PREVIOUS PAGE
HOME PAGE

SONS OF UNION VETERANS OF
THE CIVIL WAR

grant_ironton.jpg (91742 bytes)


1. Are you interested in the American Civil War?
2. Are you a male aged 14 or older?
3. Do you reside in Iron, Madison, St. Francois, Washington,
Ste. Genevieve, Wayne, or Reynolds Counties in Missouri?

If you answered yes to these questions, then you may be

interested in joining a newly forming camp of the
Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War in this area.
They promote patriotism and honor their Civil War
ancestors in many ways.

You do not need to prove ancestry to join because

they offer associate memberships.

If you would like more information, or need help

with finding ancestry information, contact:

Christopher Warren

Junior-Vice Commander, U.S. Grant Camp 68
(573) 431-1860 (Home)

Descendants celebrate Civil War history
Sons of Union Veterans to be chartered Thursday

By D. HICKMAN/DailyJournal Staff Writer
Wednesday, May 23, 2007 


Louis Warren, left, joins his brother Chris in leading the local 
Sons of Union Veterans James McCormick Camp #215. 
The group will receive its charter in a formal presentation at 7 p.m. Thursday 
in the private dining room in the field house at Mineral Area College.

During the Civil War, William Reed joined the Union Army to look after his younger brother. Ultimately Reed followed Gen. William Sherman in the March to the Sea that left Atlanta in ashes and ended with the capture of the port of Savannah, Ga. in 1864.

One-hundred-forty years later, Reed’s descendants are two brothers savoring the stories of the war that divided America.

Chris Warren is commander and Louis Warren is vice-commander of James McCormick Camp #215 of the Sons of Union Veterans. The group receives its official charter Thursday in a ceremony in the private dining room in the field house at Mineral Area College.

“I joined the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War two years ago and the nearest camp was in St. Louis,” Chris explained. “I thought there would be interest here. Currently, we have 11 members.”

Members must be male and research their lineage to prove they had an ancestor in the Union Army. However, those who have no ancestral connection, but love the Civil War, can be accepted as associate members. There is also a Ladies Auxiliary unit.

This is not a group that re-enacts Civil War battles, but rather celebrates the history of that time with speakers, trips to Civil War sites and attention to the graves of Civil War soldiers.

“We work to register all the Civil War graves in this area,” Chris said. “I’ve recorded 300 myself. We are getting ready to clean headstones in one cemetery. If they are broken, the federal government will provide new stones if our group will set them.”

Chris said there are soldiers buried in almost every cemetery in St. Francois County. He believes preserving those graves is a way of preserving history.

“A lot of our history is being lost or re-written for political correctness,” he said. “The Civil War was American fighting American. Our children can understand going overseas to fight, but not understand that this war was on our soil.”

To help them, he takes part in special events like Pioneer Days at Roosevelt Elementary School in Farmington. There, he talked about Fort Davidson, showed reproductions of memorabilia from Civil War days and tried to show them how friends fought friends.

“I divide them up and say one group likes Coke best and another likes Pepsi,” he explained. “Then, as we talk a little about what makes one better than the other, they can see how you can split up over something. It’s not the same, of course, but I hope it gives them an idea.”

Receiving the charter makes the local group an official part of the Sons of Union Veterans, based in Harrisburg, Pa. Missouri Department Commander John Avery is expected to be on hand to present the charter.

Chris said only Virginia and Tennessee had more battles, skirmishes and engagements during the Civil War. The chapter meets at 7 p.m. the second Thursday of each month at MAC. To find out more, call Chris at 573-431-1860. .

The Missouri Sons of Union Veterans began in 1884 as the Missouri Division of the Sons of Veterans of the USA. In 1925, the organization changed its name to the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War. Sometime after 1940, due to declining membership, the Division disbanded. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, interest in the organization grew dramatically, and in 1996, the Department was re-chartered. The Department of Missouri is now one of 26 within the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War. The Department, with nearly 200 members, has grown steadily since it was re-chartered in 1996. It now has eight camps, or local units, with two more in the organizing stages.


PREVIOUS PAGE
HOME PAGE



This page was updated: Friday, 23-Feb-2024 12:40:51 MST
This site may be freely linked, but not duplicated in any way without consent.
All rights reserved! Commercial use of material within this site is prohibited!
© 2000 - 2024 MOGenWeb

The information on this site is provided free for the purpose of researching your genealogy. This material may be freely used by non-commercial entities, for your own research. The information contained in this site may not be copied to any other site without written "snail-mail" permission. If you wish to have a copy of a donor's material, you must have their permission. All information found on these pages is under copyright of Oklahoma Cemeteries. This is to protect any and all information donated. The original submitter or source of the information will retain their copyright. Unless otherwise stated, any donated material is given to MOGenWeb to make it available online.