The Battle Monument, (sculpture).

The Battle Monument, (sculpture).

Capellano, Antonio, sculptor. (copy after)

Godefroy, Maximilian, ca. 1770-ca. 1837, architect.

Hore, Elias, carver.

Neale, J. G., carver.

Baughman, S., carver.

Attley, W., fabricator.

The Battle Monument, (sculpture).

Digital Reference:

Vermont Marble.

Overall: approx. H. 52 ft.; Figure: approx. H. 8 1/2 ft.

CAPELLANO (On base of column, south side:) BATTLE/ OF NORTH POINT/12th SEPTEMBER, A.D. 1814/AND OF/THE INDEPENDENCE OF THE UNITED STATES/THE THIRTY-NINTH (On base of column, north side:) BOMBARDMENT OF/FORT McHENRY/15th SEPTEMBER A.D. 1814/AND OF THE INDEPENDENCE/OF THE UNITED STATES/THE THIRTY NINTH (Around top of column, north side:) LEVI CLAGETT/1ST LIEUT. NICHOLSON'S ARTILLERIES (On bands that cross the column: names of thirty-six men who lost their lives in the Battle of Baltimore) signed

Standing high atop the monument is a female figure representing Baltimore. She holds a laurel wreath in her proper right hand and a ship's rudder in her proper left hand. She stands atop a large column that resembles a Roman fasces, a bundle of sticks symbolizing power and authority. The binding on the fasces is inscribed with the names of thirty-six men killed during the 1814 Battle of Baltimore.

On the south side of the column is an inscription commemorating the Battle of North Point and above the inscription is a relief depicting scenes from the battle. On the north side of the column is an inscription commemorating the Battle of Fort McHenry and above the inscription is a relief depicting scenes from the battle.

The base of the monument is designed to resemble an ancient Egyptian tomb built with eighteen rows of stone, one row for each of the eighteen states in the Union in 1814. On each corner of the base is a griffin, a mythological animal with the head of an eagle and a body of a lion symbolizing immortality. The base of the monument is surrounded by a wrought iron fence.

History -- United States -- War of 1812

History -- United States -- Battle of Fort McHenry

History -- United States -- Battle of North Point

Figure female -- Full length

Allegory -- Place -- Baltimore

Architecture -- Military -- Battlefield

Mythology -- Egyptian

Outdoor Sculpture -- Maryland -- Baltimore

Administered by City of Baltimore, Recreation and Parks, 2600 Madison Avenue, Baltimore, Maryland 21217

Located Calvert & Fayette Streets, Baltimore, Maryland

The design for the monument was donated by architect J. Maximilian M. Godefroy. Antonio Capellano created the female figure, the four griffins, and the reliefs. In 1938, the female figure lost her proper right hand during a storm, but it was later replaced, and at the same time, the sculpture was given waterproofing and caulking. In 1964 the piece was cleaned and in 1975, the figure's proper left hand and the ship's rudder were replaced.

For additional information see William Sener Rusk's "Art in Baltimore: Monuments and Memorials," Baltimore: Norman, Remington, 1929; Henry and Caroline Naylor's "Public Monuments & Sculpture of Baltimore: An Introduction to the Collection," 1987, pg. 5; and Wilbur Harvey Hunter's "The Monumental City, The Rinehart School of Sculpture 75th Anniversary Catalogue 1896-1971," pg. 16-47; and Art and Archaeology 19 (June 1925): pg. 229-238. IAS files contain newspaper articles from The Sun (Baltimore, MD), July 19, 1964; April 14, 1930; and the Evening Sun (Baltimore, MD), April 8, 1938. Additional information is available in the vertical files of the Maryland Room at the Pratt Library in Baltimore.

The monument underwent restoration in 1997. IAS files contain related newspaper article from The Sun (Baltimore, Maryland), July 3, 1997, C1, 3. However, due to deterioration from weather, on Oct. 5, 2013 the marble female figure representing Baltimore was removed from the top of the monument and relocated indoors at the Maryland Historical Society Museum and Library in Mount Vernon. After the original marble figure was removed, a replica of the figure was installed atop the monument. IAS files contain a newspaper articles from The Baltimore Sun, Sept. 28, 2013, pg. 4 and Oct. 6, 2013, pg. 2 detailing the decision to remove the figure.

Index of American Sculpture, University of Delaware, 1985.

National Park Service, American Monuments and Outdoor Sculpture Database, MD0026, 1989.

Monumental News, Feb. 1895, pg. 138.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Maryland survey, 1992.

Baltimore Sun, Sept. 28, 2013, pg. 4.

Baltimore Sun, October 6, 2013, pg. 2.

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

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