The Battle Monument, located in Battle Monument Square on
North Calvert Street between
East Fayette and
East Lexington Streets in
Baltimore, Maryland
Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...
, commemorates the
Battle of Baltimore, with the
British fleet of the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
's bombardment of
Fort McHenry, the
Battle of North Point, southeast of the city in
Baltimore 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 now
Patterson Park since 1827, east of town.
It honors those who died in September 1814, during the
War of 1812. The monument lies in the middle of the street and is between the two
Baltimore 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 Mayor
Edward Johnson and military commanders: Brig. Gen.
John Stricker, Maj. Gen.
Samuel Smith and Lt. Col.
George Armistead (of
Fort McHenry).
Construction
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 planned
Washington Monument
The Washington Monument is an obelisk on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate George Washington, a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father of the United States, victorious commander-in-chief of the Continen ...
. Designed by
Robert Mills (1781–1855), the cornerstone of the Washington Monument for Baltimore had just been laid on
Independence Day
An independence day is an annual event memorialization, commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or Sovereign state, statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or after the end of a milit ...
, 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. 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 architect
J. Maximilian M. Godefroy, sculptor to the Court of Spain. The base of the monument is an
Egyptian Revival cenotaph. It is an unusually democratic monument for the time in that it records the names of all who died, regardless of rank.
[Dorsey, John & Dilts, James D., ''Guide to Baltimore Architecture'' (1997) p. 145-146. Tidewater Publishers, Centreville, Maryland ] The eighteen layers of the
marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...
base represent the eighteen states that made up the United States at the time of the war. A
griffin is at each corner of the base. The column, carved as a Roman
fasces, 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.
Female statue
The monument is topped by an 8 feet tall 2,750 pound
Carrara marble statue by Antonio Capellano, of a female figure representing the City of Baltimore wearing a crown of victory, holding a
laurel wreath
A laurel wreath is a symbol of triumph, a wreath (attire), wreath made of connected branches and leaves of the bay laurel (), an aromatic broadleaf evergreen. It was also later made from spineless butcher's broom (''Ruscus hypoglossum'') or cher ...
in one hand and a ship's
rudder
A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, airship, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (usually air or water). On an airplane, the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw ...
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.
Colloquially
Colloquialism (also called ''colloquial language'', ''colloquial speech'', ''everyday language'', or ''general parlance'') is the linguistic style used for casual and informal communication. It is the most common form of speech in conversation am ...
called ''Lady Baltimore'', the statue was relocated to the
Maryland Historical Society on October 5, 2013, in order to preserve it from further damage caused by time and nature. It was replaced by a
concrete
Concrete is a composite material composed of aggregate bound together with a fluid cement that cures to a solid over time. It is the second-most-used substance (after water), the most–widely used building material, and the most-manufactur ...
replica
A replica is an exact (usually 1:1 in scale) copy or remake of an object, made out of the same raw materials, whether a molecule, a work of art, or a commercial product. The term is also used for copies that closely resemble the original, without ...
. The monument is the oldest stone monument and first public war memorial in the United States.
Seal of Baltimore
The monument is depicted on the
seal of the City of Baltimore that was adopted in 1827 and the
city's flag adopted in the early 20th century.
File:Seal of Baltimore, Maryland.svg, Seal of the City of Baltimore with the Column.
File:Flag of Baltimore, Maryland.svg, Baltimore City's flag with the column.
Depictions in film
The monument is erroneously depicted as being in
Washington, D.C. in the 2007 film ''
Live Free or Die Hard'' starring
Bruce Willis, which had numerous scenes actually filmed in downtown Baltimore.
Inclusion in heritage registries
The Battle Monument was placed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
on June 4, 1973.
It is contained within the
Business and Government Historic District and is within the
Baltimore National Heritage Area.
See also
*
Egyptian revival
*
List of public art in Baltimore
*
Washington Monument (Baltimore)
*
Flag of Baltimore
References
External links
*, including photo in 1985, at Maryland Historical Trust website
*
*
Battle Monumentat Explore Baltimore Heritage
Battle Monument On Monument City
Incredible 1846 Photo of Battle Monument- Ghosts of Baltimore blog
{{Streets in Baltimore
1825 establishments in Maryland
Buildings and structures completed in 1825
1820s in Baltimore
1822 sculptures
Baltimore National Heritage Area
Monuments and memorials on the National Register of Historic Places in Baltimore
Downtown Baltimore
Egyptian Revival architecture in the United States
Historic American Buildings Survey in Baltimore
Maximilian Godefroy buildings
Outdoor sculptures in Baltimore
Baltimore City Landmarks
Statues of women in the United States