The James A. Garfield Monument stands on the grounds of the United States Capitol

United States Capitol

The United States Capitol is the meeting place of the United States Congress, the legislature of the federal government of the United States. Located in Washington, D.C., it sits atop Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall...

 in the circle at First Street, S.W., and Maryland Avenue, Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

  It is a memorial

Memorial

A memorial is an object which serves as a focus for memory of something, usually a person or an event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or art objects such as sculptures, statues or fountains, and even entire parks....

 to President James A. Garfield, elected in 1880 and assassinated in 1881 after serving only four months of his term, by a disgruntled office-seeker named Charles J. Guiteau

Charles J. Guiteau

Charles Julius Guiteau was an American lawyer who assassinated U.S. President James A. Garfield. He was executed by hanging.- Background :...

.

The monument, sculpted by John Quincy Adams Ward

John Quincy Adams Ward

John Quincy Adams Ward was an American sculptor, who is most familiar for his over-lifesize standing statue of George Washington on the steps of Federal Hall on Wall Street.-Early years:...

 (1830-1910) and cast by The Henry-Bonnard Co. of New York, with a pedestal designed by Richard Morris Hunt

Richard Morris Hunt

Richard Morris Hunt was an American architect of the nineteenth century and a preeminent figure in the history of American architecture...

, is an outstanding example of American Beaux-Arts sculpture. It was unveiled on May 12, 1887.
Today it stands as part of a three-part sculptural group near the Capitol Reflecting Pool including the Peace Monument

Peace Monument

The Peace Monument, also known as the Naval Monument or Civil War Sailors Monument, stands on the grounds of the United States Capitol in Peace Circle at First Street, N.W., and Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, D.C. The 44 foot high white marble memorial was erected in 1877-1878 to commemorate...

 and the Ulysses S. Grant Memorial

Ulysses S. Grant Memorial

The Ulysses S. Grant Memorial is a presidential memorial in Washington, D.C., honoring American Civil War general and U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant...

.

The memorial was commissioned in 1884 by the Society of the Army of the Cumberland, of which Garfield had been a member. The Society raised almost $28,000 to pay the sculptor. Some of the funds were raised by The Garfield Monument Fair, which was held in the Rotunda and Statuary Hall in 1882. Also in that year, Congress appropriated to the Society $7500 in funds from the sale of condemned cannons; in 1884 it appropriated $30,000 for the pedestal. The monument was incorporated into the Capitol Grounds on January 2, 1975.

The inscription reads:

(On Garfield statue:)

J.Q.A. WARD/SCULP.

1887

THE HENRY-BONNARD BRONZE CO.

NEW YORK

(On speech held in Garfield's proper left hand:)

Law, Justice, Prosperity

(On each base figure:)

J.Q.A. WARD

Sculp.

(Base, top section, front:)

JAMES. A. GARFIELD

1831-1881

(Base, top section, left side:)

MAJOR-GENERAL U-S-V,

MEMBER OF CONGRESS,

SENATOR,

AND

PRESIDENT

OF THE

UNITED

STATES

OF

AMERICA

(Base, top section, right side:)

ERECTED BY HIS COMRADES

OF THE

SOCIETY OF THE ARMY

OF THE

CUMBERLAND

MAY 18, 1887

External links

• "President James A. Garfield Monument", Wikimapia
• "Statue of James A. Garfield on the Garfield Monument", Architect of the Capitol