Memorial Day Ceremony Oakwood Cemetery May 30, 2022 Jefferson, Texas
Members of the Brigadier General Joseph Bailey Camp #5, Sherveport, Louisiana show their respect and support at a Memorial Day Ceremony in Jefferson, Texas on May 30, 2022. Brother Cox was an organizer of the Memorial Day observance. About 150 people attended the observance, which included a reading of the Gettysburg Address and a rendering of the “Battle Hymn of the Republic.” In addition to serving as the final resting place of scores of Confederate soldiers, the cemetery in Jefferson also is the final resting place of Murphy and more than two dozen other Union soldiers.
BG Joseph Bailey Camp 5 members placing a wreath at the tombstone of Medal of honor recipient 2LT Daniel J. Murphy at Oakwood Cemetery in Jefferson, Texas. From left to right: Homer (Ted) Cox, Ralph Diamond, Mike Heller, Matt Spears, John Andrew Prime, Larry Joe Reynolds.
Tombstone of Medal of honor recipient Second Lieutenant Daniel J. Murphy, Company F, 19th Massachusetts Infantry who receieved the Medal of Honor on October 27, 1864 for Capturing of flag of 47th North Carolina Infantry (C.S.A.) at Hatcher's Run, Virginia.
The Battlefield Cross, alternatively referred to as the Fallen Soldier Battlefield Cross, Soldier's Cross, or just Battle Cross, is a symbolic replacement of a cross, or memorial marker appropriate to an individual service-member's religion, on the battlefield or at the base camp for a soldier who has been killed. It is made up of the soldier's rifle stuck into the ground or into the soldier's boots, with helmet on top. Dog tags are sometimes placed on the rifle, and the boots of the dead soldier can be placed next to the rifle. The purpose is to show honor and respect for the dead at the battle site. The practice started during World War I, as a sign of respect for those that gave their lives in combat during wartime. Today, it is a means of showing respect for the dead amongst the still living members of the troop. It is commonly seen in the field or base camp after a battle, especially among American troops in Afghanistan or Iraq. While it is used less today as a means of identification, it still serves as a method of mourning among the living, as attending the funeral is not always possible for soldiers still in combat.
Memorial Day Ceremony Washington Cemetery May 30, 2022 Houston, Texas
Members of the Lt. Cmdr. Edward Lea, USN, Camp #2, Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, in partnership with the Sarah Emma Edmonds Detached Tent #4, Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War, came together on Memorial Day to pay tribute to the Union veteran dead at the G.A.R. plot in the Washington Cemetery in Houston, Texas.
One of the noteworthy interred there is Sarah Emma Edmonds/Seeley - a woman who enlisted in Company F, 2nd Michigan Volunteer Infantry, under the alias of Franklin Thompson. For almost two years she served in the Union army as a male nurse, participating in the First Battle of Bull Run, the Battle of Blackburn's Ford, Antietam, and Fredericksburg, among others. She also served as a spy, ironically disguising herself as a woman or as a slave, infiltrating the Confederate camps while working in the fields with the rest of the servants. She was also the only woman to be a member of the Grand Army of the Republic.
Whatch the full video below:
Designed and Maintained for the Department of Texas and Louisiana, Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War by:
