More Civil War Items
(July 2009)
Honest John: Lexington’s Last Civil War Veteran
John R. Edwards, the only child of Jesse and Anna Edwards, was born on May 27, 1849, at Lexington, Kentucky. He was only 14 years old, just 15 days shy of his 15th birthday, when he volunteered in the Union Army and joined the 26th Indiana Volunteer Infantry at Indianapolis, Indiana on May 12, 1864. *Lee surrendered to Grant on April 9, 1865, so John had nearly a year of active war duty.
He saw action and his life was saved once when a bullet struck his belt buckle and glanced aside. He told about being captured and taken prisoner at Spanish Fort, Alabama and held three months until he was exchanged.
He was known as “Burnsides” to his comrades on account of his sandy beard trimmed in the fashion of General Burnside, *whose hairstyle ultimately led to the new word “sideburns.” We don’t have a picture of our “Burnsides,” but here is a photo of *General Ambrose E. Burnside to give you an idea of what it took to get a nickname like that!
Honest John loved to relate in later years of an incident when the soldiers were moving swiftly and the supplies were unable to keep up. The food was poor and he remarked to his comrades, “If our President knew this, we would get better food.” The lad had not noticed a tall, homely man standing nearby who asked him to repeat that statement. The soldiers received better food from then on, and John always believed that man had been President Lincoln. When President Lincoln was assassinated the guard of honor was nearly chosen from John’s Company. What an honor that would have been for our soldier boy! John served well and was honorably discharged.
John was married to Miss Artie Davis in 1871 and together they had 8 children. John moved to Lexington in 1902 and enjoyed sharing his war stories with the community.
He was a member of the Lexington G.A.R. Post No. 240. (*The Grand Army of the Republic was an organization only for Union Veterans of the Civil War. At its peak in 1890 the G.A.R. had 490,000 members!) The Lexington post at one time numbered around 250 men. Among their illustrious members were men who had fought at Bull Run. Doubtless others were at Gettysburg, rode with Burnsides and Sheridan, fought with Grant at Vicksburg and marched down Pennsylvania Avenue, flushed with victory, in grand review before their Commander-in-Chief, President Lincoln.
Mr. Edwards went to the reunion at Indianapolis, Indiana of his old regiment in 1930 and only a lieutenant, a sergeant, and himself were left!
Honest John departed this life January 28, 1938, aged 88 years and 8 months. He was the last Civil War Veteran of Lexington. Services were held at the United Brethren Church on Sunday afternoon. The American Legion was in charge of the service. Pall bearers were Bernard Brown, George Muffley, Arthur Odell, Lee Ralston, Bud Mont, and Robert Glenn. Members of the firing squad were Jim Burk, Lincoln West, Sylvan Breese, Charles Robbins, Serg. Color Bearer, R.E. Rossman, color guards, Andy Klein and Ed Howard.
His wife and four of his children preceded him in death. The children still living were: Mrs. Pearl Dunn, Mrs. Maude McColm, Mrs. Bertha Urich, all from around Lexington, and a son John, whereabouts unknown. He was also “Grandpa” to 12 grandchildren and 25 great grandchildren that survived. He was buried in the Lexington, Illinois cemetery.
So now the last veteran in our community has left our midst. Who will tell the wondrous story when the Boys in Blue are gone? Their deeds will shine on in undiminished splendor and their memory will be cherished down through the years. So now we pause to show our esteem and respect. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. We are saddened by their passing, but we could not have them with us always. Taps have sounded so we say----farewell!
Source: Lexington Unit Journal clipping January, 1938.
* Wikipedia information
National Civil War Memorial now in progress!
From: www.nationalcwmemorial.org
In the past, almost every other war the United States has participated in has been memorialized nationally. Yet, currently, you may be as surprised as we were to learn that there is no National Civil War Memorial in existence.
After the War Between the States, North and South, the veterans' organizations pressured state legislators to provide funds to erect monuments honoring the wartime deeds of valor. Soon, almost every village had at least a stone or tablet honoring the men who had fought.
The intent behind the memorials was reflected in one soldier's prayer at a dedication at Antietam, "I beseech Almighty God that this and all similar monuments may teach our children's children lofty lessons of American Patriotism."
The men of the North and South fought over 10,400 major and minor engagements and suffered over a million casualties. Aside from the dead, over 360,000 for the North and 258,000 for the South, and countless thousands bore the marks of the War.
In 1866, only a year after Appomattox, the women of Columbus, Mississippi, placed flowers on the graves of a few Federal soldiers who had died in a nearby Union hospital. By the mid 1870's, veterans of both sides held joint reunions. In 1875, Brig. Gen. William Bartlett, a Union hero, attracted attention by declaring that he was "as proud of the men who charged so bravely with Pickett's Division on our lines at Gettysburg, as I am of the men who so bravely met and repulsed them."
The world will never see their like again.
It was the twilight of a new dawn for the North American continent. A new nation was forged in the heat of battle and tested in the hearts of men. What remains is a strong and vigorous nation, indivisible, the United States of America.
To commemorate the heroic effort of the thousands of Americans involved in the War Between the States and to the significance of the lasting peace, brotherhood, and national identity of the United States, nationally recognized historical sculptor, Gary Casteel, will create a memorial in stone and bronze, depicting the complete four year struggle in bas-relief and three dimensional form. The memorial will be a lasting tribute to America's past and provide a tangible journey to future generations of young Americans. The art and text of the memorial will deliver the recognition its historical significance merits.
Gary Casteel, sculptor, in conjunction with the National Civil War Memorial Commission, a Virginia based nonprofit corporation, seeks individual and corporate sponsorship to make this exciting concept a reality and assist in establishing and maintaining our proud American heritage.
Time Line for the Project
July, 1997: Project conception by Mr. Casteel
May, 1998: Project drawings by Mr. Casteel
September, 1999: Project location research begins
September, 2001: Project fund raising by the National Civil War Memorial Commission begins
July, 2007: Mr. Casteel begins sculpting
July, 2009: House Bronze starts bronze casting
April, 2009: Rock of Ages starts cutting stone
March, 2010: Site preparation and construction begins
May, 2011: Official unveiling and opening of the Memorial
For more information concerning The National Civil War Memorial, contact the sculptor at garycastell@comcast.net
Copyright 2009, National Civil War Memorial Commission. P.O. Box 550 Wheeling, WV 26003 | 1-800-828-3097 |
info@nationalcwmemorial.org All rights reserved.