Col. Robert Gould Shaw
Camp 54
Winner of the 2024 Abraham Lincoln Commander-in-Chief''s Award for being the most outstanding Camp in the Order
Projects
Since Camp 54 was founded in 2020, we have taken on the improvements of the Civil War burial plots at the Mt Hope Cemetery in Boston, MA. These plots had been neglected and were damaged by vandalism. We continue to work to bring this beautiful part of this historic cemetery back to its original glory.
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Susie Taylor Memorial
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Susie Taylor was an important person in American history, an escaped slave, author, and schoolteacher, and is considered the first African-American U.S. Army nurse. As such, she is a Civil War Veteran. She was previously resting in an unmarked grave in Boston's Mt. Hope Cemetery. Brothers from the Department of Massachusetts SUVCW, along with a grant from the Military Historical Society of Massachusetts erected this memorial to Susie.
The memorial was dedicated in 2021.
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Mt. Hope GAR Plot
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Brothers from Camp 54, with help from Brothers of other Camps, have taken on the project of straightening and cleaning all of the stones in the burial plot of the General Charles Russell Lowell GAR Post in the Mt. Hope Cemetery in Boston.
Work is ongoing and Camp 54 is working on the cleaning of the stones in the City of Boston "Soldiers and Sailors" plot.
Mt. Hope Cannons
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The Brothers of Camp 54, with financial help from the Department of Massachusetts SUVCW and a grant from the Military Historical Society of Massachusetts completed a project to refurbish the cannon at the General Charles Russell Lowell GAR Post in the Mt. Hope Cemetery in Boston.
The cannon were removed for cleaning and preservation and the crumbling masonry bases were replaced by solid granite bases.
A rededication ceremony was held on October 19 2024 with City of Boston Veterans Services Commissioner Robert Santiago as guest speaker and support from the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and the William E. Carter Post 16 of the American legion.
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LDS Thomas Francis Gravestone
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Thomas Francis, an African-American Sailor who served as Landsman in USS KENNEBEC and USS CIRCASSIAN during the Civil War was buried in Mt. Hope Cemetery, but his stone had been destroyed, possibly by being hit by a vehicle due to its proximity to the road.
Working with the US Veterans Administration and the Cemetery staff, we were able to obtain a replacement stone for LDS Francis and hold a dedication ceremony to remember him and his service.