Major John Andre
(1751-1780)
While Adjutant-General of the British forces in
America he was sent on a secret mission to Benedict Arnold to
negotiate the surrender of West Point to the British. Captured in
civilian clothes he was hanged as a spy. His remains were later
brought back to the Abbey for
burial in the Nave where a monument
was erected.
Battle of Britain July-October 1940
The furled American flag appears in this memorial window in
the Royal Air Force chapel as several American pilots flew with
the RAF during this battle. The only American killed during this
particular conflict was Pilot Officer William Fiske, who has a
memorial in St Paul's Cathedral London.
Phillips Brooks
Bishop of Massachusetts, d.1893, who wrote the hymn "O
Little Town of Bethlehem", has a memorial in the south aisle of
St Margaret's Church.
General John Burgoyne
(died 1792) surrendered to the Americans at Saratoga. He is
buried in the North Cloister under a simple stone. He was
baptised at St Margaret's Westminster and educated at Westminster
School.
Joseph L. Chester
(1821-1882) an American genealogist who edited the
"Westminster Abbey Registers" in 1876. Tablet in south choir
aisle. Buried at Nunhead cemetery London.
George W. Childs
of Philadelphia presented the stained glass window to the
English poets George Herbert and William Cowper in St George's
chapel in 1875 and also gave money for the John Milton window in
St Margaret's, which includes lines by John Greenleaf
Whittier.
Congressional Medal of Honour
Awarded to the British Unknown Warrior on 17 October 1921.
It hangs on a pillar near the grave in the nave and was presented
by General Pershing.
Thomas Sterns Eliot
(1888-1965) Poet, born in St Louis. His memorial stone in
Poets' Corner was unveiled in 1967. Buried at East Coker in
Somerset.
John and Eleanor Elliott
of New York City set up the Chapel of Christ the Intercessor
in
St Margaret's Church in 1981.
James Gerard
US Ambassador in Berlin (in charge of British interests)
gave the stained glass window which commemorates British
Prisoners of War 1914-18 in the north choir aisle. The US coat of
arms is included in the design.
Richard Hakluyt
(1553-1616) was educated at Westminster School and became a
Prebendary (clergyman) at the Abbey. Called 'the father of modern
geographers' he was a promoter of the South Virginia colony.
Buried in the South Transept (no marker).
George, 3rd Viscount Howe
(1725-1758) was killed on an expedition to Ticonderoga in
New York state. His monument in the north west tower chapel
in the nave was erected by the
province of Massachusetts.
Henry James
(1843-1916) Writer, born in New York. His memorial stone in
Poets' Corner was unveiled in 1976. Buried in Cambridge,
Massachusetts.
Martin Luther King
d.1968. His statue, on the west front of the Abbey, was one
of ten unveiled in July 1998 depicting modern martyrs. Further
information can be found on the Abbey website.
Barnardus La Grange
died 1797, "an American loyalist" and his son James have a
monument in St Margaret's Church.
Henry W. Longfellow
(1807-1882) A bust of this poet was erected in Poets' Corner
in 1884 by his English admirers. Buried at Cambridge, Mass.
James Russell Lowell
Poet and US Minister in London 1880-5, died in 1891. A
tablet and stained glass window to his memory can be seen in the
vestibule of the Chapter House.
Charles McIlvaine
Bishop of Ohio. He died while in Florence and a brass
plaque in St Faith's chapel records the resting of his coffin
here in 1873 on its way to the USA.
Walter Hines Page
(1855-1918) US Ambassador in London 1913-18. He has a
memorial tablet in the vestibule of the Chapter House.
Sir Peter Parker
He died in 1814 during a skirmish on the American coast and
has a monument in St Margaret's Church.
George Peabody
(1795-1869) American merchant, banker and philanthropist who
did much to help the poor of London. Buried here briefly in 1869
before removal to Danvers, now Peabody, in Massachusetts.
Memorial stone in the Nave.
William Pitt, Earl of Chatham
(1708-1778). His life-size wax effigy in the Abbey Museum
was modelled by an American,
Patience Wright. His grave and large monument are in the
North Transept.
Sir Walter Raleigh
Citizens of America gave a window to his memory in St
Margaret's Church in the 19th century. Raleigh was beheaded in
1618 and is buried in the chancel of St Margarets. The window
contains the US coat of arms and a verse by James Russell
Lowell.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
(1882-1945) US President. A memorial tablet in the Nave was
erected in 1948 to "A faithful friend of freedom and of
Britain".
Royal Flying Corps
1914-1918: A small stained glass window in the nave of the
Abbey was erected by
Mrs Louis Bennettof West Virginia in memory of all members
of this Corps who died, including her son Louis junior, who was
killed in France. (This window is illustrated on the cover of a
new colour booklet "Stained Glass of Westminster Abbey" available
from the Abbey shop).
James Rumsey
of West Virginia, inventor of the steamboat was buried in St
Margaret's churchyard 1792. A modern memorial in St Margaret's
was put up by citizens of his state.
Viscount Sherbrooke
His late 19th century bust in the east porch of St
Margaret's is by the American sculptor
Moses Ezekiel.
HMS Speaker
This escort carrier was commissioned in the USA in 1943 and
served in the Far East. A small plate and badge are affixed to
the west inner doorway of St Margaret's Church.
General Staats-Long Morris
of New York served in the army in Scotland and married into
the British aristocracy. He died in 1800 and was buried in the
nave with his wife (grave not marked).
John Thorndike
was a brother of Herbert Thorndike, a clergyman of the Abbey.
He emigrated to New England but died in 1668 on a visit to his
brother in England. Both are
buried under an unmarked
stone in the East Cloister.
Colonel Roger Townshend
Killed on an expedition to Ticonderoga, New York State,
1759. He is buried at Albany. His monument in the Nave includes
two figures of native Americans from the region.
Trinity Church, New York
A bronze plaque in the south aisle of the Lady Chapel was
presented by this Church in memory of Queen Anne and William III
who granted land for the first Anglican Church in New York. Both
monarchs are buried here.
Rodman Wanamaker
of New York presented a jewelled processional cross to the
Abbey in
1922, which is still used at most services today.
William Wragg
of South Carolina was drowned 1777 on his way to England. His
memorial is in the south choir aisle.
Sir James Wright
Last royal governor of Georgia d.1785, buried in the North
Transept (the inscription on his grave is now very faint).
United States Citizens
and charitable foundations gave money to the Abbey's
Restoration Appeal 1973-1995 and small stained glass windows in
the Lady Chapel and plaques in the chapel vestibule commemorate
their gifts. Donations were also given to the recent St
Margaret's Restoration Appeal and a tablet in that church records
their names.
Services
Memorial services have taken place in the Abbey for several
eminent Americans including President U.S. Grant 1885, J.
Pierpont Morgan 1913, President Harding 1923, and a commemoration
for President Kennedy was held in 1963. President Cleveland's
daughter was married at the Abbey in 1918. Between 1942 and 1944
Thanksgiving Day services were held for United States forces and
the bi-centennial was celebrated at a service here in 1976.
More information on the people mentioned here can be obtained
from the Abbey Library.