Our vision is to secure a national monument for all American Civil War Veterans buried in the United Kingdom (UK) that serves as an act of remembrance for their involvement in the conflict, and post-war struggles. After their return to the UK many veterans struggled with mental and physical ill-health related to their service. Many lived in poverty, often in workhouses, and relied on the goodwill of peers who had served too. One veteran was Ensign John Davis, a London City Mission worker, and former veteran himself. John managed to connect over 100 former veterans living across London. He formed the London Branch of American Civil War Veterans in 1910 for peer support, fellowship and to share experiences that would also help secure Federal Pensions.

It is the London Branches philosophy of raising awareness and recognition of service that underpins the aims of the Association. The London branch were successful in helping to secure for some veterans their Federal Pensions. However, despite their success many were buried in unmarked plots. The association seeks to finish the work of those long-departed veterans. They obtained their Federal Pensions, and we will seek to obtain monument(s) so that they will not be forgotten. Calton Cemetery in Scotland has the only monument to the American Civil War outside the United States, a statue of Abraham Lincoln standing over a freed slave which was dedicated on August 21, 1893, but there are only six Federal soldiers commemorated. Our aim is to obtain a single monument dedicated to the estimated 1000+ forgotten veterans, some of whom have been identified by their federal pension files.

Where able, we will seek to obtain official headstones from the Department of Veteran affairs for any Federal Veterans who have no burial marker. The process is not without cost. The application process to secure a single official headstone from the Department of Veteran Affairs takes time. Whilst the headstones are provided at no charge, VAT still occurs once they arrive in the country, which is around £175. Plus, there are other costs associated with the process. They include, but are not limited to, research, headstone placement, travel, site clearance, and permission for a headstone to be sited on a grave. We are completely non-political in terms of our project aims. Inclusion is important to us, without judgement, we seek to simply remember and honour people, who have been forgotten in the mist of time.

For more information, please check out our links here.

https://linktr.ee/TheMonumentalProject?utm_source=linktree_profile_share&ltsid=ee2714dc-9411-4781-9d8b-aa09f1de4bdf