Memorial plans and installation
After the Civil War, there were plans to erect a significant number of memorials in Washington, D.C., honoring men who served in the Union Army. Admiral David Dixon Porter wanted to also honor Union Navy sailors amongst the memorials. Porter had started planning for a memorial in 1864 after Union forces captured Fort Fisher. His father, Commodore David Porter, had also led a movement to honor United States Navy sailors who fought in the Barbary Wars. His father's memorial, the Tripoli Monument, was originally placed in the Washington Navy Yard, but it was moved to Annapolis, Maryland, in 1860. Porter Jr. was selected to lead the United States Naval Academy after the war. It was there, in 1865, that he began making serious plans for the Civil War monument.[3][4]
Porter raised money for his project via naval personnel and private citizens.[3][4] By 1871, he had raised $9,000, and sketched what the monument should look like. No competition to design the monument was held, as Porter directly selected Franklin Simmons to sculpt the work. Simmons was known for his works in Washington, D.C., including the equestrian statue of John A. Logan and his many busts and statues in the Capitol.[5][6] Porter had probably seen Simmons' works since the latter had moved to Washington, D.C., in the 1860s. Simmons had also already designed one Civil War monument located in Lewiston, Maine. Porter gave Simmons his sketch for the monument, and insisted it be made of Carrara marble. After fundraising was complete, Simmons began carving the commission at his art studio in Rome. Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy, was angry that he was not consulted on the matter. The two men had a tumultuous relationship; Porter knew Welles would have rejected the idea.[3][5]
After Porter lobbied members of Congress in 1872, the federal government approved the monument and allocated $20,000 for the base. Porter wanted the monument to be placed in Annapolis, where his father's monument was located, but Welles said no. The Congress found a better location for the monument, near the United States Capitol complex.[5][7] An Act of Congress passed on July 31, 1876, allowing for the monument to be erected on the proposed site. The following year, Simmons began shipping pieces of the monument to Washington, D.C., on a boat named Supply. Architect of the Capitol Edward Clark designed the granite base and most pieces of the monument were installed in 1877. The statue of Peace was added to the monument in January 1878.[3][4]
Unlike many other Civil War memorials erected at the time, the Naval Monument (later renamed the Peace Monument by the press), did not receive an elaborate dedication with a parade and speeches from prominent individuals. This may be in part to the bad blood between Porter and Welles, or the fact the monument was not actually finished.[7] Decorative lampposts and elaborate water features were never completed, possibly due to lack of funding. One writer mentioned the parts that were never installed: "Cascades flow from the mouths of bronze dolphins in the sub-base, and four artistic lamp posts stand at the rim of the basin."[4]
Later history
The monument is a contributing property to four listings on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) and the District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites (DCIHS). The National Mall Historic District was listed on the DCIHS on November 8, 1964, and the NRHP on October 15, 1966. The Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site was listed on the NRHP on October 15, 1966, and the DCIHS on June 19, 1973. The monument is one of eighteen sculptures, fountains, and other memorials related to the Civil War, which were collectively listed on the NRHP on September 20, 1978, and the DCIHS on March 3, 1979. The fourth and final listing is the L'Enfant Plan, listed on the DCIHS on January 19, 1971, and the NRHP on April 24, 1997.[8]
During the 1970s, people scaled the monument during protests against the Vietnam War and the aftermath of the Three Mile Island accident.[9][10] In 1973, ownership of the monument transferred to the Architect of the Capitol as part of the United States Capitol grounds. By that time the monument was in serious need of repairs and cleaning. There were pieces missing, as well as lichen and grime on the monument. The marble type used to build the monument is not accustomed to being outdoors, exposed to the elements. After many tests and observations, the monument was cleaned in 1991, a year after masonry and other parts were repaired. Fissures were filled, missing pieces replaced, and a stone consolidant was applied to everything that was marble. Additional cleaning took place in 1999 and 2010.[3] In 1999, The Washington Post reporter DeNeen L. Brown noted the monument "was missing feet, arms and facial features, eaten away by wind and acid rain and damaged by frequent protesters."[11]
The monument was vandalized by unknown assailants during the George Floyd protests with spray-painted messages like "BLM," "all pigs will die," and "capitalism must fall." The monument was power washed by Architect of the Capitol employees afterwards.[12] Before the January 6 United States Capitol attack in 2021, members of the Proud Boys and other rioters gathered around the monument.[13] It is also where flowers and flags were left after the death of United States Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, who died from two strokes after the attack.[5] In 2022, art and architecture critic Philip Kennicott called for a national memorial to victims of gun violence in the United States. He said the best location would be at the foot of the Capitol, between the Peace Monument and James A. Garfield Monument.[15]