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).