Nestled in the bluffs overlooking the Missouri River Valley, at the northern part on the highest point, is the soldiers’ burial place. In the center of this area is the Kinsman Monument, surrounded by the graves of his comrades. In July 1882, the cemetery received approval from the State of Iowa to place four Civil War cannons at the top of Fairview Cemetery, which became known as “Soldiers Grounds."

In 1902, General Dodge erected the 20-foot-tall gray granite Kinsman Monument to honor his friend and comrade, Colonel William Kinsman, a Civil War Union Army Officer.

The Kinsman Monument was dedicated on May 17, 1902, where members of the community walked from a downtown park area to the monument in remembrance of his bravery and sacrifice.

On May 18, 2013, one hundred fifty years to the day after his death, our chapter participated with the laying of the wreath, just as our members did 100 years ago. Members of the Council Bluffs Chapter, NSDAR, along with other guest speakers were in attendance. The chapter vice regent laid the beautiful wreath which was donated by Corums Flowers & Gifts.

On August 31, 2019, the Council Bluffs Daily Nonpareil published our request for volunteers to help our chapter in its project to repair and reset Civil War gravestones at Fairview Cemetery in Council Bluffs. As mentioned in the paper, “A vital piece of Council Bluffs history is literally sinking into the ground. Luckily, a local organization and a group of volunteers have a plan. They just need some help from the public to pull it off.” On September 14, 2019, six chapter members, along with three members of the Kinsman Sons of the Union Veterans of the Civil War Camp #23 from Atlantic (SUVCW), and community volunteers completed phase one of the Kinsman Restoration Project. This group was able to successfully raise 40 of the 50 military gravestones by digging, filling with rock and resetting them at a proper military height.

On February 18, 2020, KMTV 3 News Now out of Omaha, Nebraska, interviewed a chapter member regarding the work that had been completed on these Civil War Veterans’ headstones. Viewers were able to see the work that had been completed and she had the opportunity to educate the public about the Kinsman Monument, the soldiers buried there and our chapter’s project. In June 2020, Camp #23 Sons of the Union Veterans of the Civil War, after extensive research, were able to verify that 40 additional veterans were in the cemetery with no grave markers. In order to receive gravestones from the Office of Veterans Affairs, documentation verifying the veteran's burial in a cemetery and the regiment he served had to be included. With additional research by one of their members and his wife, they were able to verify that 36 veterans qualified for headstones. No longer lost to obscurity, these 36 Union soldiers now have an identity, no longer unknown, and they can rejoin our collective memory of the sacrifices they made to preserve the Union. In August 2020, Council Bluffs Chapter, NSDAR, along with members from the Major Isaac Sadler–La Belle Vue Chapter, NSDAR, and local volunteers all met at the Kinsman Monument where they cleaned 52 headstones and reset five replacement stones.

In May 2021, members of our chapter once again worked at the cemetery replacing 3 more broken stones. On May 31, 2021, the Daily Nonpareil once again had a wonderful article about the Kinsman Monument.