All Wars Memorial to Colored Soldiers and Sailors

All Wars Memorial to Colored Soldiers and Sailors is a war memorial in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that honors the state's African American servicemen who fought in American conflicts from the American Revolutionary War to World War I. Commissioned by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1927, it was created by sculptor J. Otto Schweizer and dedicated July 7, 1934. In 1994 it was relocated from a remote site in West Fairmount Park to its present prominent site in Logan Square, along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.

The monument is approximately 21.5 ft (6.55 m) tall, with a base approximately 17 ft (5.18 m) wide and 13.5 ft (4.11 m) deep. It is made of granite and the sculptures are of bronze. The front features a "conspicuously Caucasian" female figure of Justice, who holds a laurel wreath in each hand representing Honor and Reward. On her right side are two soldiers and one sailor and on her left are three soldiers, all in World War I uniforms. The reverse features four (again Caucasian) female figures representing War, Liberty, Peace, and Plenty; a dedication plaque, and a bas relief of the Seal of Pennsylvania. The monument is crowned by four American eagles guarding The Torch of Life. All the bronze figures are approximately 6 ft (1.83 m) tall. Justice stands two steps higher than the others, and there is an inscription below her: "Erected by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in Honor of Her Colored Soldiers." The bronze dedication plaque on the reverse reads: "To Commemorate the Heroism and Sacrifice of All Colored Soldiers Who Served in the Various Wars Engaged in By the United States of America That a Lasting Record Shall Be Made of Their Unselfish Devotion to Duty As an Inspiration to Future Generations ThIs Monument is Dedicated May 30, 1934", followed by a list of commissioners. On the right side of the monument is a bronze shield listing: "American Revolution / Civil War / Indian Wars", and on the left is a shield listing: "Spanish American War / Philippine Insurrection / World War." The monument is located in the southwest quadrant of Logan Square, between 20th Street and the traffic circle, and faces the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. The Franklin Institute is to the west, Moore College of Art is to the south, the main branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia is to the north, and the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul is to the east. Nearby are the Aero Memorial by sculptor Paul Manship (a monument to aviators who died in World War I), the Swann Memorial Fountain at the center of the traffic circle (sculptures by Alexander Stirling Calder), and the Shakespeare Memorial (also by Calder).

In 1925 Samuel Beecher Hart, an African-American state legislator from Philadelphia, introduced a bill in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives to commission a monument honoring 150 years of service in the U.S. military by Pennsylvania African Americans. The Sesquicentennial Exposition, a world's fair celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, was to open in Philadelphia the following year, and Hart's hope may have been that the monument would be one of the fair's attractions. His bill was defeated in 1925, but he resubmitted it in 1927, and it passed. It specified an appropriation of $100,000, but this was reduced to $60,000 in the state senate, then reduced to $50,000 by Governor John Stuchell Fisher. In 1921 Philadelphia had erected twin Civil War monuments – one for soldiers, one for sailors; both modeled by sculptor Hermon Atkins MacNeil and carved by the Piccirilli Brothers – on the newly completed Benjamin Franklin Parkway. The Parkway also was the intended site for the All Wars Memorial.

Monument data from Wikidata (CC0). Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).