Londoner Who Served In The American Civil War Honoured At Hendon

A Londoner who enlisted to serve in the Union Navy during the American Civil War, aged just 15, has finally been honoured with an official burial marker - 102 years after his passing.

John Sydney Taplin was born in Hammersmith, West London in 1845. By the age of thirteen he had left his family and joined the British Merchant Navy, and eventually found himself in Brooklyn, New York, during the year 1861. America at that time was in the early stages of a bloody conflict that would mark the beginning of five years of war between the North and South.

Gina Denham, co-founder of Monuments for UK Veterans of the American Civil War Association applied for Mr Taplin’s official marker and organised the event. She explained: “My 2 x grandfather George Denham also served in the American Civil War, on an Ironclad vessel called the USS Chickasaw. He died in north London in 1914 and I managed to get an official headstone for him from the United States Government in 2021. That endeavour led me to find other Civil War veterans of the conflict, black and white, who died in London, virtually forgotten by the nation they once served.

“Their stories both fascinated and saddened me: that ordinary people who had volunteered to serve in a bloody conflict were almost forgotten by history. I felt I needed to address that by learning more about them, to honour their lives and service. When I learnt about John Taplin I discovered that he lied about his age and enlisted on the USS Morning Light. After a year of serving he and the crew were captured at Sabine Pass, Texas. Thereafter he spent nearly two years as a prisoner of war in squalid conditions. I cannot imagine how it must have felt as a teenage Londoner, far from his family, witnessing the death of comrades through fever, malnutrition, and inhumane treatment. John eventually escaped imprisonment and was honourably discharged in December 1864.

“After the war he became an engineer and created several design patents. He lived in Chicago, Washington D.C., and also in Vancouver, Canada. One would think that he had a fill of military life, but in 1879 he enlisted in the Illinois National Guard based in Chicago. He was promoted to an officer and was credited with being responsible for quelling unrest during the city’s industrial riots. After he resigned his commission he undertook several trips to England. I think he wanted to try and reconnect to his extended family living in London. In 1914 he joined the London Branch of American Civil War Veterans and there years later settled permanently in the city of his birth. On May 13th, 1921, John passed away Wharton Street, Kings Cross. I discovered that he was buried in an unmarked grave and, working closely with the Staff at Hendon Cemetery, I began the process of getting him an official burial marker. I am delighted that today, 102 years after his death, we were finally able to bring a suitable closure and celebrate his life - the placement of that official marker with a dedication ceremony. I want to thank the staff at Hendon Cemetery for their help. Also I really appreciate that we had many guests attend today. They were from different places and organisations but were united in remembering John. I think that’s really important, that we could be his family for the day, to let him know he has not been forgotten. We won’t stop there though, as we have already applied for other Civil War veterans burial markers too”.

Wreaths were laid at the veteran’s grave, and among the guests were living historians who formed an honour guard dressed in uniforms of the American Civil War era. Attendees included descendants of other American Civil War Veterans too. Speeches were made by the Mayor of Barnet, Councillor Nagus Narenthira, and Lieutenant Commander R. Tracy Collins, of the United States Navy.

Darren Rawlings is a living historian, a co-founder of Monuments for UK Veterans of the American Civil War Association, and the founder of a social media platform called American Civil War and UK history.