The Union Monument in Vanceburg in Lewis County, Kentucky, in Vanceburg, Kentucky, commemorates the Union

soldiers A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word , from Old French ...

of the American Civil War. It is the only monument anywhere south of the Mason–Dixon line that so honors Union soldiers that is not in a cemetery done by public subscription. The monument was built in 1884 by the citizens of Lewis County, which was a Union stronghold during the war and one of the few places in Kentucky that was still more sympathetic to the Union cause by the 1880s. It stands thirty-four feet tall, and both the pedestal and base are made of limestone. The base is five feet high and seven feet wide. The pedestal was made from eight separate pieces. The statue depicts a Union soldier in winter gear and kepi hat. The inscription reads:

''The war for the Union was right, everlastingly right, and the war against the Union was wrong, forever wrong''

In total, 107 men from Lewis County died as Union soldiers during the war; their names are inscribed on the monument. On July 17, 1997, the Union Monument in Vanceburg was one of sixty-one different monuments related to the Civil War in Kentucky placed on the National Register of Historic Places, as part of the Civil War Monuments of Kentucky Multiple Property Submission. The vast majority of the monuments were built to honor Confederates. The only other monument to state any strong sentiment towards the Union is the Captain Andrew Offutt Monument in Lebanon, Kentucky. Other monuments built for the Union side include the

32nd Indiana Monument The 32nd Indiana Monument, also known as the August Bloedner Monument, honors the Union soldiers of the 32nd Indiana Volunteer Infantry Regiment, also known as Indiana's "1st German" regiment, who died in the Battle of Rowlett's Station on Dece ...

, GAR Monument in Covington, Union Monument in Louisville, and the Union Monument in Perryville.Brent 1997

Gallery

File:Union Monument in Vanceburg courthouse.JPG, View of monument with courthouse File:Union Monument in Vanceburg markers.JPG, Various signs by the monument File:Union Monument in Vanceburg inscriptions.JPG, Inscription closeup of the monument File:Union Monument in Vanceburg 2.JPG,

References

{{American Civil War monuments in Kentucky Civil War Monuments of Kentucky MPS National Register of Historic Places in Lewis County, Kentucky 1884 sculptures 1884 establishments in Kentucky Limestone sculptures in Kentucky Union (American Civil War) monuments and memorials in Kentucky