Mission Accomplished: Civil War Veterans Honored With New Headstones Marking History

CHIPPEWA FALLS, Wis. (WEAU) — Three veterans whose graves remained unmarked in Chippewa Falls will now receive long-overdue recognition. An effort was initiated ahead of Veterans Day aimed at identifying their families so they could be honored by Memorial Day.

As I mentioned during our interview in November, we decided to go public with our story to encourage someone who might be related to these individuals to step forward so that we can secure headstones for three Civil War veterans," explained Stephanie Benson, the vice president of the American Legion Post 77 Auxiliary.

Along with a gathering of Legion Post members, their families, and friends at Forest Hill Cemetery, a commemorative event took place.

We feel incredibly thankful," said Benson. "They are now integral members of our family.

The aim was to locate descendants of the three Civil War veterans so they could obtain headstones they were eligible for under a federal regulation from the 1800s. Starting in late November, a Dane County resident named Benson, who has an interest in genealogy, expressed a desire to assist with this effort. Through his work, he succeeded in uncovering details about Samuel Rowan.

"Samuel Rowan hailed from Ohio. Born in 1829, he passed away in 1898 within the Township of Eagle Point located in Chippewa County," stated Benson.

However, locating the next two veterans' kin turned out to be extremely difficult.

Due to the spelling, John Knear, K-N-E-A-R, might have altered his name to K-N-E-E-R," explained Benson. "The same goes for David McGuire; we discovered he could also be known as David McKlain-McGuire.

Furthermore, Rowan’s family members showed no interest in assisting with obtaining a headstone for him.

It appeared to be a lengthy journey until Memorial Day arrived, yet the Legion Post managed to secure assistance in obtaining headstones for these Civil War veterans.

“The veteran’s organization that visited our shop shared with us the tale of three people who lacked headstones. They were curious if we might be able to assist them,” stated Chris Maurina.

He serves as the regional manager for Johnson Monument. Given his extensive experience helping to commemorate numerous veterans through the company, along with his ongoing work with veterans at the firm, he believed it would be most appropriate to make donations of the headstones.

We discussed it, and our staff was very supportive of us giving them some stones," Maurina stated. "This makes for a pleasant beginning to the Memorial Day weekend.

With Post 77 of The American Legion now serene, it welcomes at least three additional veterans who have etched their stories into history.