Cave Hill Cemetery, Louisville, KY

 The August Bloedner Monument, also known as the 32nd Indiana 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. On December 17, 1861, the regiment successfully defended a crucial bridge, but 13 were killed and 30 were wounded.

 

Christian Friedrich August Bloedner 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.

 

In an effort to consolidate the bodies of dead Union soldiers after the end of the Civil War, in June 1867, the remains of 21 soldiers along with the monument were moved to the newly created Cave Hill Cemetery. The monument consists of two sections of carved stone. The literature describes the upper portion or tablet as being carved from Ste. Genevieve Limestone of the Mississippian period and the base stone being carved from Indiana or Bedford Limestone.

 

At the request of the client, Conservation Solutions, Inc. (CSI) performed an inspection of the monument to determine the feasibility of moving the monument, and recommend treatments to address the observed conditions. The ultimate decision by the client was that the monument was too significant and too fragile to remain outdoors. Therefore, CSI fabricated a lifting frame and removed and relocated the monument to an indoor facility where it underwent conservation treatment including, cleaning, treatment to re-attach flaking and spalled stone surfaces, removal of inappropriate patch materials and patching. It was finally mounted onto a display frame designed by CSI. The monument remains in storage awaiting a new indoor display location.

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