H M Prison Dartmoor: Obelisk in the American Prisoner of War Cemetery

H M Prison Dartmoor features an obelisk memorial erected between 1886 and 1888 to honor the American soldiers who died while held as prisoners of war at Dartmoor Prison during the Anglo-American War of 1812 to 1815.

The memorial is made of Dartmoor granite and is designed as an obelisk set on a circular base, with central steps leading up to it. It stands on a slightly raised bed covered with gravel. Historically, as depicted in a photograph from around 1900, the obelisk was originally placed on a stone rubble base that formed a rockery, which was planted with ferns.

The front of the memorial is inscribed with the words: 'IN - MEMORY - OF THE - AMERICAN - PRISONERS - OF WAR - WHO DIED - BETWEEN THE - YEARS - 1809 & 1814 - AND LIE - BURIED HERE - DULCE ET - DECORUM EST - PRO PATRIA - MORI'. Below this inscription is the bronze star and anchor emblem of the US Daughters of 1812, which was added in 1987.