The Tripoli Monument is the oldest military monument in the United States. It honors heroes of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

from the

First Barbary War The First Barbary War (1801–1805), also known as the Tripolitan War and the Barbary Coast War, was a conflict during the Barbary Wars, in which the United States and Sweden fought against Tripolitania. Tripolitania had declared war against Sw ...

(1801–1805):

Master Commandant Master commandant was a rank within the early United States Navy. Both the Continental Navy, started in 1775, and the United States Navy created by the United States Congress, in 1796, had just two commissioned ranks, lieutenant and captain. Maste ...

Richard Somers Richard Somers (September 15, 1778 – September 4, 1804) was an officer of the United States Navy, killed during an assault on Tripoli during the First Barbary War. Early career Born at Great Egg Harbor, New Jersey, he attended the Episc ...

, Lieutenant James Caldwell, James Decatur (brother of Capt.

Stephen Decatur Stephen Decatur Jr. (; January 5, 1779 – March 22, 1820) was an American naval officer and commodore. He was born on the eastern shore of Maryland in Worcester County. His father, Stephen Decatur Sr., was a commodore in the Unite ...

), Henry Wadsworth,

Joseph Israel The first USS ''Israel'' (DD-98) was a in the United States Navy during World War I and the years following. Namesake Joseph Israel was born c. 1780. He entered the Navy as Midshipman on 15 January 1801. He served on during the Quasi-War with ...

, and John Sword Dorsey. It was carved in

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn (pronou ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

in 1806 and brought to the United States on board the famous 1797 frigate ("Old Ironsides"). From its original installation in the

Washington Navy Yard The Washington Navy Yard (WNY) is the former shipyard and ordnance plant of the United States Navy in Southeast Washington, D.C. It is the oldest shore establishment of the U.S. Navy. The Yard currently serves as a ceremonial and administrativ ...

at the new national capital of

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

in 1808, it was later moved to the west front terrace of the

United States Capitol The United States Capitol, often called The Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the seat of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, which is formally known as the United States Congress. It is located on Capitol Hill ...

facing the

National Mall The National Mall is a Landscape architecture, landscaped park near the Downtown, Washington, D.C., downtown area of Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States. It contains and borders a number of museums of the Smithsonian Institut ...

in 1831, and finally to the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

campus in

Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...

in 1860.

Description

The monument is made of

Carrara marble Carrara marble, Luna marble to the Romans, is a type of white or blue-grey marble popular for use in sculpture and building decor. It has been quarried since Roman times in the mountains just outside the city of Carrara in the province of Massa ...

with a

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

base and measures . It is also known as the U. S. Naval Monument, the Naval Monument, and the Peace Monument. The designer was Giovanni Charles Micali (sometimes Giovanni Carlo Micali), who signed his work as ''Giov. Charles Micali Invento·In Livorno 1806''.

Inscriptions

On the north side of the monument's base is Micali's signature as described above. On the west side of the monument's base is inscribed: On the east side of the monument's base: On the south side of the monument's base: On each face of the larger bottom base is inscribed: Near the monument is a brass historical plaque placed there after a restoration undertaken in 2000. The first two paragraphs of the plaque are

History of the monument

The Tripoli Monument with cadets in foreground, by Chase, W

At the conclusion of the

(1801–1805),

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

David Porter, USN assumed the task of creating a suitable monument for the fallen officers. Working with the

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

, Porter commissioned Micali to produce the piece for $3000, half of Micali's usual fee. Completed in 1806, it was shipped across the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...

on board the (famous frigate "Old Ironsides"), and then shipped south to the newly laid out national capital of

After awaiting funds for assembly and erection, the structure was finally placed at the

on the banks of the Eastern Branch (now the

Anacostia River The Anacostia River is a river in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States. It flows from Prince George's County in Maryland into Washington, D.C., where it joins with the Washington Channel to empty into the Potomac River at Buzzard Point. ...

) of the

Potomac River The Potomac River () drains the Mid-Atlantic United States, flowing from the Potomac Highlands into Chesapeake Bay. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map. Retrieved Augus ...

, as the ''Naval Monument''. Vandalized and damaged by the occupying

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

at the

burning of Washington The Burning of Washington was a British invasion of Washington City (now Washington, D.C.), the capital of the United States, during the Chesapeake Campaign of the War of 1812. It is the only time since the American Revolutionary War that a ...

in August 1814, during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

, the monument was later restored. In 1831, it was moved to the

on the west front facing the

, much to the dissatisfaction of Porter, who found it had "been placed in a small circular pond of dirty fresh water—not large enough for a duck puddle—to represent the Mediterranean Sea." Resolution came in 1860 when the monument was moved to the campus of the

U.S. Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of ...

. Even there, as the Academy expanded, the monument was moved and relocated several times around campus, before finally being situated in front the Academy's Officers' and Faculty Club. In August 1994, the

Smithsonian American Art Museum The Smithsonian American Art Museum (commonly known as SAAM, and formerly the National Museum of American Art) is a museum in Washington, D.C., part of the Smithsonian Institution. Together with its branch museum, the Renwick Gallery, SAAM holds o ...

noted that the ''Tripoli Monument'' needed treatment. The needed restoration of the monument was completed in June 2000. There is some conjecture that the figures of ''Glory'', ''History'', ''Commerce'', and ''Fame'' are not in Micali's original positions. The adjustment may have occurred in the transition to the Capitol in 1831.

References

External links

*{{cite web, title=Object #18: The Tripoli Monument, url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJK1YeZiMYo, publisher=

U.S. Naval Academy Museum The United States Naval Academy Museum is a public maritime museum in Annapolis, Maryland, United States. A part of the United States Naval Academy, it is located at Preble Hall within the Academy premises. The museum has an area of with four ...

, accessdate=8 May 2014, author=A History of the Navy in 100 Objects, format=video Monuments and memorials in Maryland 1806 sculptures

Buildings A building, or edifice, is an enclosed structure with a roof and walls standing more or less permanently in one place, such as a house or factory (although there's also portable buildings). Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and funct ...

Vandalized works of art in Maryland 1808 establishments in Maryland