Due to an uneasy relationship between the younger Porter and Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles, the monument was not installed in Annapolis.

There were additional pieces that were to be installed, including decorative lampposts and water features, but either due to funding or Welles' intervention, the monument remained unfinished.

People protesting against the Vietnam War, the Three Mile Island accident, and the murder of George Floyd, have gathered at the monument.

After the Civil War, there were plans to erect a significant number of memorials in Washington, D.C., honoring men who served in the Union Army.

Admiral David Dixon Porter wanted to also honor Union Navy sailors amongst the memorials.

His father, Commodore David Porter, had also led a movement to honor United States Navy sailors who fought in the Barbary Wars.

His father's memorial, the Tripoli Monument, was originally placed in the Washington Navy Yard, but it was moved to Annapolis, Maryland, in 1860.

No competition to design the monument was held, as Porter directly selected Franklin Simmons to sculpt the work.

One writer mentioned the parts that were never installed: "Cascades flow from the mouths of bronze dolphins in the sub-base, and four artistic lamp posts stand at the rim of the basin.

The monument is one of eighteen sculptures, fountains, and other memorials related to the Civil War, which were collectively listed on the NRHP on September 20, 1978, and the DCIHS on March 3, 1979.

[5] In 1999, The Washington Post reporter DeNeen L. Brown noted the monument "was missing feet, arms and facial features, eaten away by wind and acid rain and damaged by frequent protesters.

"[13] The monument was vandalized by unknown assailants during the George Floyd protests with spray-painted messages like "BLM," "all pigs will die," and "capitalism must fall."

[14] Before the January 6 United States Capitol attack in 2021, members of the Proud Boys and other rioters gathered around the monument.

[15][16] It is also where flowers and flags were left after the death of United States Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, who died from two strokes after the attack.

[7] In 2022, art and architecture critic Philip Kennicott called for a national memorial to victims of gun violence in the United States.

The square is on the west side of the United States Capitol Complex, which borders the eastern edge of the National Mall.

[5] The sculptures at the top of the monument face west and depict America crying on the shoulder of History, both of whom are wearing classical robes.