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The 32nd Indiana Monument, also known as the August Bloedner Monument, honors the Union soldiers of the 32nd Indiana Volunteer Infantry Regiment, also known as Indiana's "1st German" regiment, who died in the Battle of Rowlett's Station on 17 December 1861, near Munfordville, Kentucky. Originally placed at Fort Willich, near Munfordville, in January 1861, the monument was moved to Cave Hill National Cemetery at Louisville, Kentucky, in June 1867. Due to its fragile condition, the monument was removed from the national cemetery in 2008. After undergoing conservation treatment at the University of Louisville, it was placed on display at the Frazier History Museum lobby in August 2010. Although it is no longer in its original location, the 32nd Indiana Monument is generally considered to be the oldest surviving memorial to the American Civil War. A replacement monument at Cave Hill National Cemetery was dedicated in December 2011. ==History== On 17 December 1861, the 32nd Indiana Volunteer Infantry Regiment experienced its first major action during the American Civil War at the Battle of Rowlett's Station, south of Munfordville, Kentucky. Its efforts to successfully defend a crucial bridge received national recognition in the newspapers for its stand against Confederate forces. The battle became notable as one of the few occasions during the war when the Union infantry successfully defended itself in the open against repeated Confederate cavalry assaults. The 32nd Indiana's battle casualties were 46 (13 killed, 28 wounded, and 5 captured). Shortly after the battle, Christian Friedrich August Bloedner of Cincinnati, Ohio, who served as a Union private in the 32nd Indiana, carved a limestone memorial to honor his comrades who had died. The monument was placed at the Union soldiers' gravesite at Fort Willich, near Munfordville, Kentucky, in mid-January 1862.〔Peake, ''Blood Shed in This War'', p. 45.〕 In June 1867, after Cave Hill National Cemetery was established at Louisville, Kentucky, the monument and the remains of 21 Union soldiers, 14 of them from the 32nd Indiana, were moved from the Cemetery at Fort Willich to the national cemetery.〔〔Michael A. Peake, "32nd Indiana Monument at Cave Hill Cemetery," in 〕〔The remains of two soldiers from the 32nd Indiana, Theodore Schmidt and Max Sachs, whose names are inscribed on the monument, were not moved to Cave Hill National Cemetery in 1867; their bodies were taken to Cincinnati, Ohio, where they were buried in December 1861. See Michael A. Peake, "32nd Indiana Monument at Cave Hill Cemetery," in ''Indiana's German Sons: A History of the 1st German, 32nd Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry. Baptism of Fire: Rowlett's Station, 1861'', p. 31.〕 On 17 July 1997, the 32nd Indiana Monument was added to the National Register of Historic Places.〔The 32nd Indiana Monument and the nearby Union Monument in Louisville, also at Cave Hill Cemetery, are among the 60 American Civil War monuments in Kentucky honored on the same day. Most of these monuments honor 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. See (【引用サイトリンク】title=National Register of Historic Places Listing )〕 The porous limestone monument has been severely damaged over time by artificial pollutants and natural weathering, and most of the original inscription has faded away. A wooden structure was erected to protect the monument from further decay. Due to its deteriorating condition, the monument was removed from the national cemetery in December 2008 for conservation treatment at the University of Louisville. Conservation Solutions, Inc. (CSI), who treated the monument, recommended that it should be removed to an indoor display. Conservation methods included "cleaning, re-attaching flaking and spalled stone surfaces, removal of inappropriate patch materials and patching".〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.conservationsolution.com/projects/monuments-sculpture/august-bloedner-monument/ )〕 Due to its fragile condition, one plan to preserve the monument suggested that it be moved indoors to the Hart County Historical Society Museum in Munfordville, with granite copies placed at Cave Hill National Cemetery and at its original location at Fort Willich. In addition to the Hart County museum, the Frazier History Museum at Louisville and the Patton Museum at Fort Knox, Kentucky, vied to display the monument after conservation efforts were completed. The Frazier History Museum was selected to house the monument on long-term loan from the National Cemetery Administration.〔〔However, Battle for the Bridge Historical Society may try to get it moved to Munfordville. See 〕 In August 2010 the refurbished monument was installed in the museum's lobby, where visitors need not pay to see it.〔 On 19 November 2010, the monument was removed from the National Register of Historic Places.〔 A new monument to the 32nd Indiana that contains German and English inscriptions was dedicated at Cave Hill National Cemetery on 16 December 2011.〔〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「32nd Indiana Monument」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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