The Nashville daily union. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1862-1866, 1864-06-03

A Renaissance OF JEFF. Davis, His Oh.
! JeetIOnS to the Cap OfLiberty -CraW-
fOrd's Statue on the Dome Of the Cap
ltOl at Washington.
lCorrespondence New York Evening Post.I
WASHINGTON, May q. 1864-An in
/ teresting correspondence in reference to
the statue of Liberty on the dome of
the Capitol has just come to light here
/ through instrumentality of Mr.. Rice,
Chairman of the Committee on Public
Buildings and Lands. Mr.. Rice and
other members of the committee
were dissatisfied with the helmet which
crowns the statue and letter was ad-
dressed to Mr. Walter, the architect
Of the Capitol extension, asking him if
it were possible to deplace the helmet
and return TO Mr. Crawford's original
design. Mr. Walter is opposed to any
attempt at improvement now that the
statue is fixed in its place and Mr. Craw-
ford is dead. He submits cOrrespon-
dence between Capt Meigs and Mr..
Crawford and JEFF Davis, which is ex-
tremely interesting. There are letters,
however, which do not appear in this
| correspondence, and which undoubted-
| ly have been lost. In those letters Mr.
Davis objected to the liberty cap as a
part of the statue In June 1855, Mr..
Crawford remitted his first design lie
says: have end 5ored to represent
/ Freedom triumphant in peace and war
the wreath on her head has double
| signifcstion and allusion to this-one-
half of it being composed of wheat
| sprigs, the other half Of laurel.
In October of the same year Mr.
Crawford modified his first design, after
having seen Mr.. Walters plan for the
architecture of the Capitol In Mr..
Crawford's letter to Captain Meigs du-
ring this month occurs the subjoined
singular passage;
1t is quite possible that Mr. Jeffer-
son Davis may, as upon q former Occa-
sion, object to the cap Of liberty and
the faces. | can only say in reply, that
the work is for the people, and they
must be addressed in a language they
understand, and which has become un-
alterable for the masses.
"The emblems allude to can never
be replaced by any invention Of the
artist All that can be done is to add
to them, as l have done, by placing the
circlet of stars around the cap of liberty.
1t thus becomes more picturesque, and
nothing of its generally understood sig
nifcation is lost l might, did time
permit, enter upon a lengthy argument
to show how culpture is limited in the
use of necessaries, and that those only
of the simplest and most ineligible
character can be admitted, particularly
| in works destined for the instruction
and qualification of the public All
arguments, however, must reduce them
selves into the question VIII the peO-
pie understand it2 I, therefore, hope
the Secretary will allow the emblems to
| pass muster
81 have said the statue represents
armed Liberty She rests upon the
shield of our country, the triumph Of
which is made apparent by the wreath
held in the same hand she holds the
sheathed sword, to show the fight is over
for the present, but ready for use when
ever captured The stars upon her
brow indicate her heavenly origin her
position upon the globe represents her
protection Of the American world-the
Justice of whose cause IS made apparent
by the emblem supporting it.
| subjoin Jefferson Davis letter to
| Captain Meigs entire:
WAR DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON,
January 18th, 1856.
SIR The second photograph Of the
statue with which it is proposed to crown
the dome of the Capitol impresses me
most fovorably. Its general grace and
power, striking at first view, has grown
on me as | studied the details
As to the cap l can only say, without
intending to press the objection former
| lv made, that it seems to me that its
history renders it inappropriate to a
people who were born free, and would
not be enslaved.
The language of art, like all living
tongues, is subject to change; thus the
bundle of rods, is no longer employed
to suggest the functions of the Roman
lictor, may lose the symbolic character
| derived therefrom, and be confined TO
the rough Specification drawn from its
other source, the fable teaching the in
structive lesson, that in union there is
strength. But the liberty cap has an
established origin in its use as the badge
Of the freed slave, and though il should
/ have another emblematic meaning to
| daY, recurrence to that origin may
give to it in the future the same popu-
lar a cceptation which it had in the
past
"Why should not armed liberty wear
a helme? Her conflicting being over
her cause triumphant, as shown by the
other emblems Of the statue, the visor
would be up, 50 as to permit as ia the
photograph, the display Of a circle OF
stars-expressive of end as existence
and of heavenly birth.
with these remarks / leave the
the matter 70 the judgment Of Mr.. Craw-
ford and / need hardly say to you,
who know my very high appreciation
Of him, that certainly would not ven
ture, on a question of art, to array my
opinions against his.
every respectfully, our obt sv't,
- JEFFERSON DAVIS,
Secretary Of War
Under date Of March is, lSj6, Mr.
I Crawford writes
81 read with much pleasure the let
ter Of the honorable Secretary, and his
remarks have induced me TO dispense
with the cap and put in its place
helmet. the crest Of which is composed
of an eagles head and bold arrange
ment Of feathers, suggested BY the cos
tune of the Indian tribes.
The dissatisfaction with this jeff
Davis helmet and crest Of feathers is
almost universal here, and it is believed
that in the course Of few years Con
/ gress win return TO the liberty cap in
the original design Of Mr Crawford
2.
A NEw $50 C0USTERFEIr GREESBACK.-
A new counterfeit greenback has made
its appearance, which is not the one
described in the detectOrB, but Is equal
7 " good and wen calculated 20 deceive.