June 21, 2008
Historic preservation of the the Grand Army of the
PSU's Friends of History and the Oregon Lincoln Bicentennial Commission to assist in historic preservation efforts at the first work party at the Grand Army of the Republic Cemetery in SW Portland on Saturday, June 21.
Members of the FOH Civil War Round Table and the Oregon Bicentennial Commission will be donating their time and labor to work with the Edward D. Baker Camp No. 6, one of the Oregon chapters of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War on Saturday, June 21 from 10am to 2pm on the G.A.R. Cemetery located at 9002 SW Boones Ferry Road in SW Portland.
Several thousand veterans of the Civil War traveled west after the war to make Oregon their final residence and several of the pioneer cemeteries in Portland and the rest of Portland hold their marked and unmarked graves. In preparation for the Bicentennial observance of Abraham Lincoln's birthday in 2009, volunteer members from the Civil War Round Table and the Oregon Lincoln Bicentennial Commission have spent the last two years touring these metro pioneer cemeteries to locate the long-forgotten and in many cases, neglected gravesites of these soldiers who fought under comander-in-chief and President Abraham Lincoln to restore the Union. In many cases, the FOH volunteers have been able to research and pull up the regimental histories and backgrounds of several veterans, in addition to cleaning and restoring gravesites and headstones almost obliterated by over a century of neglect and weathering.
The CWRT and OLBC has been following in the footsteps of the Oregon chapter of the Sons of Union Veterans who have been extremely active in restoring Civil War Vet graves throughout the state, especially in the G.A.R. cemeteries. (The S.U.V. is a later version of the Grand Army, with chapters in every state in the U.S. ) Many Civil War Veterans are buried at Portland's G.A.R. cemetery, which includes the grave of Hartwell Compson, a Civil War Medal of Honor recipient; three African-American soldiers, and thirty-five veterans in graves that remained unmarked for almost 100 years. Until the research of both Harold Slavik and Randy Fletcher of the Baker Camp, along with Metro's Susie Bousha, "unearthed" the location of the graves, and the S.U.V. ordered military headstones from the Department of Veteran's Affairs. Now those very headstones will be finally placed on the unmarked graves, starting with the first work party taking place on June 21.
Anyone interested in honoring these Civil War Veterans who made the G.A.R. cemetery their final resting place, is invited to help with the work party. As Randy Fletcher stated in the S.U.V. newsletter: "The work is not difficult, but it is dirty so bring the kids, the cousins, the neighbors. Anyone who can dig some dirt or mix some concrete is needed."
For more information call KC at (503)725-5473
