1860What is considered the only Crimean War monument in North America?
The Welsford-Parker Monument, standing at the entrance of Halifax’s Old Burying Ground, is the only Crimean War memorial known in North America. Erected in 1860, it commemorates two Nova Scotian officers, Major Augustus Frederick Welsford and Captain William Buck Carthew Augustus Parker, who died in the fierce Battle of the Great Redan during the Siege of Sevastopol. The imposing free-stone arch, crowned by a (somewhat diminutive) British lion, features the names of six key Crimean battles and was funded by public subscription and a government grant. In 2025, the monument marks its 165th anniversary, still serving as a poignant tribute to Halifax’s role in this distant war and the sacrifice of its fallen sons.
