PHOTO STORY: County Board Chairman Honors Civil War Veterans at Memorial Day Ceremony
Kane County Board Chairman Chris Lauzen keynoted the Memorial Day observance at West Aurora Cemetery on Sunday, May 29. The annual event was sponsored by Phillip H. Sheridan Camp 2, Illinois Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War.
The service included patriotic songs and readings, the presentation of memorials on the grave of a selected Civil War veteran, an artillery salute, dedication of new headstones on the graves of two Civil War veterans buried in the cemetery and appearances by noted Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln re-enactors Max and Donna Daniels, who read “Bivouac of the Dead,” a poem.
“I don’t believe in ghosts, but in many ways, I do believe in spirits,” said Lauzen is his keynote address. “Because of the respect and love that you demonstrate in your observance today, I believe that those 160 soldiers who fought in the Civil War and are buried here — and others who fought in subsequent wars — rise and stand along with us, in sadness but also in pride.
“These honored dead, among whom we stand, call to us to live better lives and to build a better community, a better country — an American people who strain with every sinew to aspire to principled lives.”
SOURCE: Al Benson
About General Philip H. Sheridan Camp #2, Chicago, IL
Philip Henry Sheridan (March 6, 1831 – Aug. 5, 1888) was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War. His career was noted for his rapid rise to major general and his close association with Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, who transferred Sheridan from command of an infantry division in the Western Theater to lead the Cavalry Corps of the Army of the Potomac in the East. In 1864, he defeated Confederate forces in the Shenandoah Valley and his destruction of the economic infrastructure of the Valley, called “The Burning” by residents, was one of the first uses of scorched earth tactics in the war. In 1865, his cavalry pursued Gen. Robert E. Lee and was instrumental in forcing his surrender at Appomattox.
The camp meets in March, May, July, September and November, with day and time determined at the prior meeting. Visit this link for more information.
SOURCE: Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, Department of Illinois
Kane County board chairman Chris Lauzen, right, keynoted the Memorial Day observance at West Aurora Cemetery Sunday, May 29. From left are Henry Reineke, Phillip H. Sheridan Camp 2, Illinois Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, who presided; Jerome Kowalski, national chaplain, SUVCW; and Lauzen. The annual event was sponsored by Phillip H. Sheridan Camp 2, ISUVCW. In addition to Lauzen, speakers included an Abraham Lincoln impersonator who read “Bivouac of the Dead,” a poem. (Al Benson photo)
