Nevada Army National Guard honor guard soldiers Spec 4 Jose Ramirez, left, Spec 4 Reid Howland, center, and Sgt. Chris Brezuela, stand behind the Civil War soldiers’ headstones at Lone Mountain Cemetery. The soldiers had served at Fort Churchill in the 1860s.
Steve Ranson/NNG
More than 160 years ago, the Nevada territory began attracting more settlers to a barren, yet pristine land.
The California Gold Rush of 1849 beckoned thousands of opportunists to travel across the Great Basin to California looking for riches. Ten years later, the discovery of the Comstock Silver Lode enticed more people to come to Virginia City with the dreams of striking it rich and building that mansion on the hill.
Along with the thousands of people who either traveled across Nevada or eventually settled here, the need for protection evolved with the building of an outpost east of Carson City and about 25 miles southeast of Virginia City, the territory’s largest city at the time.
The Nevada State Society Daughters of the American Revolution along with other service organizations gathered April 10 at Carson City’s Lone Mountain Cemetery to pay their respects not only to the soldiers who served and died at Fort Churchill in the 1860s but also for those who enlisted after them to show others the meaning of service and sacrifice.
Carson City Mayor Lori Bagwell, a member of the Battle Born chapter of DAR, said the day was to learn more about the soldiers and the ongoing renovations to the older part of the cemetery. Renovations have begun with the planting of trees; painting of the fence that encircles the Union soldier statute, which served as a backdrop for the speakers; a new flag pole; and the replacement of many bent, broken or missing flag holders.
The ceremony included traditional military customs such as the riderless horse provided by Troop D, 1st Nevada Cavalry; a firing party salute and a flag folding by the Nevada Army National Guard; presentation of the folded flag to Assembly Minority Leader Dr. Robin Titus, who, in turn, presented the flag to four members of the Carson High School Junior ROTC; and taps played by retired Command Sgt. Major James Richardson, Nevada Army National Guard.
Denise Doring VanBuren, the 45th president general of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, said her first impression was one of gratitude that the community understands the importance of preserving history. VanBuren, who attended the DAR’s state convention, said she was impressed with the cross-section of the people and groups that attended the ceremony.
“The dimension of the service organizations, elected officials, everyday folks, the re-enactors … this is really a great reflection on the community of Carson City and the greater state of Nevada,” she said.
VanBuren said the event was a testament to the true American spirit.
Monica Moriarty, a member of both the Battle Born chapter and Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War, said the day was dedicated to honor the dead who were left buried at Fort Churchill after the Civil War. Eventually, about 40 bodies were exhumed from the fort’s cemetery — all but two buried in wooded coffins — and brought to the Lone Mountain Cemetery in 1885 for internment in the Grand Army of the Republic section. A Union soldier overlooks the graves. Moriarty said each man was lovingly reinterred with their comrades.
Over time, volunteers restored the soldiers’ headstones. Moriarty said most of the deaths occurred between 1863 and 1866.
“Alas, the headstones of the boys in blue may simply forever read U.S. soldier,” she said.
Moriarty said the fort, which overlooks the river through the big cottonwood trees 10 miles south of Silver Springs, housed soldiers to protect the travelers and settlers.
“An outpost was necessary to be built to help safeguard the settlers and to keep peace in the territory,” she said.
Construction on the post began in early 1860 and finished about the time the Civil War began in April 1861.
“It was the largest and most elaborate post established in the Nevada territory,” Moriarty added.
In her remarks, Moriarty said the post’s purpose was to provide protection to the early settlers, safeguard the Pony Express route and riders, maintain the telegraph lines, quell any skirmishes resulting from the Civil War and double as a supply depot for the Union Army. She said volunteers came from Carson City, Lake’s Crossing (renamed Reno in 1868), Virginia City and Dayton.
Moriarty said Nevada raised the first battalion in 1863, and those assigned to Fort Churchill consisted of 34 officers and 1,158 enlisted soldiers.
Three-and-half years into the war, the territorial residents approved a new constitution, and Nevada became a state on Oct. 31, 1864. The Army abandoned Fort Churchill in 1869.
Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3726 Cmdr. Robert Talbert said during the Civil War, soldiers in the eastern states fought to free the nation from slavery while those serving in the West had a different purpose.
Talbert said it’s important to respect the soldiers and recognize their sacrifices. Zachary Forest, an Eagle Scout candidate, outlined his plans to improve that part of the cemetery, and Richard Perry from the Rotary Club of Carson City told of his service group’s involvement with the restoration.
Recently retired Brig. Gen. Michael Hanifan of the Nevada Army National Guard thanked the various individuals and groups who were involved with the tribute to the Civil War soldiers.
“This section of the cemetery primarily includes veterans who served many years ago during the Civil War and the inner years between the Civil War and World War I,” he said.
Hanifan said most of the veterans no longer have family members who visit and pay their respects, but he thanked those who remember the military men and women on Veterans Day and Wreaths Across America. He acknowledged the DAR for not forgetting the veterans who served years ago.
“We definitely appreciate the fact you are out here supporting our veterans,” he said to the DAR members and other visitors.
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