Islay, Mull Of Oa, American Monument

The American Monument is a stone memorial tower erected in 1920, designed by architect Robert James Walker and built by George Read & Son of Catrine. It commemorates approximately 550 American soldiers who perished in two maritime disasters off the coast of Islay in 1918. The monument stands in an isolated location on a raised rocky platform along the cliff edge of the Mull of Oa, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean at around 130 metres above sea level.

The tower is approximately 20 metres tall and roughly 10 metres in diameter at its base, tapering to a conical top. It is constructed of dark grey rubble stone gathered from the surrounding cliffs, with contrasting bands of lighter rubble and sandstone ashlar detailing. Stone steps on the north-east side lead to a primary dedication: a two-metre-tall brass plaque set within a large carved stone architrave shaped like a doorway. Above the plaque is a small cast bronze American eagle clutching a wreath. The plaque is dedicated to the American soldiers and sailors lost in the wrecks of the SS Tuscania and HMS Otranto, and includes a quote from Theodore O'Hara's poem, "Bivouac of the Dead."

An octagonal moulded date stone, inscribed with the date 1918 and carvings of an American star and a Scottish thistle, sits further up the tower, aligned with the plaque. Towards the top of the tower are two bands of lighter rubble work with regularly spaced, small square niches with darker stone, appearing as windows. A small circular bronze wreath plaque is set at ground level on a concrete plinth at the seaward side of the tower, containing a tribute from Woodrow Wilson, then President of the United States.