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Commemorative Cultures is a digital project that maps and interprets American Civil War monuments around the world.

Debates about the commemoration of the American Civil War began in 1861. Those debates have continued ever since.

Citizens from across the United States and beyond have struggled to find adequate ways of remembering the war’s bloodshed, and of addressing the meaning of Emancipation after the conflict ended

The monuments that came to be tell a story of the war. Some celebrate Union victory and the triumph of Emancipation; others, like those glorifying the Confederacy, refuse the reality of defeat.

Commemorative Cultures explores the impact that these narratives still have today by reanimating the questions initially asked. What makes an effective monument? What function should it serve? Who should it remember, and how?

Encounter

Thousands of monuments connected to Emancipation, the Union, the Confederacy, and more through our archive and map

TEMPORARY IMAGE

From standing soldiers and memorial halls to mountains and metro stations: Civil War monuments come in all shapes and sizes.

Research our archives of over 1600 monuments and related media by keywords, categories, or just scrolling

US Civil War monuments have been built, altered, and removed all over the world for years.

Explore our map to see where monuments can be found. Filter by type, form, “side” of the war, or organization

Not sure where to begin? Find a curated range of our latest monument entries below. Alternatively, investigate our case studies, which demonstrate different ways to organize or contemplate groups of monuments

Latest Monument Entries

Investigate

Who funded Civil War monuments? Who designed them? And what did they hope to honour?

Our teaching portal provides support for addressing these and other questions.

Physical Monuments in a Digital World

Visit our Exhibits page for immersive experiences and visualisations of our gathered data

Create

Have we missed a monument? Are there resources we should be looking at?

Become a Commemorative Cultures Participant and help us expand our knowledge of Civil War monuments, large and small.

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Remember.

The project records diverse expressions of public remembrance alongside more familiar monumental forms to present a rich and complex account of Civil War commemoration to date.

Click to find out more about the project aims & methods.

Research

From standing soldiers and memorial halls to mountains and metro stations: Civil War monuments come in all shapes and sizes.

Invesitgate our archives and monument pages.

Investigate

Find out how monuments related to each other through our case studies.

Question

Who funded Civil War monuments? Who designed them? And what did they hope to honour?

Our teaching portal provides support for addressing these and other questions.