Edinburgh, Waterloo Place, Old Calton Burial Ground, American Civil War Memorial

The Public Monuments and Sculpture Association (http://www.pmsa.org.uk/) set up a National Recording Project in 1997 with the aim of making a survey of public monuments and sculpture in Britain ranging from medieval monuments to the most contemporary works. Information from the Edinburgh project was added to the RCAHMS database in October 2010 and again in 2012.

The PMSA (Public Monuments and Sculpture Association) Edinburgh Sculpture Project has been supported by Eastern Photocolour, Edinburgh College of Art, the Edinburgh World Heritage Trust, Historic Scotland, the Hope Scott Trust, The Old Edinburgh Club, the Pilgrim Trust, the RCAHMS, and the Scottish Archive Network.

A bronze life-sized figure of a slave, resting on furled battle flags at the base of a red granite pedestal, holds up his right hand in gratitude to a bronze life-sized statue of Abraham Lincoln which surmounts the pedestal. Lincoln stands with his right knee slightly bent, his left hand behind his back, and holds the proclamation of emancipation in his right hand. On the east face of the pedestal below him is a bronze shield decorated with the American and British flags, flanked by thistles (left) and cotton (right).

The monument commemorates Abraham Lincoln and is on the burial plot for the Scots who fought in the American Civil War. This plot was provided by Edinburgh Town Council on 1 September 1892, following a request from the American Consul Wallace Bruce. Bruce, a graduate of Yale University, had fought in the American Civil War and it was he who had the idea of erecting a statue of Abraham Lincoln. As early as November 1890 Andrew Carnegie offered £200 towards the cost. The statue was to be a gift from America to Scotland. The monument was unveiled on 21 August 1893. Alexander Smith's name, on the south face of the pedestal, was added in 1993 when the monument was rededicated.

Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)

Inscriptions : On the four sides of the base below the statue of Abraham Lincoln (raised bronze letters): EMANCIPATION / EDUCATION / UNION / SUFFRAGE

On the east face of the pedestal, to the right of the slave (incised letters):

"TO PRESERVE / THE JEWEL OF LIBERTY / IN THE FRAMEWORK OF / FREEDOM" / ABRAHAM LINCOLN

On the east face of the pedestal, below the slave (incised letters):

IN MEMORY OF SCOTTISH-AMERICAN SOLDIERS.

On the west face of the pedestal (incised letters):

UNVEILED 21ST OCTOBER 1893

On the north face of the pedestal (incised letters):

SERGEANT MAJOR JOHN McEWAN / CO. H. 65TH REGT. ILLINOIS VOL. INFANTRY. / WILLIAM L. DUFF / LT. COL. 2ND ILLINOIS REGT. OF ARTILLERY. / ROBERT STEEDMAN / CO. E. 5TH REGT. MAINE INFANTRY VOLUNTEERS. / JAMES WILKIE / CO. C. 1ST MICHIGAN CAVALRY. / ROBERT FERGUSON / CO. F. 57TH REGT. NEW YORK INFANTRY VOLUNTEERS.

On the south face of the pedestal (incised letters): ALEXANDER SMITH / CO. G. 66TH REGT. NEW YORK VOLUNTEER INFANTRY

Signatures : On bronze base by Lincoln's right foot (incised letters): Geo. E. Bissell Sct. 1893

Year of unveiling : 1893

Unveiling details : Unveiled 21 August 1893

Information from Public Monuments and Sculpture Association (PMSA Work Ref : EDIN1394)