Military memorial service held at Avondale

It was a solemn afternoon June 29 at Avondale Cemetery when a lonely bugler played taps to end a program dedicated to honoring all veterans. David Caswell was the spokesman for the East Side Business Association group that gathered to honor the veterans.

"We here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain," Caswell said, quoting Lincoln's famous lines from the Gettysburg Address.

The ceremony began with a memorial to a veteran of the American Revolution, Reuben Johnson, who died in 1841. He was from Connecticut. He was buried in Campbell Cemetery on Carpenter Road. That cemetery was abandoned and his marker taken, but not his remains. The marker was later found more than 100 years later in a barn in Columbiaville. It was obtained by the Daughters of the American Revolution and placed in Avondale Cemetery, said Caswell.

Members placed flags on other veteran's graves, beginning with Civil War veterans, then on those who served in the Spanish American War, WWI and WWII, Korea and Vietnam. The group also held a moment of silence for a recent victim of the war in Afghanistan.

Caswell's great-grandfather, a Civil War veteran, is buried at Avondale.

"This year we are recognizing the 150th anniversary of the Civil War," Caswell said.

"There were many times during the Civil War where historians believe the war could have been easily won by the Confederates. Union troops were solidly defeated at the first land battle at Bull Run, only 20 miles from Washington D.C. They panicked and ran back to Washington. Historians believe that if the Confederates had followed them they could have captured Washington and Lincoln and the Civil War would have been over," Caswell said.

"After that defeat, the northern people were looking for a leader who could win. They found him sitting in a muddy street, in Ohio, drunk as usual. His name was Hiram Ulysses Grant. He was a failure at almost everything he did in life — but he was good at being a soldier. Presidential historians always rate Grant as one of the worst of all American presidents, but one of the greatest of all generals. He is ranked with people like Alexander the Great," Caswell said.

According to Caswell, April 6, 1862, is a day during the Civil War that changed the course of world history — the Battle of Shiloh.

"The place was Tennessee," Caswell said. "Grant was greatly outnumbered by the Confederates who were lead by General Albert Sidney Johnston. Confederate President Jefferson Davis said that Johnston was the best general in the Civil War."

"The first day of battle the Confederates dealt a huge blow to Grant and the Union Army troops," said Caswell. "It was only by the death of Johnston that the battle turned around. Considered by Davis to be the finest general officer in the Confederacy before the emergence of Robert E. Lee, Johnson was killed early in the battle of Shiloh. He was the highest-ranking officer, Union or Confederate, killed during the entire war.

"The following day, April 7, Grant and reinforcements sent to him during the night, changed the course of the battle.

"Because of the victory, the Union army went on to win the Civil War. Later, Grant would become president.

"If the battle at Shiloh had been won by the Confederates, there would have been no Grant as president, Lincoln probably would not have been assassinated and the country would still be divided today," Caswell explained.

"The cost of victory was huge — high ranking officers on both sides were killed," Caswell added. "More Americans were killed in that one day, than had been killed in the American Revolution, the War of 1812 and the Mexican War all put together," Caswell said. "About 13,000 were killed, wounded or missing on the Union side. The number for the Confederates was more than 10,500.

"It's difficult for us to imagine fields covered with bodies of soldiers who died that day," Caswell said.

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