Services of the Union in the Civil War (Medical Forces)

A straightforward and visually understated depiction of the walking wounded, this bas-relief highlights the heroic service of the Union Army medical corps during the Civil War.  This subject matter was of particular importance to the Pension Bureau clientele, many of whom were wounded during the war and frequented the building upon its completion.  Considered an especially successful treatment of the subject, a copy of this relief can also be found in a place of honor over the exterior ceremonial north entrance of the building.

Constructed between 1882 and 1887, the Pension Building provided much needed space for the U.S. Pension Bureau following the Civil War.  Supervising architect-engineer General Montgomery Meigs envisioned a building adorned with a classically inspired monumental frieze, depicting the men who served, suffered, and sacrificed on behalf of the Union in the Civil War.  In order to make this enormous frieze economically feasible, Meigs commissioned artist Caspar Buberl to carve six interchangeable panels, which were then duplicated by the Boston Terra Cotta Company to wrap the 1,200 foot long facade.  The plaster casts seen here were taken from Buberl’s original sculpted clay panels, and were utilized during construction as the benchmarks against which to check the many terra cotta copies arriving on site.