Photo credit: Chelsea Reutcke

This flag pole was added in 2005 as another monument to the Union soldiers. The plaque in the grass relates to this pole.

Kansas is known as the "soldier state" for the number of Civil War veterans who moved there after the war. As a result, the majority of the state's monuments are to this war. In this one area of Topeka Cemetery in the capital city of Kansas, multiple monuments can be found including a statue, a flagpole and plaque, and a tree. The Sons of Union Veterans help maintain the Civil War section, including keeping the headstones clean. Can you find them all? What do you think prompted so many different commemorations?

"This Flag Pole Donated By ~ Robert & Christine Smith In ~ Memory Of Those Who Fell ~ During And After The War Of ~ Rebellion 1861 - 1865 ~ May Their Deed Be Ever ~ Remembered 2005".

Inscription reads: "1895 / Erected by G.G. Gage. / To the Memory of His Comrades Who Fell at / The Battle of the Blue. / Oct. 22. 1864. / By the Blood of These Heroes, And / Their Compatriots, This Great / Republic Was Made to Live" Image: G.G. Gage

This particular granite statue honours Civil War soldiers who fought in the Battle of the Blue, fought October 22, 1864, in Missouri. It is about 20 feet tall and features a standing Union soldier. To the North and East of the statue are plots filled with Union soldiers. Directly to the East are the remains of those killed during the Battle of the Blue. The statue, built by G. Gage, was unveiled on Memorial Day, 1895 and cost $10,000.

One of these trees bears a plaque reading "This Tree Planted ~ In Memory Of ~ Our Veterans ~ By The ~ American Legion Auxiliary ~ 1939".