During all my visits to the Princeton Battlefield, these pillars have stood in the distance, across the road, significance unknown. I finally walked over recently to have a look.
Two plaques explain that the pillars mark the entry to a tomb where unknown soldiers, both American and British, were buried.
The "portico" was created in 1836 for a house in Philadelphia, then moved to Princeton to become the entry to house near the battlefield called "Mercer Manor", then moved to the battlefield in 1957 in commemoration of the centennial year of the American Institute of Architects. Thomas Ustick Walter, designer of the portico, is best known for having designed the dome of the U.S. Capitol.
The tomb is at the edge of the woods behind the portico. The text tells of those buried there awaiting freedom's future.
On this particular day, the most noticeable interpretation of freedom by visitors was the freedom for some to litter, and others to pick up the mess.
(A botanical interpretation of the visit can be found
here.)
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