Honoring Valor: The Restoration of a Veteran's Grave Site

 

PCA Archives

Amer DeShane McGinnis was born around 1849 to John and Laura McGinnis.  He enlisted in the military in 1867 when he was a farmer at 21 1/2 years old, and participated in the Indian Wars, as a soldier in Company A, 32nd United States Infantry. He was discharged June 28, 1870.  He married Annie Pickering, the widow of William L. Pickering on November 27, 1890 at Vulture City, Arizona. William had died in Vulture City. He was the owner of a saloon there. Unfortunately, Annie died on July 23, 1891.

Later, Amer would be appointed as a U.S. Postmaster at Calderwood, Maricopa, Arizona on January 26, 1892. Amer died on November 8, 1905, and is buried next to his wife Annie in City Loosley. 

-Val

 

Recently, we were honored to have volunteers from the Travis Manion Foundation help with placement of a military marker for Amer McGinnis and a weed cleanup in our cemetery. The new marker was a replacement for the old one that had weathered to the point where the Amer's name was no longer visible. Veterans of the group joined together to place the marker, which weighs 220 pounds.  The mission of the TMF is to empower veterans and families of fallen heroes to develop character in future generations.  Thank you all.

-Patty

 

#1 - Amos G. Randal (1825 approx. - 1897) - Mine Owner

 

Picture by Patty

Amos G. Randal was born in Cattaragues County, New York, between 1825 and 1828. He was in San Francisco when he married his second wife in 1862. Owing to his interest in mining, he even lived in South America for a time. In later years, he became an undertaker and moved to Arizona. He was overseeing the funeral of a Confederate veteran in City/Loosley Cemetery on December 1, 1897, when he unexpectedly collapsed and died. Randal was buried in Porter Cemetery.

Civil War Recruitment

  

Library of Congress

//hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cph.3b39731

Both the Union and Confederate armies used creative ways in which to entice volunteers to join their ranks.  Some recruits were offered bounties, and shortened time.  Others were offered free school and land.  They often used funny or enticing slogans in poster form.  Take a look at some of the creative posters from many branches of service involved in the Civil War....

Civil War Recruitment Posters

Benedict Mosier (1833 - 1908) - Soldier and Farmer

PCA Archives

Benedict F. Mosier was born 8 Dec 1833 in Alsace Loraine, France, possibly in is father’s hometown of Strasbourg, Bas-Rhin.  He was the second son of Christian Mosier and Ann Wenger.  

Shortly after Benedict’s birth, the Mosiers sailed from France, arriving in New York City on June 7th, 1834.  From there, they traveled to Holmes County, Ohio, where several more children were born.  According to family lore, they may have been Mennonites; Strasbourg was a center for Protestant sects not particularly welcome in Roman Catholic France. 

The Mosiers were in Iowa by 1858, when Benedict wed Mary Ann List. Soon thereafter, the young couple moved to Tyler Township, Hickory County, Missouri.  There, they had ten children born between 1860 and 1875, six of whom survived to adulthood. The Mosiers were farmers and, apparently, successful ones. 

In the summer of 1861, Mosier enlisted in Company C, 8th Missouri State Militia Cavalry,vii serving in Captain William C. Human’s company.  The mission of the regiment was to prevent Confederate forces from establishing a foothold in southwestern Missouri.  The soldiers went on numerous scouting patrols and engaged in a few skirmishes.  Since Mosier’s duties kept him fairly close to home, he was able to make periodic visits to his family. 

As the Mosier sons grew up, they began to migrate west.  Benedict and Mary Ann accompanied them to Phoenix, Arizona, in 1884.  Their son Sydney died on 30 May 1886 and was buried in City Loosley Cemetery.

Late in life, Mary Ann developed heart problems.  While driving home on December 14, 1897, she apparently suffered a stroke.  A neighbor moving cattle noticed that the horse and buggy had stopped in the road and came to her aid, but attempts to revive Mary Ann failed.  She too was buried in City Loosley Cemetery. 

Benedict Mosier joined the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) and, in 1904, applied for a pension based on his Civil War service.  After his wife’s death, he went to live with one of his children in Mendocino, California.  Plagued with eczema in his final years, he ultimately sold his property in Mendocino and returned to Phoenix, where he died on 4 October 1908.  He was buried in the family plot in City Loosley.  - by Donna Carr

  

John Porter (1873 - 1898) - Lieutenant

 Arizona republican. [volume] (Phoenix, Ariz.) 1890-1930

John Singleton Porter was born 23 January 1873 in Blount County, Tennessee to Robert and Maggie Porter.  He had at least two brothers, Samuel and Robert S. Porter, and a sister Jennie. 

On 25 September 1888, he was appointed to the U. S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, at the age of 15, the minimum age allowed.  He graduated in 1892, after which he embarked on the last requirement, a two-year cruise.  He served aboard the USS Baltimore and the USS San Francisco.  He returned to Annapolis in April of 1894 to take his final exams.  Following a two-month leave, he was commissioned an ensign on 1 July 1894 and was appointed assistant engineer. 

He was assigned to take additional instruction in marine engineering in Paris, France, on 3 October 1894.  While there, he contracted a respiratory ailment, probably tuberculosis.  Upon his return to the United States in June 1896, he took sick leave and travelled first to Denver in the hope that a warmer climate would aid his recovery.  

 Porter went back east for the funerals of his parents in 1896-1897, which only aggravated his condition. He was in the last stages of consumption when he came to Phoenix in December 1897.  After seeking care from army surgeon Dr. Alex S. Porter, his health improved marginally, but he suffered a relapse and died suddenly on 11 February 1898 at Sisters Hospital. - Donna Carr

Civil War Food

Civil War Hard Tack
Hartford, Conn. : The War Photograph & Exhibition Co., No. 21 Linden Place, [1863 February]
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.
 http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print

The rations for the Civil War consisted of shelf stable products that were sometimes cherished or despised out on the field.  Here is a blogpost from the Library of Congress illustrating what the food was like for our soldier heroes........

Thanksgiving Food for the Civil War Soldiers

Post War Cartoon - 1865

"Give me your hand, comrade! 
We have each lost a leg for a good cause; 
but, thank God, we never lost heart."
Harper's weekly, v. IX, no. 434 (1865 April 22), p. 256.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.

http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print

Two Union soldiers shaking hands after the war.  A unification message, and a depiction of the sacrifices our military made......