Battle Monument

The Battle Monument, located in Battle Monument Park on Calvert Street between Fayette and Lexington Streets in Baltimore, Maryland, commemorates the Battle of Baltimore and honors those who died during the month of 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 Calvert Street.

The monument, designed by Baltimore architect Maximilian Godefroy and built in 1815-25, is 39 feet tall and is unusual in having an Egyptian Revival cenotaph base which suggests a tomb. The eighteen layers of the marble 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.

The monument is topped by a marble statue by Antonio Capellano of a female figure representing Baltimore that wears a crown of victory and holds in one hand a laurel wreath and in the other a ship's rudder.

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.

The monument is erroneously depicted as being in Washington, D.C. in the film Live Free or Die Hard.

The Battle Monument was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 4, 1973. It is contained within the Business and Government Historic District and is within the Baltimore National Heritage Area.