Commanding the driveway stands the equestrian statue of Washington,
executed by Thomas Crawford and cast in Munich at a cost of $100,000.
Chief Justice John Marshall headed the committee to raise the
subscriptions, beginning the work in 1817 when the city boasted less
than 6,000 white inhabitants. The monument was unveiled in 1858. Around
the central figure of Washington are statues of some of Virginia’s
famous sons, builders of the nation as well as of their state: Patrick
Henry, George Mason, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Nelson, John Marshall, and
Andrew Lewis. It was at the base of this statue that the second
inauguration of Jefferson Davis as President of the Confederate States
of America took place, February 22, 1862.
[Illustration: _Washington Monument_]