Former Site of Civil War Monument

Year Built: 1912

This monument lists the names of the 1,616 Confederate soldiers who died in captivity at Camp Morton and whose bodies were not returned home to their families. Camp Morton was a prisoner of war camp in Indianapolis during the American Civil War. In 1912, the federal government commissioned the monument for Greenlawn Cemetery on Kentucky Avenue, where the soldiers were buried. However, when Greenlawn Cemetery closed in 1928, the bodies were relocated to Crown Hill Cemetery and Congress approved the relocation of the marker to Garfield Park, after a study of potential sites. Given recent events, there is an ongoing discussion with the community, City-County government, and the Parks Department about the future of this monument. It is fenced off to prevent further damage or vandalism.

This monument was removed and destroyed on June 8, 2020 in response to the Black Lives Matter Movement. https://www.indystar.com/story/news/local/2020/06/08/indianapolis-protests-confederate-monument-dismantled-garfield-park-indiana/5317785002/

To learn more about the Confederate monument controversy, read this article from historian Dr. Paul Mullins of IUPUI: https://paulmullins.wordpress.com/2020/06/08/memory-making-and-civility-removing-the-garfield-park-confederate-monument/?fbclid=IwAR3-NODYWSDcn4yWAEpYIaadr5cHB9wf63SebwPAoR-QBAnH7p7UQas1DUU