G.A.R. Sundial

This bronze sundial was dedicated to Union veterans of the Civil War during their 1938 Grand Army of the Republic encampment in Des Moines. Of the nearly three million Union soldiers who fought during the Civil War, only an estimated 5,000 were still living in 1938, and more than 100 of these veterans attended this 72nd encampment. Most were over 90 years old.

Dr. D. W. Morehouse, then president of Drake University and astronomy professor, installed and adjusted the timepiece.