Wednesday 2 November 2022

Edinburgh - American Civil War Memorial

 Located inside Edinburgh's Old Carlton Cemetery is the only American Civil War Memorial outside of the United States.

Edinburgh Old Carlton Cemetery
American Civil War Memorial
 

The conflict lasted from April 1861 to May 1865, which pitted the northern states of the Union, against the Confederate southern states. The central cause of war was the legitimacy of slavery where the north favoured emancipation. 

The American Civil War Memorial in Edinburgh was erected in 1893 in tribute to Scotsmen who in the Union Army fought during the conflict. 

Edinburgh American Civil War Memorial 

It depicts a figure of Abraham Lincoln, a shield featuring the American Flag and a freed slave with two furled Regimental flags.

The memorial records the names of six Scotsmen who signed up to join the Union Army: Sergeant Major John McEwan, Lt Col William Duff, Robert Steedman, James Wilkie, Alexander Smith and Robert Ferguson.