Virginia Washington Monument

For other monuments dedicated to George Washington, see List of monuments dedicated to George Washington.

The Virginia Washington Monument, known locally simply as the Washington Monument, is a 19th-century neoclassical statue of George Washington located on the public square in Richmond, Virginia.

Virginia Washington Monument
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Virginia Landmarks Register
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Location	Capitol Square, Richmond, Virginia
Coordinates	37°32′21″N 77°26′4″W
Area	less than one acre
Built	1849–1869
Architect	Thomas Crawford (sculptor), Randolph Rogers (sculptor)
Architectural style	Greek Revival
NRHP reference No.	03001421[1]
VLR No.	127-0189
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	January 15, 2004
Designated VLR	June 18, 2003[2]

Description

The Washington Monument features a 21-foot (6.4 m), 18,000-pound (8,200 kg) bronze statue of George Washington on horseback. Below Washington, (finished after the American Civil War) includes statues of six other noted Virginians who took part in the American Revolution: Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, Andrew Lewis, John Marshall, George Mason, and Thomas Nelson Jr.^[3] The lowest level has six bronze female allegorical figures (muses / graces) that represent the ideas of "Colonial Times" (wielding an ax), "Finance" (wielding a ledger book), "Independence" (with broken shackles), "Bill of Rights" (wielding a sword) and "Revolution" (wielding a sword and crushing a king's crown underfoot).^[4]

On April 30, 1863, Elements of George Washington on horseback on the monument were incorporated into the Seal of the Confederate States of America.^[5]

History

It was designed by Thomas Crawford (1814-1857) and completed under the supervision of Randolph Rogers (1825-1892) after Crawford's death.^[4] It is the terminus for Grace Street. The cornerstone of the monument was laid in 1850 and it became the second equestrian statue of Washington to be unveiled in the United States (following the one in Union Square, New York City, unveiled in 1856).^[3] It was not completed until 1869.^[3]

On February 22, 1862, the monument was the location for the second inauguration of the president and vice president of the Confederate States. The presidential oath of office was administered to Jefferson Davis by Judge J.D. Halyburton and the vice presidential oath to Alexander H. Stephens by senate president R.M.T. Hunter.^[6]

See also

• List of statues of George Washington
• List of statues of Thomas Jefferson
• List of sculptures of presidents of the United States
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Richmond, Virginia
• National symbols of the Confederate States