The cost of the statue, exclusive of installation, was $23,796.82. It was temporarily displayed on the Capitol grounds. Beginning in 1860, the statue was cast in five main sections by Clark Mills, and finished by the end of 1862.

The model, packed into six crates, was shipped from Italy in 1858, arriving after some delay in March of 1859. He died in 1857 before the model left his studio. Walter's drawing showed the outline of a statue representing Liberty Crawford proposed an allegorical figure of 'Freedom triumphant in War and Peace.' Crawford was commissioned to design the Statue of Freedom in 1855 and executed the plaster model for the statue in his studio in Rome. Walter's original drawing for the new cast-iron dome, which was authorized in 1855. A monumental statue for the top of the national Capitol appeared in Architect Thomas U. The bronze statue stands 19 feet 6 inches tall and weighs approximately 15,000 pounds. Ten bronze points tipped with platinum are attached to her headdress, shoulders, and shield for protection from lightning. The lower part of the base is decorated with fasces and wreaths. She stands on a cast-iron globe encircled with the national motto, E Pluribus Unum.

A brooch inscribed 'U.S.' secures her fringed robes. Her helmet is encircled by stars and features a crest composed of an eagle's head, feathers, and talons, a reference to the costume of Native Americans. Her right hand rests upon the hilt of a sheathed sword her left holds a laurel wreath of victory and the shield of the United States with thirteen stripes. The statue is a classical female figure of Freedom wearing flowing draperies. Significance: The bronze Statue of Freedom by Thomas Crawford is the crowning feature of the dome of the United States Capitol.

Freedom statue capitol