Civil War veteran honored with headstone

From LenConnect.com: Civil War veteran honored with headstone
OGDEN TWP., Mich. —

More than 93 years after he was first laid to rest in the Ogden Zion Cemetery, William Harrison Marshall has a headstone.

On Thursday, members of the Marshall family, members of Nash-Hodges Camp #43 of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, and the director of the Michigan Historical Museum helped dedicate the previously unmarked grave of the Civil War veteran, who died April 18, 1918. His remains are in the Ogden Zion Cemetery in Ogden Township.

“This is a great day to be an American and to be a member of the Marshall family,” said Mark Lindke of Ann Arbor, great-grandson of William Harrison Marshall.

Sandra Clark, director of the Michigan Historical Museum, told the gathering it was fitting to dedicate the headstone on Sept. 1, as on this date in 1864, the city of Atlanta fell to the army of Union Gen. William T. Sherman. Marshall, while not part of Sherman’s army, was stationed in Nashville as a 19-year-old private in Company C of the 18th Michigan — one of the units protecting Sherman’s rear.

Clark talked about the diary Marshall kept, which detailed his many days on duty as a picket and the day-to-day drudgery a soldier endured. She detailed Marshall’s experience on Sept. 24, 1864, when his unit was attacked by an overwhelming force of Confederates near Decatur, Tenn.

Marshall’s unit was in bad shape, Clark said. They reached fortifications near Decatur, only to find they were still in the hands of the rebels. At this point, the young Michigan man made a crucial decision.

“Instead of surrendering, like many of the others did, he hid in a thicket until dark and made his way back to Union lines,” Clark said. “Without that split-second decision, it is possible many of you wouldn’t be here today.”

Only three of Marshall’s comrades made it back that day. Those who surrendered were sent to the infamous Andersonville Prison Camp in Georgia. Many who survived that ordeal were on the steamboat Sultana, which sank April 26, 1865, on the Mississippi River with the loss of 1,700 lives.

Clark said much of Marshall’s diary covered the daily routine of picket duty as well as life and death in the army camps. The diary had many of the same details other books covering that era had, but Marshall’s entries were different, she said.

“It gives a reality to the statistics of the day,” she said. “More than half of the deaths in the Civil War were from disease or as a result of wounds. His words make the Civil War come alive.”

Gary Naugle of Tecumseh, commander of the Sons of Union Veterans, led the dedication ceremony, which included a procession with the honor guard of the Sons of Union Veterans, bagpiper Herm Steinman and Chaplain William McAfee. Naugle presented William Kirkham Marshall, the veteran’s grandson, with a flag, along with the thanks of a grateful nation. The 82-year-old disabled Marine is a veteran of the Korean War.

Resting against the new headstone were a Civil War musket, backpack, satchel and cap. The grave was covered with a ground tarp on top of which rested the American flag. During the ceremony, a wreath, white rose and laurel wreath were placed on the gravesite.

Clark appeared as part of Michigan’s commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War. The museum is featuring the “Plowshares into Swords” special exhibit exploring how the war changed the lives of Michigan people.