Testament to Union

Washington's Civil War sculptures bear silent witness to the struggle to preserve the Union. They are the fruit of conscious efforts to shape the nation's memory of that struggle. First published in 1998, Testament to Union is a wonderful guide to these powerful public monuments. Kathryn Allamong Jacob offers individual descriptions of forty-one sculptures, providing a lively and informative guide to some of Washington's most beautiful and moving works of art.
Updated with a map of the featured monuments, this new edition of Testament to Union is an essential resource for tourists, long-time residents, and anyone interested in the Civil War or public art.
"Reading this book makes me want to jump in the car, drive down to Washington and look at these monuments with new eyes. It provides a wonderful example of what historic travel is all about and the way it can add a whole new dimension to a visit."--Historic Traveler
"Rich and fascinating and packed with the kind of detail that can only come with total immersion in a subject, Testament to Union is a Washingtonian's jewel hoard . . . We are, in short, in the hands of a master of anecdote, who leads the reader from one end of the town to the other by the stories and histories behind the sightless faces of the sculptured heroes and their attendant figures."--Washington Times
"Readable and well illustrated . . . Each entry sets the memorial in its political and artistic context and traces the story of its design, construction, and dedication. These accounts are well researched, vivid, and revealing, as Jacob weaves in human stories about controversies, sponsors, and sculptors."--Journal of Southern History
"Jacob's remarkable volume vividly animates our understanding of the resonant connections between art and history within a politically charged civic matrix, and she skillfully conveys the complexities inherent in historical commemoration."--Virginia Magazine of History and Biography
Kathryn Allamong Jacob is curator of manuscripts at the Schlesinger Library at the Radcliffe Institute at Harvard University. She is the author of Capital Elites: Society in Washington, D.C. After the Civil War.Edwin Harlan Remsberg is a photographer who lives in Fallston, Maryland. His photographs appear in Maryland's Vanishing Lives, also published by Johns Hopkins.

Kathryn Allamong Jacob is curator of manuscripts at the Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America at the Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University. She is the author of Testament to Union: Civil War Monuments in Washington, D.C., also published by Johns Hopkins, and Capital Elites: High Society in Washington, D.C., after the Civil War.

Reading this book makes me want to jump in the car, drive down to Washington and look at these monuments with new eyes. It provides a wonderful example of what historic travel is all about and the way it can add a whole new dimension to a visit... Jacob takes what could have been a dry topic and turns it into a fascinating behind-the-pedestals look at 41 Civil War monuments in the nation's capital. -- Tom Huntington, Editor Historic Traveler Rich and fascinating and packed with the kind of detail that can only come with total immersion in a subject, Testament to Union is a Washingtonian's jewel hoard... We are, in short, in the hands of a master of anecdote, who leads the reader from one end of the town to the other by the stories and histories behind the sightless faces of the sculptured heroes and their attendant figures. -- Duncan Spencer Washington Times Readable and well illustrated... Each entry sets the memorial in its political and artistic context and traces the story of its design, construction, and dedication. These accounts are well researched, vivid, and revealing, as Jacob weaves in human stories about controversies, sponsors, and sculptors. -- Catherine W. Bishir Journal of Southern History 2000 Jacob's book is a handsomely produced catalog of the Civil War monuments located in the Washington, D.C., area, with excellent new photographs. -- Kirk Savage Public Historian 1999 Jacob's remarkable volume vividly animates our understanding of the resonant connections between art and history within a politically charged civic matrix, and she skillfully conveys the complexities inherent in historical commemoration. -- Betsy Fahlman Virginia Magazine of History and Biography 1999