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On a clear, crisp April 12, 1918 morning in France during the Great War, 1st Lieutenant Gustav Hermann Kissel of the 43rd Royal Air Force Squadron, an American Volunteer and graduate of Milton and Harvard, took off for his first combat mission and was shot down and killed when he encountered a large number of German fighter aircraft over Flanders. His Squadron was probably supporting British ground troops at the Battle of Lys, part of the ultimately unsuccessful German Spring offensive, General Erich Ludendorff’s, Operation Georgette, intended to capture Ypres. Lt. Kissel was buried in France, the only American to be buried in the Pont-du-Hem Military Cemetery in La Gorgue, but a cenotaph in his honor was placed in the Kissel plot here in Dedham’s Old Village Cemetery. The inscription reads:
“In Memory Of 1st Lieut. Gustav H. Kissel. Attached to British Air Forces.
Killed in Aerial Combat Near Melville, France Where His Body Lies Buried.”

Old Village Cemetery Civil War Memorial

In 1866 the Commonwealth of Massachusetts placed a monument on a large plot that it had purchased in the Old Village Cemetery for the 64 men who had died in training at Camp Meigs. Among these were men from the three African American regiments from the State. Causes of death ranged from drownings to Smallpox and other diseases of the age. While we know that some of the trainees were buried in the plot, we do not know who or how many because many of the men were buried privately by their families, and others were buried initially at Camp Meigs and later moved to the OVC where their wooden crosses were removed and discarded when the State re-graded the plot in 1892.

Brookdale Cemetery Obelisk

In Dedham’s Brookdale Cemetery lie the remains of 14 veterans of the Civil War in a plot maintained by the Grand Army of the Republic Post (Charles W. Carroll Post 144). In 1880, the Post erected a monument of “rough cut” Dedham Granite to the fallen. Upon this obelisk is inscribed, “Erected in 1880 as a monument to the loyal soldiers and sailors of Dedham, who served in the war of the rebellion 1861-1865. Many of whom died, and rest, in unknown graves and dying broke the bondman’s chain and made the slave a man.”

The Tablets

On September 29, 1868, a tableau to Dedham’s 47 Civil War dead was commemorated in the brand-new Memorial Hall, Dedham’s Town Hall for 94 years. The key tablet states, “The Town of Dedham has caused to be inscribed upon these tablets the names of her Sons who fell representing her in defense of the Union in the War of the Rebellion, 1861-1865, and in whose honor she has erected this Hall.” Among the dead was Charles W. Carroll for whom Post 144 is named. When Memorial Hall, which stood on the site of the Dedham Police Station, was demolished in 1962, the tablets were relocated to the Bryant Street Town Hall, and are now prominently displayed outside of the O’Brien Meeting Room on the 3^rd floor of the new Town Hall on Washington Street.

Less well known than the famous African American 54th Regiment under the command of abolitionist Robert Gould Shaw, the 55th Regiment was the second of three African American Regiments from Massachusetts that saw service in the Civil War. When the 54th rapidly became fully subscribed by free Blacks, Massachusetts Governor John A. Andrew in 1863 authorized the formation of a sister regiment, the 55th. Both regiments trained at Camp Meigs in Dedham, the largest of Massachusetts’ camps, and saw service together during the war, most notably at the Battle of Honey Hill in South Carolina in November 1864. e 55th also distinguished itself at the Battle of Olustee in February of 1864 during the invasion of Florida under General Truman Seymour, and at battles for James Island in South Carolina in May and July of the same year. In February of 1865, Union troops, including the 55th, under General William Tecumseh Sherman, entered Charleston, SC, where the war had begun, to the “welcoming cheers of newly freed men, women, and children.”

The 55th was officially marshaled out of service in September of 1865. In 1866 the Commonwealth of Massachusetts placed a monument on a large plot that it had purchased in the Old Village Cemetery for the 64 men who had died in training at Camp Meigs. Among these were men from the 54th and 55th Regiments.

Marie Louise Kehoe, Chairman of the Dedham Old Village Cemetery Restoration Committee, is pleased to announce that the Dedham Village Preservation Association, Inc. is offering a $5,000 matching gift program through the end of 2020 for the benefit of the Restoration Fund. The offer has been made possible by generous supporters who wish to give end of the year donors an opportunity to double their gifts.

The landmark Old Village Cemetery, established in 1637 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is one of the most significant Colonial Cemeteries in America, and among Dedham’s most visited historic sites.

Mrs. Kehoe and her Committee have pledged to raise $1 million over 4 years to address serious deterioration of the Cemetery. Restoration and preservation of the site has been ongoing since 2017 by the Dedham DPW, guided by a Design Plan developed by the Halvorsan Design Partnership, with major improvements completed or in progress.

To donate, please fill out the form on our donation page, or mail to Dedham Village Preservation Association, Inc., POB 1037, Dedham, MA 02027