United States Capitol's Statue Of Freedom was placed atop the Dome on this day in 1863. [View all]

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The Statue of Freedom has stood atop the United States Capitol Dome since 1863. Hoisted into place while the country was divided by the Civil War, the bronze statue designed and sculpted by American sculptor Thomas Crawford was created as the crowning feature of the building’s new cast-iron Dome.

The statue depicts a classical female figure with long, flowing hair wearing a helmet with a crest composed of an eagle’s head and feathers. The helmet is encircled by nine stars. She wears a graceful classical dress secured with a brooch inscribed “US.” Over it is draped a heavy, flowing, toga-like robe fringed with fur and decorative balls. Her right hand rests upon the hilt of a sheathed sword wrapped in a scarf; in her left hand she holds a laurel wreath of victory and the shield of the United States with thirteen stripes. Ten bronze points tipped with platinum are attached to her headdress, shoulders, and shield for protection from lightning.

She stands on a cast-iron pedestal on a globe encircled with the motto “E Pluribus Unum.” The lower part of the pedestal is decorated with fasces (symbols of the authority of government) and wreaths. Late in 1863, the statue was hoisted in sections to the top of the Dome and assembled on the cast-iron pedestal. The final section, the figure’s head and shoulders, was raised on December 2, 1863, to a salute of 35 guns, representing the number of states at the time, answered by the guns of the 12 forts around Washington.

STATUE OF FREEDOM FACTS
Height: 19½ feet tall
Height Above East Plaza: 288 feet
Weight: approx. 15,000 lbs
Pedestal Height: 18½ feet tall
Sculptor: Thomas Crawford
Founder: Clark Mills
Placed On Dome: December 2, 1863
Restoration: 1993, with periodic maintenance

http://go.usa.gov/W6jC