Looking back at the GAR Memorial Tree

Before I talk about the GAR memorial tree in Reno, I want to discuss the history of the GAR and role in the planting of the GAR memorial tree.

How the GAR Came About

During the Civil War, units were at first made up of men from certain communities. These men had grown up together and now were fighting alongside on another.  As the war went on and members of units were lost, soldiers began to form new friendships with soldiers from other places. At the end of the war, as soldiers tried settling back into civilian life,  many longed for the days of camp life and the bonds they had formed during the war. "Groups of men began joining together--first for camaraderie and then for political power. Emerging most powerful among the various organizations would be the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), which by 1890 would number 409,489 veterans of the 'War of the Rebellion' (Knight, http://suvcw.org/research.htm). 

The GAR was founded in Decatur, Illinois on April 6, 1866 by Benjamin F. Stephenson. Because the war had left so many wounded veterans, widows, and orphans behind, the GAR was created to be a charitable organization "active in relief work and in pension legislation" (Knight http://suvcw.org/research.htm). It recaptured the camaraderie and community feel for those who survived the war. For some "soldier-politicaians," the GAR also worked as a "voting machine" (McConnell 25).  In fact, five U.S. presidents were members of the GAR.  One particular soldier-politician was Norton Chipman. Chipman took over the GAR after Stephenson.  After acquiring this new duty, Chipman realized that many "posts and departments... [had] organized largely upon their own responsibility" (McConnell 28).  He also found that many of these posts did not make reports back to headquarter, his main problem being those out West.  Apparently, the Western states rarely reported back at all.

The Planting of the Memorial Tree

On June 11, 1913, the Reno Evening Gazette published the 25,000 people showed up to a GAR parade. The GAR was having a convention and the day was declared a public holiday and people from the surrounding areas came. After the parade there was a flag raising and the tree-planting ceremony. About 1,000 people attended. The soil that it was planted in was gathered by Commander Thomas from Civil War from battlefields from the south. Along with the the tree-planting, Governer Oddie gave an address, songs were sang, and a history of the American flag was given.  (From what I can gather, Commander Thomas was probably the Commander-in-Chief of the GAR.)

 

G.A.R. Cemetery- Making the dead come to life

Through lots of digging on the internet, I was able to use several sites in order to find the obituaries of some of those buried in the Grand Army of the Republic cemetery.  I am very excited to have found these obituaries because they help give some clues to what kind of life expereinces these men and women had. And for those of us with an imagination, these obituaries make these people come to life for us.

I began my search with a list of those buried at the Hillside Cemetery at: http://www.usgwarchives.net/nv/washoe/photos/tombstones/oldhillside/page1.html.
I found this to be a great starting point because along with John McGee's name was an obituary, the only one provided with this list.

Reno Evening Gazette June 12, 1880
"Died

McGee- In Reno, June 11, 1880, J.C. McGee, aged 36. A native of Ohio
(Funeral to-morrow afternoon at 3 p.m. from the late residence of deceased.)

Death of J.C. McGee
J.C. McGee, the harness maker, died at 10 o'clock last night. He had been ill for about seventeen weeks. He passed away very peacefully and quietly,gradually sinking to his death. Mr. McGee entered the Union army at the outbreak of the rebellion, when he was but sixteen years of age, and fought till the close of the war. His friends think that his constitution was then
injured, and that the seeds of the ailment from which he died were then planted in his system. The funeral will take place to-morrow at 3 o'clock from the house. It was the last wish of the deceased that his funeral might be as quiet as possible."

The way this obituary is worded makes me wonder, what is it about the war that planted the "seeds of ailment from which" J.C. died? Was it some sort of depression or a physical ailment that caused his demise?

From here, I researched J.C. more in the newspaper archives and got a large return of newspapers with mention of his name. A majority of these were advertisements for his saddle business off of Sierra and 4th street in Reno. Another mention of J.C. was in the Reno Evening Gazette on April 10th, 1880. This short entry that said that "the harness maker was ill in Carson [City]." As we know from his obituary, he died 2 months later.

It was in trying to re-enter the web address for this obituary that I found the U.S.GenWeb Archives. This site contains a link for the Nevada Obituary Project. I felt like I had hit the jackpot with this find! People can contribute by going through old newspapers and adding obituaries that they have found. The obituaries here are 1936 and prior! I was able to go through their alphabetized names and compare them to the names of the list that I mentioned above.

The next obituary I found was that of E.O. Lane. With this one I had to do a little guessing because he came up as Otis Lane, but luckily because they included his initials in the cemetery listings, I was able to determine that this was him. The newspaper article and the text below are two different obituaries for Lane.

Reno Evening Gazette Feb. 5, 1923

"Died
Lane: In Reno, Feb. 3, 1923. - Ensign Otis Lane, beloved uncle of Mrs.Virginia Miunich of Worcester, Mass., and S.L. Austin of Sutherland, Iowa. A member of the G. A. R. A native of Maine. Aged eighty-four year. Friends are invited to attend funeral services at the chapel of the Ross- Burke Company Tuesday afternoon at two o'clock. Rev. Brewster Adams, assisted by the G. A. R., officiating. Interment G. A. R. cemetery" (http://www.genrecords.org/nvfiles/).

Part of the above newspaper clipping  above says, "Called by Death- The death of Otis Lane in Reno last Saturday took one more out of the ranks of veterans of the Civil War.  Mr. Lane aged eighty-four years had been a resident of Nevada for half a century and was in the sheep business both as a buyer and seller and as a shearer.  During the Civil War he attained the rank of ensign in the United States Navy." -Reno Evening Gazette Monday February 5, 1923

Although the next obituary is that of the son of a Union Veteran buried at the Hillside cemetery, it is the most rich in information. Because S.A. Hamlin was still alive at the time of his son's death, this article gives us, the readers, a look into an actual event in S.A.'s life. We get to experience with him a loss he had to experience and allowing us to empathize with him.

Daily Nevada State Journal October 9, 1895
"A Sad Death
Fred Hamlin, a Popular Young Man, Passes Away after a Long Illness Fred, eldest son of S. A. Hamlin, died at a late hour on Monday night after a lingering illness. He has been sick for over three years and has suffered terribly. He has received the best of medical aid, both here and in California,and his father and mother have been untiring in their efforts to humor him in every wish, in the hope that he might be restored to health. He was taken to California, and different localities in that State were tried at the suggestion of physicians and friends, but while he would show an improvement for a time that would give his parents and relatives a ray of hope, it would only be temporary, and gradually the disease sapped his life. He was patient through it all, and when the summons came to relieve him of his suffering he fell asleep, never to awaken on this earth. He had made a brave fight for life, but when he realized that there was little
hope he as bravely met the inevitable. He was a favorite with his associates and a young man who would, had he lived, made his mark in the world. He had just passed the mile post of his majority, and was ready to begin an active and useful life. His parents and relatives have the sympathy of the whole community in this hour of their great sorrow. The funeral will take place from the Baptist Church this afternoon at 2:30 o'clock. Friends and acquaintances are invited to attend" (http://files.usgwarchives.net/nv/washoe/obits/hamlin665gob.txt).

I also found more articles on S.A. Hamlin himself while looking through the newspaper archives.
On Friday, August 20, 1880 the Nevada State Journal published that S.A. Hamlin would be running for sheriff here in Reno. The interesting part of the newspaper was the "jottings" sections or the "brevity" column. One of these columns briefly mentions that Hamlin and his buddies were going on a deer hunting trip up north.

Nevada State Journal.
 August 20, 1880

It's so strange, compared to today, that these "little things" that people did in their everyday lives became "news."  It gives the newspaper of the time such an intimate feel as if it were a high school newspaper where everyone knows everyone else and it's a way to communicate what sorts of projects and activities everyone is getting involved with. Another article that I found was about a man who had just moved back to town and wanted everyone to know he was back in his old house and visitors were welcome. The newspaper was, in a way, like our social networking websites now. If you wanted to update everyone of your "status," you could do it through the newspaper.

The Gridley Flour Sack

Is there really anything a person could do in Austin, Nevada? If you've ever been there, you'd know that it's a tiny town in which the "Loneliest Road in America" (Hwy 50) runs through. I personally don't know many people who make places to go vacation in Austin, but if your there around July 1st to July 4th you could experience the small town celebrating Gridley Days and an old fashioned 4th of July.  According to travelnevada.com, the events for the 2011 Gridley Day's celebration will include events such as a flour sack race, an old fashioned 4th of July parade, a cemetery tour, and live entertainment. To check out more, go to http://travelnevada.com/events-shows-info/gridley-days.aspx.

Who's Gridley?
Gridley was a man who lived in Austin, Nevada in 1864.  He was part owner of the grocery store in town. His story is one that is famous in the small town of Austin and is included in Mark Twain's book, Roughing It.

The Story of the Gridley Flour Sack
There are a couple different versions of this story that I have found. Although the facts may not be completely true or aspects of the story may have been changed through the retelling, the sentiment of the story is not altered.

In 1864, Austin was holding it's "first mayoral election" (Glass 119).  Depending on which resource you look at, Gridley was either running for mayor as the "Democratic candidate" (Twain chapter 45) or he was supporting the Democratic candidate, being that he was a southern sympathizer.  It was upon this occasion the Gridley and the town physician made wager: whoever lost the election would have to carry a fifty-pound sack of flour through town.  Gridley lost the wager and so he carried the flour sack on his shoulder "while the town band marched behind him playing... patriotic ditties" (civilwartoday.net).  Once the event was finished, Gridley said that he did not need the flour and asked what he should do with it.  Someone chimed in and said that he should auction it off. The money would go to the Union Sanitary Fund, the equivalent of the Red Cross today. The proceeds would help soldiers who needed medical care. After auctioning off the sack of flour to the highest bidder, Gridley inquired where he should deliver the flour too. He was told that there was no need to deliver the flour; he should auction it off again.

The idea became so popular that Gridley went on to other towns in Nevada such as Virginia City, Gold Hill, Silver City, Dayton and Carson City. He then went on to towns in California and he eventually traveled back east continuing to re-sell the bag of flour until finally he sold it for the last time at the Sanitary Fair in St. Louis. Upon selling the sack for the last time, it is said that Gridley asked for the flour to be used to make mini cakes to be sold for the final proceeds.

Gridley returned home to Austin to find that the "mines had played out" (Glass 118) and that his business had been shut down. Gridley now found himself with very little, having used his own money to travel around with the flour sack. He ended up in Stockton, California. It was here that he passed away, penniless, with a grave "marked only with a simple cross" (civilwartoday.net). After hearing about Gridley’s death, Union Veterans sold mini sacks of flour in order to raise money to erect a statue in memory of Gridley. The statue is in Stockton were he is buried.

Multiple sources say that the flour sack resides in the Nevada State Museum. According to civilwartoday.net, the sack is not on display for visitors to see at the Nevada State Museum and the town of Austin would like it back so that they can put it on display themselves. 

The significance of this story is that it  depicts a good-natured relationship between Southern and Union supporters alike; a depiction that may have been greatly needed during a time of war, in order to suggest that the country wasn’t completely divided, and that there was still hope for reconciliation. 

Information for this story came from the following sources: 

Civil War Today: A West Coast Yankee's Guide to the War Between the States. "Reuel Colt Gridley's Grave- Stockton Nevada." http://civilwartoday.net/GridleysGrave.aspx. April 21, 2011.

Civil War Today: A West Coast Yankee's Guide to the War Between the States. "Austin, NV. 

April 19, 1864: 

Given that so the Civil War divided so many western towns violently, why was the conflict at Austin so good natured?" 

http://civilwartoday.net/austin.aspx. April 21, 2011.

Twain, Mark. Roughing It. Chapter 45.  (You can access this online at http://futureboy.us/twain/roughing/toc.html.)

Glass, Mary Ellen and Al. Touring Nevada: A Historic and Scenic Guide. University of Nevada Press. Reno, NV. 1983. 

The Civil War Tree!

This "Civil War tree" is planted in soil from Civil War battlefields. It is locate right across the street from the University of Nevada, Reno, off of East 9th St. and Center St. I went to check out this tree right before class because it is conveniently right across the street from where our class room is. It only takes a second to look at but it's cool to know that it's there.

"Grand Army of the Republic Memorial Tree- This tree was planted in soil from Civil War battle fields and dedicated to the memory of the Grand Republic by the National Commander in Chief June 10, 1913. It was marked and rededicated by Isaac Crist Camp Number 28, Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, Johana Shine Tent Number 82, Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War- Reno, Nevada, October 18, 1969."

It's an interesting thing to go see if you're on campus and need to kill time in between classes or you can view it while relaxing on the sloping lawns near the entrance of campus. This tree is probably passed by more people who think it's just like all of the other trees rather than the people who realize it's history. It may not be that exciting... it's just a tree. But it probably holds the same amount of legitimacy and meaning as those "so-and-so died here" plaques that people chase around back east.

It may not be worth a day-trip but it's a convenient piece of history right in our own back yard. You don't have to travel across the country just to catch a glimpse of some Civil War "memorabilia." The tree is a reminder that the War touched the lives of people all over what is now the current United States of America. The implications of the war affected everyone from on the battle field to out west.

~Erica

Grand Army of the Republic Cemetery

Run down and overlooked, the Hillside Cemetery has a view of downtown Reno and rests close by to the University of Nevada, Reno.  This cemetery contains several sections including the Grand Army of the Republic section where veterans from the Civil War are buried along with some of their loved ones.

Compared to the rest of the Hillside Cemetery, the GAR section is in fairly good condition, but the condition of the surrounding parts of the cemetery are evidence to poor condition it was once in, as 

mentioned in the historical marker below.  

The Nevada historical marker reads: 

"Civil War Plot

This plot was purchased in 1890 for $180 in gold coin by the General O.M. Post No. 69, Grand Army of the Republic, to be used as a last resting place for their comrades-in-arms during the Civil War, 1861-1865. 

They Made it a place of beauty during the early 1900's. Following years of neglect and outrageous vandalism, restoration was initiated in 1963 by the Daughters of Union Veterans who served in their own state and neighboring areas of the West from 1861 to 1866" (Baso, Entry #79). 

Although the Jewish cemetery nearby is well cared for, the general portion of the cemetery is overgrown with weeds. Headstones are broken, toppled over, or missing.  College students use the dirt road that runs through the cemetery (and the surrounding curb) as free parking within walking distance of the University.  Glass beer bottles can be found in the tall grass because apparently the cemetery is the new hopping place to enjoy a drink or two. I should also probably mention that sorority and fraternity houses are close by.  I'm not sure many people or students really appreciate the cemetery other than it's dirt road for parking and as a place two enjoy a beer.  Not many of my classmates or friends realize that there is a "Civil War" part of the cemetery there either. On my third trip to the cemetery (my new favorite hangout although I am NOT the one leaving beer bottles everywhere), I met sturdy guy with a Jack Daniel's t-shirt going into the GAR plot with a trash bag. I asked him if he volunteers to take care of the plot. He said he lives across the street and his two kids are in the service.  He walks over in his free time to clean up.  While my family and I were walking around, I noticed that he was putting up new flags also.  It's nice to see somebody who finds a connection to the GAR plot and pays his respect by caring for it. Maybe the place isn't as forgotten as it first may seem. 

One of the amazing things about this cemetery is how many different places these people came from.  We can also see in the pictures of Nancy and Henry Close's headstones that not only were veterans were buried here, but their loved ones as well, including daughters and wives.

Patrick Keating, NY

P.B. Taylor, Iowa

Nancy Close 1855-1931

Henry Close

J.H. Hussey, Main

Corp'l Butterfield, Ohio

W.F. Payne, NJ

I think what sets this cemetery apart from the cemeteries that are closer to where the war was fought, is that it doesn't just represent men who were called veterans, but people who left their homes to come to a new land that they did not know to start new lives and experience new adventures. It makes you wonder what their reasons were for coming out west. Perhaps they were escaping a land scarred by war; "destroyed property, high unemployment, inflation" and a "political situation that threatened to break into renewed fighting" (McConnell 18). By going west, they could escape the part of the country that was trying to put the pieces back together. Out west they could look forward to making a new future in a place that wasn't struggling to recover the past.

We should also realize that these men weren't just veterans of an old war, but that these were the men that got to live their lives beyond their battlefield experiences. They represent the ones who got to live and make new memories,  start businesses, have families, and play roles as citizens in their communities.

"Veteran" was only one role among many. A former soldier might easily think himself primarily as "Westerner," "Philadelphian," "farmer," "Protestant," "father," "Irishman," or any of a thousand other potential identities before he thought of himself as "veteran" (McConnell 14). 

The Project

Here's just a little overview of what's going on.

Course Project Proposal:

For my course project, I propose to look at how Western towns in the Sierra Nevada (towns that were around during the Civil War) remember the war. I want to look at one or two towns and examine through multiple resources, the following questions:
• How did the war affect the history of the town up to the present?
• Is there a lasting impression from the war that reached the west or is it forgotten?
• Did the war affect any cultural aspects of the town?
• If it is remembered, who remembers it and how do they remember it? How do they preserve the memory?