James A. Garfield Monument
The James A. Garfield Monument stands on the grounds of the United States Capitol in the traffic circle at First Street and Maryland Avenue SW in Washington, D.C. It is a memorial to U.S. President James A. Garfield, who was elected in 1880 and assassinated in 1881 after serving only four months of his term. The perpetrator was an attorney and disgruntled office-seeker named Charles J. Guiteau. Garfield lived for several weeks after the shooting, but eventually succumbed to his injuries. The monument is part of a three-part sculptural group near the Capitol Reflecting Pool, including the Peace Monument and the Ulysses S. Grant Memorial in Union Square. The monument is also a contributing property to the National Mall and L'Enfant Plan, both of which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites. The bronze statue rests on a granite pedestal that features three sculptures, each one representing a time period in Garfield's life.
This article is about the monument in Washington, D.C.. For the monument in Cleveland, see Garfield Memorial. For the monument in Philadelphia, see James Garfield Memorial.Location
First Street and Maryland Avenue SW, Washington, D.C., United States
1887
John Quincy Adams Ward (sculptor)
Richard Morris Hunt (architect)
Henry-Bonnard Bronze Company (founder)
October 15, 1966 (National Mall)
April 24, 1997 (L'Enfant Plan)
November 8, 1964 (National Mall)
January 19, 1971 (L'Enfant Plan)
The monument, sculpted by John Quincy Adams Ward and cast by The Henry-Bonnard Co. of New York, with a pedestal designed by Richard Morris Hunt, is an outstanding example of Beaux-Arts architecture. It was unveiled on May 12, 1887. The memorial was commissioned in 1884 by the Society of the Army of the Cumberland, of which Garfield had been a member. The Society raised almost $28,000 to pay the sculptor. Some of the funds were raised by The Garfield Monument Fair, which was held in the Capitol's Rotunda and National Statuary Hall in 1882. Also in that year, Congress appropriated to the Society $7,500 in funds from the sale of condemned cannons; in 1884 it appropriated $30,000 for the pedestal. The monument was incorporated into the United States Capitol Complex on January 2, 1975.
History[edit]
Biography[edit]
James A. Garfield was born on November 19, 1831, in Moreland Hills, Ohio. His father died when Garfield was young and he grew up very poor. After an attempt to live on his own, he returned to his mother and attended Geauga Seminary.[3] After graduating from the seminary, Garfield worked a variety of jobs and became a teacher at Hiram College, where he also worked as a janitor. As a born again Christian, Garfield preached on occasion, receiving much needed money at certain churches on his circuit.[3] After teaching for a few years, Garfield attended Williams College, graduating in 1856, and learned about the abolitionist philosophy while in Massachusetts.[4] He returned to Ohio and taught at Hiram College once again. During the years leading up to the Civil War, Garfield had become interested in politics and supported the new Republican Party. He was elected to the Ohio Senate in 1860, serving in that role until the following year.[3][4]
Inscription on the pedestal
Inscription on the pedestal
Inscription on the pedestal
One of three sculptures on the pedestal
One of three sculptures on the pedestal
One of three sculptures on the pedestal
