Stephenson Grand Army of the Republic Memorial in Washington D.C.

The Stephenson Grand Army of the Republic Memorial in Washington D.C. is in a prominent location in the nation’s capital. It is at the corner of Indiana Avenue, Pennsylvania Avenue, and 7th Street North in between the Capitol Building and the White House. The Grand Arm of the Republic was the principal veterans’ organization of Union soldiers. The monument honors Benjamin F. Stephenson, a Union surgeon who was believed to have helped found and name the veterans’ group. Scottish immigrant J. Massey Rhind was commissioned to sculpt the work.

The monument is an imposing three sided work, standing 27 feet tall. On the front are sculptures of a Union soldiers and sailor. On the bottom of the sculpture is the word FRATERNITY. Beneath them is a relief depicting Surgeon  Benjamin F. Stephenson, who had passed away in 1871.

Stephenson looks out 150 years after he passed away.

The statues are well-preserved and the monument is well-maintained.

On the next side there is a figure of Loyalty. The word LOYALTY is at the feet of the statue. Beneath that is the phrase “WHO KNEW NO / GLORY BUT HIS / COUNTRY’S GOOD.”

Loyalty here holds a sword and shield.

My camera was overwhelmed by the sunlight on this bright day five years ago. The figures on the third side stand on the work “CHARITY.” Stephenson had originally founded the Grand Army of the Republic to help care for the wounded survivors of the war and for the orphaned children left behind. The sculpture depicts an orphan being cared for by Charity.

Fraternity, Loyalty, and Charity were the watchwords of the Grand Army of the Republic.

Beneath the figures of the orphan and Charity are the words “THE GREATEST / OF THESE IS / CHARITY.”

The monument was dedicated in 1909 by President William Howard Taft at a ceremony attended by many veterans.

 

 

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