Collage of historical images and cartoons of the American Civil War

Visual Culture of the American Civil WarA Special Feature of Picturing US History

African American Civil War Memorial (The Spirit of Freedom), Washington, D.C.

In 1993, The District of Columbia Commission on the Arts and Humanities commissioned a new memorial to African-American soldiers and sailors who fought in the Civil War. The African American Civil War Memorial Freedom Foundation and Museum developed the memorial as well as the African American Civil War Museum, which opened in 2011. Sculptor Ed Hamilton created the memorial that depicts three infantrymen and a sailor defending Freedom on one side and a soldier with his family on the other. The memorial includes a curved wall inscribed with the names of the African Americans who served in the war. The memorial was completed in 1997 and stands in the Shaw neighborhood of Washington, D.C., near Howard University.In 1993, The District of Columbia Commission on the Arts and Humanities commissioned a new memorial to African-American soldiers and sailors who fought in the Civil War. The African American Civil War Memorial Freedom Foundation and Museum developed the memorial as well as the African American Civil War Museum, which opened in 2011. Sculptor Ed Hamilton created the memorial that depicts three infantrymen and a sailor defending Freedom on one side and a soldier with his family on the other. The memorial includes a curved wall inscribed with the names of the African Americans who served in the war. The memorial was completed in 1997 and stands in the Shaw neighborhood of Washington, D.C., near Howard University.

URL: http://www.nps.gov/afam/photosmultimedia/photogallery.htm

Creator: Ed Hamilton

Source: African American Civil War Memorial and Museum, Washington, D.C.

Date: 1998