Five Union Soldiers Find Peace

The Southern Pines Pilot ^ | 10/17/10 | Jim Dodson

[Bodleian_Girl]

Shortly after 10 o'clock on a crisp Saturday morning two weeks ago, 75 folks solemnly clutching small American flags and digital cameras assembled in a grove of young pines at a modest farm in the Zion community, tucked into in the soft hills west of downtown Rockingham.

Their objective was to honor five forgotten Union soldiers who died in a skirmish only days before the end of the Civil War. Until now, the solders' remains have lain in hand-dug graves marked only by small piles of white stones for 145 years, their identities unknown.

The event, sponsored by the Richmond County Historical Society, was an unlikely memorial service to honor their service to country and unveil official grave markers for the newly identified deceased. Invited guests included ancestors of the dead soldiers from as far away as Rhode Island and Pennsylvania, plus local citizens and history buffs and even a color guard made up of the Sons of Confederate Veterans from both North and South Carolina.

As local historian James Clifton reminded the participants, what happened at Lassiter Farm on March 7, 1865, was only a tiny incident in the bloodiest conflict in American history, a vast conflagration that produced more than a million casualties including 620,000 soldiers - an estimated 8 percent of all white males from the North and 18 percent from the South. More American soldiers died in the Civil War than in the next six wars combined.

Ironically, it was only the honor of a Confederate soldier that kept the memory of the five Union deaths from vanishing forever into the ether......

[Bodleian_Girl]

Great article!!! The rest is at the link. http://www.thepilot.com/news/2010/oct/17/jim-dodson-five-union-soldiers-find-peace/

[Tax-chick]

Invited guests included ancestors of the dead soldiers from as far away as Rhode Island and Pennsylvania ...

I just want to know if any of the dead Civil War soldiers' ancestors showed up. And I want to see the pictures, too.

(Undead, Typso, North Carolina, and Civil War interest.)

[rahbert]

To determine if their ancestors were in attendance
would require a seance or a Ouija board.

[Texas56]

Nice article. Thank you for sharing.

[Bodleian_Girl]

I just want to know if any of the dead Civil War soldiers' ancestors showed up. And I want to see the pictures, too.

Relatives of Pvt. Henry L. Sennett, 24, were present to recognize their ancestor, who, along with the four other Union soldiers, had been all lost for 145 years.

They included Thomas Shugars of Salix, Penn.; his son, Jim Shugars; and grandson, Ian Shugars.

Formally recognizing the other Union soldiers were Charles Augur of Lexington of the Gibbon Burke Sons of Union Veterans; and Dennis St. Andrew of Cary, senior vice commander, Department of N.C., Sons of Union Veterans.

Sennett was a member of the 9th Pennsylvania Cavalry along with Pvt. Calvin Simpson, 24; and Pvt. David Woods, 27; Cpl. Reed Alcorn, 21, and Pvt. Mathew Ross, 20, both of the 8th Indiana Cavalry. They were on a foraging mission as part of the Union Army in Richmond County.

Read more: Richmond County Daily Journal - Union dead honored at ceremony (Another article)

http://www.yourdailyjournal.com/view/full_story_home/9762687/article-Union-dead-honored-at-ceremony?instance=homesecondary_news_left_column

[Still Thinking]

[facepalm] Maybe they mean the soldiers’ aunts’ sisters, but that would still be quite a spread in age between siblings.

[Bodleian_Girl]

Thanks!

[Tax-chick]

Nice picture, thanks, and it looks like it was an excellent event. Perfect weather across the state recently!

[equalitybeforethelaw]

“They were on a foraging mission as part of the Union Army in Richmond County.”

Foraging mission is short for stealing from the locals. Its anyones guess who shot the thieves. I wonder how much silverware was recovered before they were laid to rest?

[Stonewall Jackson]

I thought you might be interested in this.

[Dudoight]

Brilliant! Ancestor perception deficit.

I wonder if there would have been any fanfare if the soldiers were confederates? They were racists after all.

[Hegewisch Dupa]

Good one!

[Tax-chick]

It’s North Carolina. All Civil War remains are treated with a lot of respect, especially by the spirit world ;-). But seriously, events like this are fairly common around the Piedmont, where either Union or Confederate remains still turn up quite frequently.

[Earthdweller]

"I wonder how much silverware was recovered before they were laid to rest?

Nice.../s

I assure you, if they were from Indiana..they did not need any ones cheap "silverware".

[GOP_Party_Animal]

Foraging mission is short for stealing from the locals. Its anyones guess who shot the thieves. I wonder how much silverware was recovered before they were laid to rest?

Wow. That's a pretty vile assumption to throw on to dead American servicemen. I suppose you were in support of John Murtha regarding the Haditha Marines too?

[equalitybeforethelaw]

“I assure you, if they were from Indiana..they did not need any ones cheap “silverware”.”

Yeah, tell that to Southerners who lost everything to the bummers. The pedigree for the word “bummer” originates with Shermans march. Bummers were committed to “foraging”. Much like Sheridan, the enterprise was to wage war on civilians. The troops took their lead from their betters and carried out the operation thoroughly.

[equalitybeforethelaw]

“Wow. That’s a pretty vile assumption to throw on to dead American servicemen. I suppose you were in support of John Murtha regarding the Haditha Marines too?”

Not an assumption, a known fact: foraging was stealing from locals. Better known as “bumming”. With regards to Murtha: Murtha, like his brethren were from the north.

[Celtic Cross]

If the Sons of Confederate Veterans provide fanfare for union casualties, doesn't stand to reason that they'd provide fanfare for confederate casualties?

[Smokin' Joe]

Invited guests included ancestors of the dead soldiers

They might be late...should've invited the descendents...

[Bubba Ho-Tep]

Wow. That's a pretty vile assumption to throw on to dead American servicemen.

You clearly don't spend much time on the Civil War threads around here. That's mild.