Memorandum of errors in the Congressional Directory.

           

Subject—  The Capitol extension

p. 153.

 

Thomas U. Walter was the draftsman in the office of Capt M. C. Meiggs, superintending engineer in the construction of the wings of the Capitol on a plan adopted by the Congress & under the direction of the Secty of War.

 

The legislative & committee rooms were completed & in use before 1860.

 

The building is of brick faced or it might be termed weatherboarded with marble slabs obtained, as it is believed from more than one quarry.

 

The Dome. The statue on the top of the dome was not intended to represent Freedom, the crown of feathers was supposed by the artist to typify an Aboriginal & the statue to represent America. It was not modeled by Crawford but by / Hiram Powers, who first presented a model which he allegorically described as representing the Goddess of Liberty having a spear with a Liberty cap on it to this I objected because the liberty cap was the badge of the freedman & as our ancestors had never been slaves, I considered it inappropriate. Mr Powers then so far modified his cartoon as to suppress the Liberty cap & to introduce a headdress of feathers. If the matter has any historical importance & the imprimatur of the Congress would seem to give it, it should at least be historically accurate.

                       

Jefferson Davis

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