O que nos diz Fernando Pessoa sobre esta peça, no seu guia turístico de Lisboa escrito originalmente em inglês, no ano de 1925:
"Let us go on further, through the tunnel under the railway line; we come to another monument in course of construction. The site is at the end of this Avenue, and the monument is meant to commemorate the Peninsular War Monumento aos Heróis da Guerra Peninsular (Monument to the heroes of the Peninsular War) which in 1808 freed Portugal from foreign domination, and in which so many Portuguese displayed remarkable heroism. This monument will be one of the finest in the country. The first stone was laid in 1908, on the occasion of the first centenary of the popular rising; and the monument was adjudicated in competition to José and Francisco de Oliveira Ferreira, two brothers, the first a sculptor and the second an architect, who sent in a project remarkable for nobility and beauty. The monument will be about 16 metres high. The work of the two Portuguese artists represents Portugal as a castle; a pantheon of men who won renown, a coffer of relics that the people heroically defends. It alludes to the discoveries of Gama and Cabral, and markedly defines, in its aggregate, the patriotic sentiment that inspired it. In its lower part there are several groups of figures that symbolize: in front, the people in revolt, in fierce defence of its past glories; on the left, the effort and turmoil of war; on the back, a lion, popular strength, resting on the debris of combat; on the right, the ruins of humble dwellings, a sacked church, and a girl kneeling by her father, both weeping the ill fate that has come upon them. The tombs of Portuguese ancestors are also seen. The aggregate is crowned by an allegoric group - the Portuguese wresting their flag from the claws of the imperial eagle, to give it back to their own victorious country. All the lower groups, and the pedestal, will be of white marble from Pero Pinheiro, and the chief group of bronze, cast in the Army Arsenal. All the sculpture work was executed by José de Oliveira Ferreira in his studio at Praia de Miramar."
Fernando Pessoa - Lisbon, What the tourist should see