General Artemas Ward Memorial

General Artemas Ward Memorial

NPS / Claire Hassler

Quick Facts

Location:

Northwest Washington, DC

Amenities

1 listed

Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits

General Artemas Ward was a military officer in the French and Indian War and the American Revolution. He also had a career in politics and law in Massachusetts.
The model for the face of General Ward was the life portrait by Charles Wilson Peale in Independence Hall at Philadelphia. General Ward was the first Commander-in-Chief of the American Armies in the Revolutionary War. He was relieved by General Washington at Boston. Erected by the President and Fellows of Harvard College.

Cost: $50,000
Dedicated: 1938
Sculptor: Leonard Crunelle

Memorial Description

The Ward Memorial is located in the middle of a traffic circle at the intersection of Nebraska and Massachusetts Avenues, in Northwest Washington, DC. The circle, totaling thirty-thousand square feet, is centered around a statue of Major General Artemas Ward. This memorial to General Ward is a bronze standing figure and shows the General in a Continental Army uniform. It is on a granite pedestal. This location is very difficult to access, with no walkways and constant busy traffic around the circle.

Inscriptions
ARTEMAS WARD / 1727-1800 / SON OF MASSACHUSETTS / GRADUATE OF HARVARD COLLEGE / JUDGE AND LEGISLATOR / DELEGATE 1780-1781 TO THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS / SOLDIER OF THREE WARS / FIRST COMMANDER OF THE PATRIOT FORCES