Statue of Freedom

The Statue of Freedom—also known as Armed Freedom or simply Freedom—is a bronze statue designed by Thomas Crawford (1814-1857) that, since 1863, has crowned the dome of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. Originally named Freedom Triumphant in War and Peace, official U.S. government publications now state that the statue "is officially known as the Statue of Freedom". The statue depicts a female figure wearing a military helmet and holding a sheathed sword in her right hand and a laurel wreath and shield in her left.