Repair the Civil War Cannons at Brookside Cemetery

You can make a difference by donating now to the fundraising effort of the Nash-Hodges Camp 43, Department of Michigan, Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War.

Our goal is to raise $35,000 to repair the Civil War era Parrott Cannon's at Brookside Cemetery in Tecumseh, Michigan.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983, Brookside Cemetery has been a prominent landmark and a source of pride for the City of Tecumseh and surrounding area dating back to the 1800's.

The ravages of time and weather have taken their toll on the cannons. The concrete pedestals both cannons are sitting on are in need of repair. The concrete is deteriorating in places and one of the pedestals has sunk into the ground by an inch or two. Most likely the sinking is due to the annual cycle of freezing and thawing which has caused the base the pedestals sit on to break.

Our vision for repairing the cannons is to replace the concrete pedestals with ones of granite and to replace the concrete base both pedestals sit on. Additionally, instead of the cannons sitting directly on pedestals as they do now, repairing the cannons will include bronze casting a “cradle” for each the cannons to sit on upon the top of the granite pedestals.

In addition to repairing the cannons, there are three headstones located between the cannons that are badly cracked and will also need replacing.

Replacing the concrete pedestals with marble will ensure that it will be decades, if not longer, before the cannons will need to be repaired again.

If we meet or exceed our goal, funds in excess of what's needed to repair the cannons will be used for future projects that preserves the legacy and memory of the Civil War Union veterans.

There are approximately 4,000 Union Civil War veterans buried in Lenawee County. If we don’t meet our fundraising goal, the funds will be used for lesser sized projects, such as the restoration and repair of their headstones.

These veterans deserve no less for the courage they demonstrated and the sacrifices they made in preserving our Nation.