Union Generals George B. McClellan and Joseph Hooker were among the estimated 25,000 people attending the dedication on Boston Common.

The monument is neoclassical in design, taking the form of a victory column carved of Hallowell white granite.

The fourth tablet, entitled The Return from the War, shows a regiment of veterans marching by the State House to present their battle flags to Governor John Albion Andrew.

Above the bas-relief tablets at the base of the column are four 8-foot (2.4 m) carved granite figures representing the northern, southern, eastern and western sections of the reunited nation.

[1] Bronze statues stand on the corners of the monument to represent peace, holding an olive branch and facing south; history, holding a book and gazing skyward; a sailor, clad in a navy uniform and gazing toward the sea; and the citizen-soldier, wearing an army uniform and standing at ease.