Statue of Freedom, Bronze statue atop the United States Capitol dome, Washington, D.C., United States
The Statue of Freedom is a bronze sculpture at the top of the Capitol dome in Washington. Standing nearly six meters tall, the figure rests on a cast-iron pedestal with a globe that rises above the dome roof.
Thomas Crawford was commissioned in 1854 and modelled the figure in his Rome studio; Jefferson Davis, overseeing the Capitol, had Crawford's liberty cap replaced by a military helmet. Crawford died in 1857, and the plaster model, shipped in 1858, was delayed at Gibraltar and Bermuda before reaching Washington in March 1859. Cast in five sections by Clark Mills from 1860, with Philip Reid supervising after a foreman's strike, the head and shoulders were raised on 2 December 1863.
Crawford's figure was first modelled with a liberty cap, the Roman symbol of an emancipated slave; Jefferson Davis had it replaced by the military helmet with an eagle's head and feather crest seen today. Her chiton is fastened by a brooch inscribed "U.S.", and a fringed American Indian–style blanket covers her left shoulder.
Visitors can see the figure from different points around the National Mall. The best view is from the east side of the Capitol, where the details of the sculpture are more clearly visible.
The cast-iron pedestal holds a globe inscribed with E Pluribus Unum, symbolizing the unity of the nation. This element extends the entire construction by more than five meters above the dome roof.
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