{"id":104291,"date":"2022-01-13T07:31:00","date_gmt":"2022-01-13T12:31:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/?p=104291"},"modified":"2026-03-23T13:35:57","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T17:35:57","slug":"object-3-bronze-shield-plaque","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/object-3-bronze-shield-plaque\/","title":{"rendered":"Object 3:\u00a0Civil War National Cemetery Bronze Shield Plaque"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"Civil<\/a>
Civil War bronze shield on inverted cannon at Cold Harbor National Cemetery, Virginia. (NCA)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The first permanent informational plaques placed in national cemeteries after the Civil War were affixed to upright cannons to brand these sites as a shrine to Union dead.\u00a0Col.\u00a0Oscar A. Mack, the inspector of national cemeteries, recommended the plaques in his April 1872 report. By\u00a0then,\u00a0the U.S. Army oversaw 72 national cemeteries and an estimated\u00a0250,000 Union graves<\/a>, most marked by wooden headboards.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many cemeteries already\u00a0contained\u00a0\u201clarge iron guns\u2026planted vertically on their bases as monuments.\u201d Mack\u00a0observed\u00a0that \u201ca bronze shield, bearing in raised (cast) letters\u2026might be attached to one of these guns\u2026in such a way to improve its appearance and increase its usefulness as a monument.\u201d Mack\u2019s superior, Quartermaster\u00a0Gen.\u00a0Montgomery C. Meigs<\/a>, agreed that \u201cno cemetery can be considered properly furnished till some considerable monumental brass bears an inscription recording its establishment, and the number of dead soldiers it contains.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On October 5, 1872, Secretary of War William Belknap authorized the acquisition of bronze shield plaques as far as the annual appropriation for the national cemeteries, which paid\u00a0for\u00a0lodge\u00a0<\/a>construction,\u00a0headboards<\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0superintendent\u2019s salaries<\/strong><\/a>, and\u00a0other\u00a0<\/a>expenses, would allow. The Quartermaster General\u2019s\u00a0Office\u00a0immediately\u00a0wrote to a Philadelphia foundry, describing the shield and for each, \u201ca drill and tap and bronze screws\u201d to secure it to the gun.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The manufacturer of the shield is not known, but Mack\u2019s 1874 inspection confirms it was designed to fit on the 24-pounder cannon common to most cemeteries.\u00a0Springfield National Cemetery<\/a>\u00a0in Missouri\u00a0contained\u00a0six \u201cgun-monuments.\u201d Among these, Mack reported, were two flanking the main drive, and \u201cone of these has the prescribed bronze shield on it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Postcard<\/a>
Postcard of Springfield National Cemetery, Missouri, c. 1908, showing the bronze shield on the inverted cannon in the foreground. (NCA)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The plaque\u2019s Federal-style eagle with outspread wings and shield cast with stars and stripes is representative of the Republic\u2019s nineteenth-century seal. Beneath the eagle is the cemetery name, establishment year, and number of known and unknown interments. To either side are military symbols of the Civil War era: cannon for artillery, swords for cavalry, bugle for infantry, and flags to denote regiments.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The first permanent informational plaques placed in national cemeteries after the Civil War were affixed to upright cannons to brand these sites as a shrine to Union dead. These bronze shield plaques were installed after a 1872 report and served as early monuments to Union dead from the Civil War at national cemeteries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":117214,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[27,111,10,20,125],"class_list":["post-104291","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-100-objects","tag-civil-war","tag-montgomery-meigs","tag-national-cemetery","tag-national-cemetery-administration","tag-national-cemetery-system"],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/object-3-bronze-shield-plaque\/","meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Object 3:\u00a0Civil War National Cemetery Bronze Shield Plaque","url":"http:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/object-3-bronze-shield-plaque\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/object-3-bronze-shield-plaque\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/01\/Bronze-Shield-Plaque.webp?w=300","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/01\/Bronze-Shield-Plaque.webp"},"articleSection":"History of VA in 100 Objects","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Department of Veterans Affairs (jdt)"}],"creator":["Department of Veterans Affairs (jdt)"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"VA History","logo":""},"keywords":["civil war","montgomery meigs","national cemetery","national cemetery administration","national cemetery system"],"dateCreated":"2022-01-13T12:31:00Z","datePublished":"2022-01-13T12:31:00Z","dateModified":"2026-03-23T17:35:57Z"},"rendered":"