As of August 2024 our fundraising takes #themonumentalproject to an exciting next stage - financing the final construction costs of the monument to American Civil War Veterans interred beneath the soil of the United Kingdom.

Thanks to your incredible donations made since January 2022 we have been able to cast the metal centrepiece in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was collected in June 2024 at our own expense and is now in the United Kingdom. We feel it’s a really meaningful homage to the men and women, black and white, who served during 1861-1865.

Whilst we have raised over £4000 the next stage involves funding the “John A Logan” metal insert. And the monument's construction itself. If you make a donation you’ll be funding the creation of the insert, labour and material costs for the whole monument, the very bricks and mortar that will create the structure.

Our inspiration from John A Logan, Commander in Chief, Grand Army of the Republic and his General order No 11.

It will say -

In remembrance of the men and women of the United Kingdom who served in the American Civil War.

Let no wanton foot tread rudely on such hallowed grounds. Let pleasant paths invite the coming and going of reverent visitors and fond mourners. Let no vandalism of avarice or neglect, no ravages of time testify to the present or to the coming generations that we have forgotten as a people the cost of a free and undivided republic.

If other eyes grow dull, other hands slack, and other hearts cold in the solemn trust, ours shall keep it well as long as the light and warmth of life remain in us.

Not in the United Kingdom. Surprisingly despite approximately 50,000 people from the UK serving in the American Civil War, there is no monument sited in the United Kingdom for all the 1-2 % for who returned to the home of their birth. We feel that that should change - all Civil War veterans surely should some form of remembrance. Men and Women returned to the UK after the conflict with nothing more than the thanks of a grateful nation, but they carried with them life-long mental and physical ill-health burdens related to their service.

We aim to site in London, several cemeteries have indicated an interest in allowing the monument to be placed within their grounds. The difficulty with placement has always been , "where?" because civil war veterans are scattered all across the UK. However because the only organised group were the London Branch of Civil War veterans we feel it makes sense to site in the Capital City.

No, our work will never stop. Ours is a ‘monumental mission’ to continue to obtain individual headstones for veterans too. We are proactive in this endeavour. To date veterans honoured include:

James O’Neill 61st Mass Volunteers (Pancras and Islington Cemetery)

Frank Albermar McDougal 111th PA Volunteers (Manor Park Cemetery)

John Taplin , USS Morning Light, (Hendon Cemetery)

John Heath , USS Owasco (Brighton and Preston Cemetery)

James Henry Cleggett, USS Morning Light (Lincoln Cemetery – James was a founding father of the London Branch of American Civil War veterans).

Samuel Lander Hough, Co G 2nd New Jersey Cavalry (Derby cemetery).

We also have applications in place for several other veterans.

Much of what we do is self-funded. However apart from funding the main monument, with our ongoing work there are hidden costs, even when obtaining a single headstone. Customs duty sometimes gets charged at about £150 per headstone then we have to obtain permission for placement, which occasionally comes with a cost attached. Sometimes we have to pay researchers to obtaining enlistment records or pension files to verify, service. Birth and death certificates may be necessary, then we produce and post material to the Department of Veteran affairs to obtain headstones. Typically it costs around £10 to just post a headstone application to the United States!

Our mantra is to “raise monuments and awareness too”. We share our knowledge, and are more than happy to provide a spreadsheet of the veterans, widows and others involved in or impacted by the Civil War. Day to day, we are conducting research to seek out and find veterans and their stories. So far that’s over 650 men and women.

We’ve already attended several shows in 2024, and where able we'll give talks to local history societies. Recently two of our members were interviewed a well-known TV historian. Events include the Chalke History Festival and the Emerging Civil War symposium in August. All this work is entirely self-funded trip, we feel it is necessary to shine light on the work we are doing. Because our work is all about the "show and tell” we will work with any organisation, whose values of inclusion and remembrance align themselves with our aims and beliefs. We don't just talk about what we are doing, we are proactively showing what we are doing and want folk to be involved!

We're big on inclusion. We stand on the shoulders of extraordinary men and women whose stories are sometimes forgotten. However whilst we stand on their shoulders to give them a voice, we will never steal their valour, and adopt a "we're more important than others" attitude. If you want to be a volunteer or advocate - we need you by our side.

You can join the Monumental Project in several ways:

All our social media links can be found on Linktree https://linktr.ee/TheMonumentalProject

You can follow us on Facebook (we have a closed group too).

https://www.facebook.com/AmericanCivilWarUKMonumentalProject