Honouring the last UK American Civil War veterans

Nottingham Road Cemetery in Derby sounds like an unlikely place to be remembering the American Civil War, but it is the resting place of the last American Civil War Veteran to die in the UK, Samuel Lander Hough (1848-1940) of the 2nd New Jersey Cavalry who lived in Derby.  Next to his grave is that of another Derby man, Henry Nathaniel McGuiness (1838-1916) who served in the 65th New York Infantry.

Both men were friends in life, they also received pensions from the U.S. Government for their service in the Union army.  They were very active in the Derby Imperial Veterans Association, in fact Sam Hough met the King when the Royal family visited.  Sam funded Henry's funeral expenses and eventually shared the same cemetery upon his own death too.  They were also members of the London Branch of American Civil War Veterans, and Sam was the last surviving member of the London Branch.

On October 4th, 2025, at 12 p.m. the new official headstones provided by the U.S. Government were unveiled at the cemetery and a remembrance ceremony held to honour the two men.  This is possibly the only occasion when two civil war veterans have been honoured simultaneously at the same cemetery in the UK.  When Henry McGuiness passed away in November 1916 there was a strong military presence, whereby he was afforded the respect of both those still serving and veterans as well.  On this occasion, an honour guard from the US Air Force based at RAF Lakenheath represented the US military, while British reenactors of the Civil War gave the proceedings a historic flavour. Also in attendance were Janet Leech, who is a great-granddaughter of Sam Hough, and several other descendants of Civil War veterans, members of the society Descendants of the London Branch of American Civil War Veterans.

The new headstones and the ceremony were organised by Gina Denham and Darren Rawlings, founders of the Monuments for UK Veterans of the American Civil War Association and both members of our Round Table.

The event also attracted substantial local and national media coverage.