32nd Indiana Monument
Encyclopedia
The 32nd Indiana Monument, also known as the August Bloedner Monument, is located in Cave Hill National Cemetery in Louisville, Kentucky
. It honors the fallen soldiers of the 32nd Indiana Volunteer Infantry Regiment
, also known as the "1st German," at the Battle of Rowlett's Station
, near Munfordville, Kentucky
. For most of its existence it has been at the cemetery, but is presently at the Frazier International History Museum
lobby for display.
served as a private at the battle. Wishing to honor his fallen comrades, he designed and constructed a monument from a chunk of limestone
, completing it in January 1862. It is the oldest surviving memorial to the American Civil War
. It weighs 3500 pounds (1,587.6 kg).
The German inscription on the monument translates roughly to "Here rest the first martyrs of the thirty-second, the first German regiment of Indiana. They were fighting nobly in defense of the free Constitution of the United States of America. They fell on the 17th day of December, 1861, in the battle at Rowlett's Station, in which one regiment of Texas Rangers, two regiments of infantry, and six pieces of rebel artillery, in all over three thousand men, were defeated by five hundred German soldiers."
In June 1867, after the national cemetery was created at Cave Hill, the fallen soldiers and the monument were moved to their current location. The monument was meant to be flat on the ground, but when moved, was placed standing up. Due to the monument being moved, the National Park Service
considered the Hazen Brigade Monument at Stones River National Battlefield
to be the oldest, even though it was constructed a year later.
– two of 60 American Civil War monuments in Kentucky honored on the same day. Most of these monuments honor fallen Confederate, not Union, forces. Three other Civil War monuments are also in Jefferson County, Kentucky
: the Confederate Martyrs Monument in Jeffersontown
, the Louisville Confederate Monument
on the University of Louisville Belknap Campus, and the John B. Castleman Monument
in Cherokee Triangle.
The porous limestone monument has been severely damaged over time by artificial pollutants and natural weathering, and most of the inscription has faded away. Currently, a wooden structure protects the monument from further decay. One plan to preserve it would have been to house it at the Hart County Historical Society Museum in Munfordville, making granite
copies to place at both its current and original locations.
Conservation Solutions, Inc. (CSI) decided that to maintain the monument, it had to be removed to an indoor display. Conservation methods included "cleaning, re-attaching flaking and spalled stone surfaces, removal of inappropriate patch materials and patching".
Three Kentucky museums vied for displaying it after repairs, with the Frazier Museum given it over Hart County's and the Patton Museum at Fort Knox, Kentucky by the National Cemetery Administration. However, Battle for the Bridge Historical Society may try to get it moved to Munfordville. It went on display at the Frazier Museum in August 2010 in the lobby area, so that visitors need not pay to see it. Since its move, it has been removed from the National Register of Historic Places.
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
. It honors the fallen soldiers of the 32nd Indiana Volunteer Infantry Regiment
32nd Regiment Indiana Infantry
32nd Regiment Indiana Infantry was also known as the 1st German Regiment . Governor Oliver P. Morton commissioned August Willich of Cincinnati as Colonel of the 32nd Indiana....
, also known as the "1st German," at the Battle of Rowlett's Station
Battle of Rowlett's Station
The Battle of Rowlett's Station was a land battle in the American Civil War, fought in the whistle-stop station of Rowlett's in Hart County, Kentucky, on December 17, 1861...
, near Munfordville, Kentucky
Munfordville, Kentucky
Munfordville is a city in and the county seat of Hart County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 1,563 at the 2000 census.-History:The city was once known as Big Buffalo Crossing. The current name came from Richard Jones Munford, who donated the land for development in 1816...
. For most of its existence it has been at the cemetery, but is presently at the Frazier International History Museum
Frazier International History Museum
The Frazier International History Museum, formerly the Frazier Historical Arms Museum, is a museum in Louisville, Kentucky's "Museum Row" in the West Main District of downtown. It is named for the museum's founder Owsley Brown Frazier...
lobby for display.
Creation
On December 17, 1861, the regiment successfully defended a crucial bridge, but 13 were killed and 30 were wounded. Christian Friedrich August BloednerAugust Bloedner
Christian Friedrich August Bloedner was a German-born carpenter from Cincinnati, Ohio, who served with the 32nd Regiment Indiana Infantry during the American Civil War. He built the 32nd Indiana Monument.-Biography:...
served as a private at the battle. Wishing to honor his fallen comrades, he designed and constructed a monument from a chunk of limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
, completing it in January 1862. It is the oldest surviving memorial to the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. It weighs 3500 pounds (1,587.6 kg).
The German inscription on the monument translates roughly to "Here rest the first martyrs of the thirty-second, the first German regiment of Indiana. They were fighting nobly in defense of the free Constitution of the United States of America. They fell on the 17th day of December, 1861, in the battle at Rowlett's Station, in which one regiment of Texas Rangers, two regiments of infantry, and six pieces of rebel artillery, in all over three thousand men, were defeated by five hundred German soldiers."
In June 1867, after the national cemetery was created at Cave Hill, the fallen soldiers and the monument were moved to their current location. The monument was meant to be flat on the ground, but when moved, was placed standing up. Due to the monument being moved, the National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
considered the Hazen Brigade Monument at Stones River National Battlefield
Stones River National Battlefield
Stones River National Battlefield, a park along the Stones River in Rutherford County, Tennessee, three miles northwest of Murfreesboro and twenty-eight miles southeast of...
to be the oldest, even though it was constructed a year later.
Recent events
On July 17, 1997, the 32nd Indiana Monument, along with the nearby Union Monument in Louisville, also at Cave Hill Cemetery, was added to the National Register of Historic PlacesNational Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
– two of 60 American Civil War monuments in Kentucky honored on the same day. Most of these monuments honor fallen Confederate, not Union, forces. Three other Civil War monuments are also in Jefferson County, Kentucky
Jefferson County, Kentucky
As of the census of 2000, there were 693,604 people, 287,012 households, and 183,113 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 305,835 housing units at an average density of...
: the Confederate Martyrs Monument in Jeffersontown
Confederate Martyrs Monument in Jeffersontown
The Confederate Martyrs Monument at the Jeffersontown City Cemetery in Jeffersontown, Kentucky marks where four Confederate soldiers were executed "without cause or trial", due to Order #59, the creation of Union General Stephen G. Burbridge, known as "Butcher Burbridge" in Kentucky, which called...
, the Louisville Confederate Monument
Louisville Confederate Monument
The Confederate Monument in Louisville is a 70-foot-tall monument adjacent to and surrounded by the University of Louisville Belknap Campus in Louisville, Kentucky, USA...
on the University of Louisville Belknap Campus, and the John B. Castleman Monument
John B. Castleman Monument
The John B. Castleman Monument, within the Cherokee Triangle of Louisville, Kentucky, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 17, 1997, as part of the Civil War Monuments of Kentucky MPS....
in Cherokee Triangle.
The porous limestone monument has been severely damaged over time by artificial pollutants and natural weathering, and most of the inscription has faded away. Currently, a wooden structure protects the monument from further decay. One plan to preserve it would have been to house it at the Hart County Historical Society Museum in Munfordville, making granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
copies to place at both its current and original locations.
Conservation Solutions, Inc. (CSI) decided that to maintain the monument, it had to be removed to an indoor display. Conservation methods included "cleaning, re-attaching flaking and spalled stone surfaces, removal of inappropriate patch materials and patching".
Three Kentucky museums vied for displaying it after repairs, with the Frazier Museum given it over Hart County's and the Patton Museum at Fort Knox, Kentucky by the National Cemetery Administration. However, Battle for the Bridge Historical Society may try to get it moved to Munfordville. It went on display at the Frazier Museum in August 2010 in the lobby area, so that visitors need not pay to see it. Since its move, it has been removed from the National Register of Historic Places.
Further reading
- The August Bloedner Monument Arrives Frazier Museum's official Facebook page
- Indiana and Kentucky's German-Americans in the Civil War (Archived 2009-10-23) Article features an unobstructed view of the monument.