Admiral Samuel F. Dupont Memorial Fountain

Admiral Samuel F. Dupont Memorial Fountain

National Park Service photo by Nathan Adams

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Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Picnic Table, Public Transit, Wheelchair Accessible

Dupont Circle, along with its central public fountain, is named for Rear Admiral Samuel F. Dupont, who served in the Union Navy during the Civil War. Born in 1803 at Berge Point, New Jersey, Dupont joined the Navy at age 12 and steadily rose through the ranks. He was promoted to captain in 1856 and sent on a mission to China the following year.

When the Civil War began in 1861, Dupont commanded the Philadelphia Navy Yard, providing critical support to the Union. At that time, Washington, D.C., was isolated: Virginia was part of the Confederacy, Maryland’s loyalty was uncertain, and the city’s main railroad and telegraph line to Baltimore had been cut by secessionists. Dupont sent forces to occupy Annapolis, ensuring a safer passage for reinforcements.

Later in 1861, Dupont took command of the South Atlantic Blockade Squadron. On November 7, he and General Thomas W. Sherman captured Port Royal, South Carolina. He was promoted to rear admiral in 1862. However, after an unsuccessful ironclad attack on Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina, Dupont was relieved of command and retired to Wilmington, Delaware, where he died in 1865. Despite this setback, he remained popular in Wilmington.

In 1882, at the request of Wilmington residents, Congress commissioned a bronze statue in his honor for downtown Washington, D.C., then called Pacific Circle. Sculpted by Launt Thompson, the statue depicted Dupont standing with binoculars. It was unveiled on December 20, 1884, to massive cheering, with the figure draped in an American flag and bunting decorating nearby buildings. In 1917, however, at the request of the Dupont family, the statue was moved to Wilmington, where it remains today.

To honor Dupont in the capital, a new memorial fountain was commissioned. Designed by Henry Bacon and sculpted by Daniel Chester French, who also designed the Lincoln Memorial and created the statue of President Lincoln, respectively, the fountain features a bowl held aloft by three allegorical figures—The Sea, The Wind, and The Stars. The Dupont Fountain was completed in 1921 and stands today as a central feature of Dupont Circle.