Washington D.C. - African American War Memorial

My journey began with a hop, skip, and a jump from Reno, Nevada to Washington, D.C., 2,600 miles away. After a delayed flight, landing at the wrong airport, and finally joining ten other strangers in a taxi at 1:00 a.m. in the morning, I made it to my destination.

 

Luckily, the house I was staying at was a short fifteen-minute bus ride to the memorial, so I paid my fee and headed to my first memory. The monument, located at U & 11th Sts NW was easy to spot. It consists of the main monument, the Spirit of Freedom, which honors the African American soldiers and sailors who aided the Union during the Civil War. The monument is surrounded by the Wall of Honor. This wall is filled with the names of all African Americans known to serve during the Civil War.  

The Spirit of Freedom was dedicated on July 18, 1998. However, the process to make this memory last forever began seven years earlier. The Washington, D.C. City Council passed a resolution endorsing the memorial on July 2, 1991. Then, a year later, the U.S. House of Representatives Resolution 320 for the memorial was introduced and four months later, the law was signed. In order to design and build the memorial, the non-profit organization, the African American Civil War Memorial Freedom Foundation, was formed. The $2.6 million bronze memorial was sculpted by artist Ed Hamilton after he was chosen the winner among four finalists (Art Inventories Catalog).

(edhamiltonworks.com)

The sculpture is nine and half tall, with a two foot tall base and features three African American soldiers and one sailor. The soldiers and sailor are seen ready to leave for battle. On the backside of the monument, the family of one son unites to wish him off (edhamiltonworks.com). "According to Hamilton, it is a 'narrative piece. This tells what they are really fighting for'" (theartaround.us).

Surrounding the soldiers are all of their 208,943 (209,145 - AACWMM.com) brothers, fellow soldiers and sailors, who served in the U.S. Colored Troops during the Civil War. The plaques also consist of the 7,000 white officer's names who served alongside the African American and each plaque is in order by regiment (Art Inventories Catalog).