Monument City Blog

N Howard Street & W Preston Street (Street View)

GPS: 39° 18′ 16.45″ N 76° 37′ 15.49″ W

History

This monument is dedicated to two Maryland winners of the Congressional Medal of Honor during service in World War I: Charles Hazeltine Hammann, an ensign in the Air Service of the US Navy, and Henry Gilbert Costin, a private in the Army.

During an aerial engagement off the coast of Italy on the 21st of August in 1918, Ensign Hammann landed his seaplane to rescue a downed pilot, Ensign George M. Ludlow, though his plane was not designed to carry the double load and there was imminent danger of attack by Austrian planes. The pair flew to safety. Two ships were named the USS Hammann in his honor and served during WWII.

Private Costin, a member of Company H, 115th Infantry, was slain in battle during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive near Bois-de-Consenvoye. His platoon was being held up by an enemy machine gun entrenchment. Costin was first to volunteer to storm the nest against heavy artillery, mortar and machine gun fire. He died shortly after the successful attack which resulted in the capture of over 100 enemy soldiers and several machine guns.

Notes

This monument is located in Congressional Medal of Honor Park, located at Preston Street and Park Avenue, where it loops around to intersect with Howard Street. At the top of the memorial is a sculpture of a flame and on either side rests a mortar.

Nearby

• ‘To the Glory of Maryland’ Monument
• Francis Scott Key Monument
• Maryland Line Monument

Links

• On Flickr [2] & Panoramio
• Maryland Medal of Honor recipients

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Location

Mount Royal Terrace between Mosher & Lafayette (Street View)

GPS: 39° 18′ 31.75″ N 76° 37′ 21.03″ W

History

Known as the “Spirit of the Confederacy,” this monument reads upon the front face of the pedestal, “Gloria Victis,” or “Glory to the Vanquished.” Though this sculpture is by Frederic Wellington Ruckstull and was dedicated in February of 1903, “Gloria Victis” is also the title of a 1874 sculpture at the National Gallery in Washington, DC by artist Antonin Mercie commemorating France’s loss in the Franco-Prussian War. Mercie is the sculptor responsible for the nearby Francis Scott Key Monument in Bolton Hill.

Notes

The monument stands between Mt Royal Avenue proper, and Mt Royal Terrace, a parallel access street for residents of the Bolton Hill neighborhood. Nearby stand several buildings of the Maryland Institute, College of Art. The sculpture is composed of two figures: the allegorical figure of Glory with wings outstretched, who holds aloft a laurel wreath in one hand, and in the other supports a soldier whose strength is failing him. His flag is lowered and he seems near defeat.

Nearby

• Watson Memorial
• Francis Scott Key Monument in Bolton Hill
• Maryland Line Monument
• WWI Medal of Honor Memorial

Links

• On Panoramio & Flickr
• Photograph of Monument’s erection on MDHS
• Two entries for this monument at the Smithsonian index, the second being more complete
• “Battling Monuments“, an overview of Civil War monuments by the City Paper

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Location

Cathedral Street & W Mount Royal Avenue (Street View)

GPS: 39° 18′ 20.35″ N 76° 37′ 7.58″ W

History

Sculpted by Albert L. Van den Berghen (variously attributed as Vander Bergen), this monument was dedicated on Peggy Stewart Day, October 19, 1901, to the “Bayonets of the Continental Army.” The name of this memorial references the state’s nickname of “The Old Line State.” The 60 foot tall columnar monument was sponsored by the Maryland chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution and the figure depicted high atop the column is the Goddess of Liberty, who holds unfurled the Declaration of Independence in one hand and a laurel wreath in the other. The state motto of Maryland, actually an Italian phrase and not Latin, adorns one of the four decorative plaques at the base of this monument, Fatti maschii, parole femine, the official state-sanctioned translation of which is “Strong Deeds, Gentle Words.”

Notes

Located across the street from the Lyric Opera House, home of the now-defunct Baltimore Opera Company, the Maryland Line Monument is centrally located during the city’s annual Artscape festival. Across the street is the Maryland Institute College of Art’s “Station Building,” or Mount Royal Station, a former B&O passenger train station erected in 1896 and renovated for academic use in 1966.”

Nearby

• Spirit of the Confederacy
• Francis Scott Key Monument in Bolton Hill
• Col. Watson Memorial
• Edgar Allan Poe Monument
• WWI Medal of Honor Memorial

Links

• On Panoramio & Flickr [2]
• At the Smithsonian

[Source]

The Francis Scott Key Monument, which is undergoing renovation in Eutaw Place at Lanvale Street in Bolton Hill, will be a stop on a planned downtown Star-Spangled Banner Walking Tour. This proposed mini-tour will link to the larger 200-mile planned Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail that has been under consideration by Congress after being proposed by Senator Paul S. Sarbanes of Maryland.