Peace Monument
artwork by Franklin Simmons
The Peace Monument, also known as the Navy Monument, Naval Monument or Navy-Peace Monument, stands on the western edge of the United States Capitol Complex in Washington, D.C. It is in the middle of Peace Circle, where First Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW intersect. The surrounding area is Union Square, which the monument shares with the Ulysses S. Grant Memorial, James A. Garfield Monument, and the Capitol Reflecting Pool. The front of the monument faces west towards the National Mall while the east side faces the United States Capitol.
The idea of a monument honoring men who fought in the Union Navy during the Civil War was spearheaded by Admiral David Dixon Porter, who wanted the monument to stand in Annapolis, Maryland, where his father, Commodore David Porter, had assisted in the installation of the Tripoli Monument. Due to an uneasy relationship between the younger Porter and Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles, the monument was not installed in Annapolis. Porter lobbied Congress and an additional $20,000 was allocated to build the base. This was in addition to the $9,000 Porter raised amongst naval personnel and private citizens. Porter chose Franklin Simmons to sculpt the monument's statues, one of many works in Washington, D.C., by Simmons. Architect of the Capitol Edward Clark designed the base. Pieces of the monument began to arrive in 1876, and the final piece arrived in January 1878.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Peace Monument” as artwork by Franklin Simmons. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the arts & letters register because the source frames it as artwork by Franklin Simmons. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Attribution, date and provenance are strongest when supported by the original work, a catalogue record and documented transmission. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 1, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2065740. The first chronological checks are 1876 and 1878.
Rights, attribution and provenance may remain disputed even when a general reference summary presents a stable account. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.
- Identifying works and editions
- Tracing reception history
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The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Peace Monument”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Peace Monument primary sources, Peace Monument archive and Peace research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Peace Monument”?
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- Which edition, object, performance or recording is being described?
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This entry incorporates text from “Peace Monument” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.