

The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.

Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

Control Number:

Horizon Information Portal 3.25_9382

Powered by SirsiDynix

About | © 2020 Smithsonian | Terms of Use | Privacy | Contact

SIRIS - Smithsonian Institution Research Information System