Soldiers and Sailors Monument ( Lancaster , Pennsylvania ) The Soldiers and Sailors Monument is a tall Gothic Revival memorial which stands in Penn Square in downtown Lancaster , Pennsylvania . It was dedicated on July 4 , 1874 , at its present site on the Northeast intersection of King and Queen Streets . The monument ' s original intention was to pay tribute to Lancastrian Union soldier s killed during the American Civil War . However , today the Soldiers and Sailors Monument also represents those who have served in subsequent American military conflicts . The 1744 Treaty of Lancaster between the British and Iroquois was signed in the old Lancaster courthouse which stood on the site of the monument at the time . The Soldiers and Sailors Monument also stands on the exact spot where the Second Continental Congress met during the American Revolutionary War on September 27 , 1777 , in the old Lancaster Courthouse . The courthouse later burned down in 1784 . The monument has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since April 2 , 1973 . Description . The Lancaster Soldiers and Sailors Monument features a tall Rhode Island , rectangular granite pillar topped with a statue of a robed woman on a pedestal known as the " The Genius of Liberty " . The Genius of Liberty holds a drawn sword and a shield . Her head is crowned with stars . She faces north which , according to legend , allows her to turn her back on the former Confederate States of America , which were defeated in the war . Statues of four men representing the four branches of the American armed services surround the granite shaft near its base . The four branches represented by the men are the United States Navy , United States Army , Artillery and the United States Cavalry . The names of several Civil War battles are carved on the monument ' s central granite pillar , as the memorial ' s original intent was to honor those killed in that particular war . The inscriptions include the Battle of Antietam , the Battle of Chickamauga , the Battle of Gettysburg , the Battle of Malvern Hill , the Battle of Petersburg and the Battle of the Wilderness . Several bronze plaques have been added to the Soldiers and Sailors Monument since its construction , memorializing members of the American armed forces . One plaque specifically commemorates the role of African Americans in the military . Other separate plaques honor those killed in World War I , World War II , the Korean War , Vietnam War and the Persian Gulf War . The base of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument is carved with the inscription , " Erected by the people of Lancaster County / To the memory of their fellow citizens who fell / in defense of the Union / in the War of the Rebellion / 1861 – 1865 " History . The idea for a memorial to Lancasterian Union soldiers killed during the American Civil War was conceived soon after the end of hostilities in 1865 . The funding for the memorial was championed by a women ' s civic organization called the Patriot Daughters of Lancaster and its leader , Rosina Hubley . The Patriot Daughters of Lancaster held a ladies fundraising fair sale in December 1867 at the nearby Fulton Hall , now called the Fulton Opera House , to help finance the construction of the proposed monument . The event raised approximately US $ 3 , 500 the ultimate goal of $ 20 , 000 . The remaining funds for the monument ' s construction were raised through either military taxes and funds released by the Lancaster County Treasury or through private donations . The total cost of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument is believed to be $ 26 , 000 at the time . Centre Square , as the present - day Penn Square was called at the time , was chosen as the site of the new Soldiers and Sailors Monument . The monument was formally commissioned on November 4 , 1872 . It was formally unveiled and dedicated on July 4 , 1874 , and was originally surrounded by stockade fencing and dirt streets at the time . President Ulysses S . Grant sent his regrets for being unable to attend the ceremony . The large crowd which watched the dedication included Civil War veterans and a group of girls from the Mount Joy Soldiers Orphan Home . The Soldiers and Sailors Monument was officially dedicated at 1 : 00 pm while the girls from the orphanage sang " My Father ' s Grave " . The Genius of Liberty on top of the monument was drapped in an American flag . Rosina Hubley , who had led the efforts to construct the Soldiers and Sailors Monument , remarked on July 4 , 1874 , that she believed it would be a " perpetual reminder to all people of the country as they gather week - to - week to barter and chaffer in the market place , that there is something higher and better than self or produce , bargains or bank notes . " An iron fence and granite wall enclosure were added to the monument in 1877 , replacing the original picket fence . The monument was sandblasted and cleaned in both 1905 and 1924 . A plaque containing the Gettysburg Address and a picture of Abraham Lincoln were added on June 8 , 1931 . New lights were placed on the monument in 1956 , 1972 and again in the early 2000s . A proposal was floated during the 1950s to relocate the monument to an alternative site in a city park in order to ease traffic congestion in downtown Lancaster . However , the relocation idea was abandoned and the memorial remained at its original location . Traffic passed around all four sides of the monument until the 1970s . A new traffic pattern was devised for Penn Square and the monument in 1972 . A brick plaza was constructed in tandem with the expansion of the nearby Fulton Bank building , closing off traffic on the monument ' s northeast corner and opening it to pedestrian s . The size of the monument ' s base was shrunk from its original down to as part of the reroute of traffic . The iron railing , added in 1877 , was removed and new granite curbing was added to protect the monument from traffic collisions . On November 12 , 1978 , a woman committed suicide by crashing her car into the monument , causing damage to the sailor statue , which represents the United States Navy . The sailor statue ' s base and legs were repaired using cement . The new $ 170 million , Lancaster County Convention Center and 300 room Marriott Hotel opened directly across the street from the monument on April 21 , 2009 . The historic Lancaster Central Market , constructed in 1889 , and the W . W . Griest Building stand just to the northwest .