United States Capitol Rotunda - Frieze of American History

This is the first panel and the only allegorical one, portraying a personification of America, wearing a liberty cap, with spear and shield in the center, surrounded by other allegorical figures. To the right is an Indian maiden with a bow and arrows, representing the wild North American continent. At America's feet is a the female personification of History, with a stone tablet to record events. To the left of History is an eagle, perched on a fasces, the ancient Roman bundle of birch rods symbolizing authority. To the left of America is another eagle, carrying the olive branch of peace. To the center-left in the background is a man in same pose as the prospector at the end of "Discovery of Gold in California"; this is because Brumidi planned to have the scene connect with his planned last one.

Christopher Columbus is depicted arriving in the Americas in the first of four scenes of the Spanish conquest. Columbus disembarks off a plank from the Santa María. His crew, armed with weapons, stays aboard; one crew member has a spyglass. Native Americans are portrayed greeting Columbus. Indian women and children are shown, along with native warriors to the right. The Columbus figure may have been based on Luigi Persico statue of Columbus, which was at the time of the painting the on the east central steps of the Capitol.

This panel shows the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés entering an Aztec temple, being welcomed by Moctezuma II. At the beginning of the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, Moctezuma and the Aztecs honored Cortés as a god, believing that he was the returning god Quetzalcoatl. The Aztec calendar stone and cult images are based on sketches drawn by Brumidi in Mexico City.

Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro is depicted leading his horse through the jungle in search of El Dorado, the mythical land of gold, in this representation of the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire.

This panel depict the burial of Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto in the Mississippi River after his death from a fever. De Soto led the largest European expedition of both 15th and 16th centuries through the Southeast and Midwest searching for gold, silver, and other valuables.

Pocahontas is portrayed saving Captain John Smith, one of the founders of Jamestown, Virginia, from being clubbed to death.

Pilgrims led by William Brewster give thanks to God for their safe voyage aboard the Mayflower in this scene depicting Plymouth Colony.

Quaker leader and Province of Pennsylvania founder William Penn is depicted with Lenape (Delaware) Native Americans under the elm tree at Shackamaxon. This is the last panel on which Brumidi worked.

This panel shows New England settlers busily logging, sawing, and using lumber to construct a building. This is the first scene painted entirely by Filippo Costaggini.

James Oglethorpe, founder of Georgia Colony and first Georgia governor, is shown with the Muskogee (Creek) leaders in Savannah, Georgia. The Muskogee present Oglethorpe with a buffalo skin with an eagle in the center, a symbol of friendship and trust.

This panel depicts the "shot heard 'round the world" at the Battle of Lexington, the first major battle of the American Revolutionary War. Major John Pitcairn is shown on horseback at center, with British Army or Royal Marines troops to the right and Lexington militiamen at left.

Idealized depiction of John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin, authors of the Declaration of Independence, reading the declaration to celebrating colonists.

Depiction of George Washington on horseback receiving the ceremonial sword of surrender from Charles O'Hara, who represented Lord Cornwallis after the final British defeat at the Battle of Yorktown. In reality, it is thought that Washington declined O'Hara's sword because according to the custom of the time it would only be proper for Washington to receive the sword from Cornwallis himself; Major General Benjamin Lincoln instead accepted the sword.

This panel depicts the death of Shawnee chief and Indian Confederation leader Tecumseh at the Battle of the Thames in Upper Canada during the War of 1812 (partially an extension of Tecumseh's War).

U.S. Army troops led by Winfield Scott enter Mexico City after the fall of Mexico City, which ended the Mexican-American War with a decisive American victory. The 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which provided for the massive Mexican Cession of territory in what is now the Western United States.

Prospectors dig and pan for gold with picks, shovels, and other tools in this depiction of the California Gold Rush. In the center, three men (one possibly representing John Sutter) examine a prospector's pan. This was the last scene designed by Brumidi and painted by Costaggini.

This scene, the first of Allyn Cox's three panels, depicts a Confederate soldier and a Union soldier shaking hands at the end of the American Civil War, symbolizing reconciliation and reunification. The cotton plant and the Northern pine tree symbolize the South and the North.

A group of United States Navy sailors in a gun crew are depicted in a naval battle during the Spanish–American War. and the United States won a victory over Spain in the war. The 1898 Treaty of Paris provided for Cuba's independence from Spain and the American acquisition of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines.

This scene depicts the Wright brothers' first flight at Kitty Hawk in 1903. The Wright Flyer is shown just off the ground, with Orville Wright in the plane and Wilbur Wright running alongside to steady the wing. To the left are Leonardo da Vinci, Samuel Pierpont Langley, and Octave Chanute, other aviation pioneers, holding models of other Early flying machines. An eagle holds an olive branch in the bottom right.