Poughkeepsie Memorial

Department Commander Dennis St. Andrew shares a Memorial Day Project that he has been pursuing over the past several years.

Brother Dennis St Andrews;

“Several years ago, during one of my visits to Poughkeepsie, New York I noticed a large and unique metal grave marker and flag holder stuck in the ground adjacent to a Civil War monument cannon within the Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery. The marker resembled a five pointed star just like the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) membership badge.

The front of the marker featured the Goddess of Liberty, representing Loyalty; a Soldier and Sailor shaking hands, meaning Fraternity; and two children kneeling to receive assurance and protection from Fraternity of those service men thus representing Charity. On the obverse side were additional symbols common to the GAR membership badge.

This specific grave marker was unlike any other GAR grave markers I had seen. The cemetery’s superintendent at that time Charles Fells, told me that the marker had been at the monument for many years. However, he did not know anything about it. I told him the history of the GAR and the importance of the marker’s association with the Union veterans of the Civil War. I adviseed him that the marker could easily be pulled out of the ground, stolen and in turn sold to collectors of Civil War artifacts. Mr. Fells said he would look into ways to protect the GAR marker against any possible future vandalizim. One year later, during another visit to the cemetery Mr. Fells advised me he had placed the marker his office, but that he as yet not come up with a solution to prevent its theft.

In July 2017, I met with the new cemetery superintendent, Mr. Berryann. When I asked about the marker, Mr. Berryann said it was still in the office, but that he knew absolutely nothing about it. I then repeated the history of the GAR, monument, marker and their historical significance. He understood and committed to finding a way to protect the marker in the near future. 

Fast forward to May 23rd of this week. I received a phone call and email with photographs from Superintendent Brian Berryann. The grave marker was now fully restored and mounted on a block of granite permanently  cemented into the ground by the old GAR cannon monument. The attachment photographs show the completed restoration and positioning of the GAR supersized grave marker at the cemetery's Civil War veterans burial plot.

Based on research, the cannon monument was originally dedicated in 1923 by the Hamilton-Sleight Post #20, Department of New York. I believe that the marker was placed near the cannon monument 95 years ago during the original cannon monument dedication and has remained in the cemetery since then. Hopefully, the marker, like the cannon monument, will remain in its place of honor hence forth, to be appreciated by the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War into the future.

The accompanying photos show; 1) the GAR grave marker in its granite base prior to final installation installed, 2) after installation this past week in the Civil War veterans burial plot. The flags had already been placed by the graves for Memorial Day. NOTE: A special feature of the cannon is the open end of the barrel is fitted with a cap & pull ring which opens to allow the US flags to be stored in the barrel when not in use during the holidays.” 

Submitted by:
Dennis C. St. Andrew, PDC
Commander, Department of North Carolina
Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War