Spirit Of Ninety Eight
The West entry into the Statehouse is symbolically guarded by two renderings of armed men, honoring
Ohioans who served their country in two defining conflicts at the end of the 19th century and the
beginning of the 20th. The Spirit of 98 by IL Jirush was erected in 1928 and honors the twentieth
anniversary of the Spanish American War, a brief conflict that launched the US as world power and
saw the country gain not only territory but prestige.