Battle Monument | |
 Battle Monument, Baltimore, January 2025 | |
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| Location | Calvert St. between Fayette and Lexington Sts.,Baltimore, Maryland |
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| Coordinates | 39°17′26.5″N76°36′44.7″W / 39.290694°N 76.612417°W /39.290694; -76.612417 |
| Area | 1 acre (0.40 ha) |
| Built | 1815 (1815) |
| Architect | Godefroy, J. Maximillian M.; Capellano, Antonio (crowning statue sculpture) |
| NRHP reference No. | 73002181[1] |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | June 4, 1973 |
| Designated BCL | 1975 |
TheBattle Monument, located inBattle Monument Square onNorth Calvert Street betweenEast Fayette andEast Lexington Streets inBaltimore, Maryland, commemorates theBattle of Baltimore, with theBritish fleet of theRoyal Navy's bombardment ofFort McHenry, theBattle of North Point, southeast of the city inBaltimore County on the Patapsco Neck peninsula, and the stand-off on the eastern siege fortifications along Loudenschlager and Potter's Hills, later called Hampstead Hill, in what is nowPatterson Park since 1827, east of town.
It honors those who died in September 1814, during theWar of 1812. The monument lies in the middle of the street and is between the twoBaltimore City Circuit Courthouses that are located on the opposite sides of North Calvert Street. It was sponsored by the City and the "Committee of Vigilance and Safety" led by MayorEdward Johnson and military commanders: Brig. Gen.John Stricker, Maj. Gen.Samuel Smith and Lt. Col.George Armistead (ofFort McHenry).
The site of the former first Baltimore County and Town/City Courthouse, torn down in 1809, was originally designated as the location for the newly plannedWashington Monument. Designed byRobert Mills (1781–1855), the cornerstone of the Washington Monument for Baltimore had just been laid onIndependence Day, July 4, 1815. Fears that the designed shaft of the column would be too tall for the smaller open space of the old Courthouse Square, and might fall over onto nearby close-in townhouses, caused a last-minute change in location.[2] The monument site for the nation's first president was moved further north of the city into "Howard's Woods" of the "Belvindere" estate of Col.John Eager Howard (1752–1827).
The monument was built in 1815–25, and is 39 feet (11.9 m) tall. It was designed by Baltimore architectJ. Maximilian M. Godefroy, sculptor to the Court of Spain. The base of the monument is anEgyptian Revivalcenotaph. It is an unusually democratic monument for the time in that it records the names of all who died, regardless of rank.[4] The eighteen layers of themarble base represent the eighteen states that made up the United States at the time of the war. Agriffin is at each corner of the base. The column, carved as a Romanfasces, is bound with cords listing the names of soldiers who died during the battle, while the names of officers who died are at the top.[5]
The monument is topped by an 8 feet tall 2,750 poundCarrara marble statue by Antonio Capellano, of a female figure representing the City of Baltimore wearing a crown of victory, holding alaurel wreath in one hand and a ship'srudder in the other. It was hoisted to the top of the column during the middle of the period of construction on the eighth anniversary ceremonies,Defenders Day, September 12, 1822.[4]
Colloquially calledLady Baltimore, the statue was relocated to theMaryland Historical Society on October 5, 2013, in order to preserve it from further damage caused by time and nature. It was replaced by aconcretereplica.[6] The monument is the oldest stone monument and first public war memorial in the United States.[7]
The monument is depicted on theseal of the City of Baltimore that was adopted in 1827 and thecity's flag adopted in the early 20th century.
The monument is erroneously depicted as being inWashington, D.C. in the 2007 filmLive Free or Die Hard starringBruce Willis, which had numerous scenes actually filmed in downtown Baltimore.
The Battle Monument was placed on theNational Register of Historic Places on June 4, 1973.[1] It is contained within theBusiness and Government Historic District and is within theBaltimore National Heritage Area.[8]
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