While no Civil War battles occurred within Maine’s boundaries, thousands of Maine men fought in the conflict.  Many of these veterans returned home for treatment in local hospitals.  In 1862 and 1870, Augusta’s Mount Pleasant Cemetery donated land for the burial of Union soldiers who died in the town’s hospitals.  The two non-contiguous lots, totaling just under 4,000 square feet, are the final resting place for 89 Union veterans. A granite monument commemorates the sacrifice of those who died.

In 1853, the city of Augusta acquired 12 acres of land northeast of the downtown area for the creation of a cemetery.  The city renamed the land on top of Burnt Hill to Mount Pleasant.

During the Civil War, Augusta’s Camp Keyes served as a training center for Maine recruits.  The state’s only Federal hospital, located at the camp, treated wounded soldiers returning to the area. In 1862, the city donated four lots in the western portion of the cemetery to the U.S. government for the burial of Union troops. In 1870, the city donated an additional six lots in the eastern portion of the cemetery. Interments in these two parcels, collectively known as the Mount Pleasant Soldiers’ Lot, include those who died at the facility and others in the Augusta area.

A solemn and simple monument stands in the eastern parcel, dedicated to the Union soldiers who died in Augusta’s hospitals.  The monument is constructed out of granite block and features a bronze plaque inscribed with the names of 40 Union soldiers.  The U.S. government erected the monument in 1906.  The Grand Army of the Republic, a Civil War veterans association, erected a monument in the western portion of the lot.

Today, the Mount Pleasant Cemetery is one of several municipal cemeteries located near the Augusta State Airport, including Mount Hope and Mount Vernon. Two notable interments in the adjacent Mount Vernon Cemetery are of Revolutionary War heroes.  John Chandler served in both the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812, and later represented Maine as a U.S. Senator. General Henry Sewall, an original member of the Cincinnati Society, also served in the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812.