FORT MADISON - The Friends of Fort Madison committee of the North Lee County Historical Society announced today that the annual Memorial Day ceremonies honoring the deceased soldiers that served at Fort Madison 1808-1813 will be held at 9 am, May 27.
The short service will include the reading of the names of those known soldiers that gave their lives for their country while serving at Fort Madison and were buried in unmarked graves in vicinity of the Fort and trading post.
Rev. Mike McHugh, pastor of the Fort Madison Christian Church, will give a short message in the memoriam to the soldiers, followed by the current firing squad that performs at the current replica Fort in Riverview park.
Recently the committee authorized the purchase of a $12,275 memorial to install on the War of 1812 Battlefield Site that will bear the names of the deceased soldiers and a short message about the early history of the Fort that will be installed and dedicated later this fall.
Another attempt will be made this summer to reseed the memorial park and the committee hopes to have beautiful lawn by the time of the memorial dedication.
Funding is set aside for a flag pole, however funds are still needed to install walkways, benches, shrubs and interpretive signage for the ongoing project.
The main goal for the park is not only to honor the soldiers but to preserve the area for future archeological research and is on the National Historic Register.
Since ongoing maintenance and future development and beautification will take many more dollars the Historical has a special fund set up and would like to raise another $20,000 this year. Tax-deductible donations may be mailed to: North Lee County Historical Society – Battlefield Project, PO Box 285, Fort Madison, Iowa 52627 or dropped by the Museum.
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