POTD 2018/092. Stephenson Grand Army of the Republic Memorial

The Stephenson Grand Army of the Republic Memorial, also known as Dr. Benjamin F. Stephenson, is a public artwork in Washington, D.C. honoring Dr. Benjamin F. Stephenson, founder of the Grand Army of the Republic, a fraternal organization for Union veterans. The memorial is sited at Indiana Plaza, located at the intersection of 7th Street, Indiana Avenue, and Pennsylvania Avenue NW in the Penn Quarter neighborhood. The bronze figures were sculpted by J. Massey Rhind, a prominent 20th century artist. Attendees at the 1909 dedication ceremony included President William Howard Taft, Senator William Warner, and hundreds of Union veterans.

The memorial is one of eighteen Civil War monuments in Washington, D.C., which were collectively listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. The bronze sculptures of Stephenson and allegorical figures are displayed on a triangular granite shaft surmounting a concrete base. The memorial is owned and maintained by the National Park Service.

The triangular shaft, consisting of granite blocks, is 25 ft tall and surmounts a 2-foot concrete base. On each side of the shaft is a bronze relief. On the front (west) side, seen most prominently here, is a relief of a Union soldier and Union sailor symbolizing Fraternity. The soldier is holding a gun with his right hand and to his left, the sailor holds the American flag with his right hand. The word "FRATERNITY" is located on the bottom of the relief. Below the Fraternity relief is a relief bust of Stephenson dressed in military uniform. The bust is displayed on a bronze medallion installed in a circular niche decorated with foliage. Below the Stephenson relief is an inscription flanked by Grand Army of the Republic emblems. On the northeast side of the memorial, seen obliquely to the left, is a relief depicting a woman cloaked in a long robe and cape protecting a small child standing to her left. She is touching the child's shoulder with her left hand and the word "CHARITY" is on the bottom of the relief.

1/1000 sec at f/5.6, ISO 100
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV with Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens at 175mm

I hope you enjoy today's J.W. Remington Photographics' Photo of the Day for April 2, 2018!

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