A Look at Osawatomie Post 179 in Hartington Nebraska
As Memorial Day is right around the corner and many of us are planning for a weekend of family, fun and the start of summer. Let us reflect back to the roots of Memorial Day…the Civil War veteran, and how the survivors of that conflict honored their comrades who had died during and after the war.
I found the above photo several years ago and scrawled along the bottom was “The Boys of Blue of ’63, Hartington, Neb. Photo by Wickland 5/30/09.” And surprisingly, the reverse side had some names penciled in lightly. I was drawn to this image on many levels – it was a great image, it was dated, there were names, but most importantly, these were civil war veterans photographed on a significant day in their lives and they had a story to tell.
This photo depicts nine Union Civil War veterans from Osawatomie Post 179 gathered in front of the Cedar county courthouse for the Decoration Day Observance on May 30, 1909 in Hartington (Cedar Co.) Nebraska.
On May 27, 1909, the Cedar County News reported :
On Monday at 10 o’clock Decoration Day will be observed in this city. Citizens are requested to form in procession at the Globe square, corner of Main Street and Broadway. The procession will be led by a fife and drum corps, followed by the A.O.U.W, drill team, the G.A.R. veterans and citizens afoot and in carriages. The procession will move to the cemeteries, where the graves of the departed veterans will be decorated.
There are ten such graves in Hartington cemeteries:
F.C. Murkle, Ludwig Lentz, Wm. Porter, Michael Smith, Alf. Havens, Henry Barnhardt, H. Lancing, C.A. Rossenbach, A.B. Chase, Barney Olsen.
Osawatomie Post, Grand Army of the Republic once numbered seventy-five members and the survivors today are: Albert Erdenberger, 43rd Wisc. Inf., Commander; R.R. Eby, 4th Ill., Quartermaster; W.H. Stephenson, 19th US Infantry, Adjutant; Chas. Plumleigh, 15th Ill. Inf.; Frank E. Ruff; Frank A. Thoene, 5th Missouri Inf.; Aaron Harris, 7th Iowa Inf.; W.R. Winter; R.B. Steele, 3rd Ill Artillery; Wm. Mullin; Wesley Tinker; P. Lively, 2nd Neb. Inf.; F. Riibe, 8th Wisc. Inf.; W.R. Winterringer, 7th Iowa Inf.; J.F. Winterringer, 7th Iowa Inf.; J.S. Francis; Hildebrand Rolfs, 4th Ill. Cav.; John Blackney
As membership within the Grand Army of the Republic gained ground in the late 1880s through the 1890s, posts (the community level organization) were formed within the state departments (Nebraska). These posts were numbered consecutively within the department and each had a name. Some were named after the town, a location such as a battlefield and others honored a deceased veteran.
Osawatomie Post No. 179, in Hartington, Nebraska was chartered February 28, 1884. It had 22 charter members and reached it peak in 1891 with 34 members. The veterans met in the Grand Army Hall on the first Friday of every monthy at 1 PM. The post closed in 1929 when its last member William Stephenson died on Sept 10, 1929.
Post Namesake
Post 179 was named after Osawatomie, Kansas – a village that was sacked and burned by pro-slavery Missourians in 1856.
John Brown, considered a fanatical abolitionist by some and a martyr by others, is closely associated with the proslavery and free-state struggle of the Kansas Territorial period, 1854-1861. John Brown followed five of his sons to Franklin county Kansas in 1855 where he saw an opportunity to help make Kansas a free state – bringing a wagon load of weapons along with him.
In May of 1856, a small party consisting mainly of Brown and his sons raided the cabins of proslavery men killing five of them. Up to that time there had been little bloodshed between proslavery and free-state groups. Brown’s raid brought retaliation. On August 30, 1856 Brown and his followers where attacked by a large force of border ruffians. In the “Battle of Osawatomie” five of Brown’s men, including one of his sons, were killed and the town burned. Brown was in and out of the area over the next few months and took part in the border troubles near Ft. Scott. Later, on December 23, he made a raid into Missouri to liberate slaves and other property from slaveholders. The group was hidden in the Adair Cabin and later safely made their way to Canada and freedom.
The hill upon which John Brown met battle in 1856 is now John Brown Memorial Park in Osawatomie, Kansas.
The Veterans
The following are the veterans of Osawatomie Post identified in the photo with their regimental information, birth/death dates, cemetery where they’re buried along with a link to their Findagrave memorial.
- Ferdinand Riibe
Private, Co. F, 8th Wisconsin Infantry
On 9/25/1861 mustered into Co. F, 8th Wisconsin Infantry, mustered out on Sep 16, 1864
b. Sep 1838
d. 8 May 1918
buried: Wynot Public Cemetery, Wynot, Cedar Co., NE
Findagrave Memorial
- Aaron B. Harris
Private, Co. F, 7th Iowa Infantry
Enlisted on 12/17/1961 as a Private. On 12/24/1861 mustered into Co. F, 7th Iowa Infantry. Re-enlisted on 1/5/1864, mustered out on 7/12/1865 at Louisville, KY
born: 11 May 1847
died: 4 Aug 1913
buried: Wynot Public Cemetery, Wynot, Cedar Co., NE
Findagrave Memorial
- Albert Erdenberger
Sergeant, Co. C, 43rd Wisconsin Infantry
Enlisted at Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin on Sep 1, 1864 as a private. Mustered out 6/24/1865 at Nashville, TN
born: 1 Mar 1839
died: 14 Jan 1924
buried: Paragon Cemetery, Hartington, Cedar Co., NE
Findagrave Memorial
- Richard R. Eby
Private, Co. I, 14th Illinois Cavalry
Enlisted Oct 22, 1862 as a Private. On 1/7/1863 he mustered into Co. I, 14th Illinois Cavalry. He was mustered out on July 31, 1865 at Nashville, TN
born: 22 Nov 1845
died: 25 Dec 1920
buried: Hartington Cemetery, Hartington, Cedar Co., NE
Findagrave Memorial
- John Mullen
Private, Co. E, 148th Indiana Infantry
Enlisted on 2/13/1865 as a Private. On 2/13/1865 he mustered into Co. B, 148th Indiana Infantry. He mustered out on 9/5/1865
born: 21 Dec 1844
died: 8 Apr 1915
buried: Coleridge Cemetery, Coleridge, Cedar Co., NE
Findagrave Memorial
- William H. Stephenson
Private, Co. A, 19th U.S. Infantry
born: 19 Jan 1848
died: 10 Sep 1929
buried: Hartington Cemetery, Hartington, Cedar Co., NE
Last member of GAR Post 179, Hartington, NE
Findagrave Memorial
- James S. Francis
Private, Co. D, 15th New York Cavalry
Enlisted on July 31, 1863 at Syracuse, NY.
Transferred out on June 17, 1865 to 2nd New York Provisional Cavalry.
Private, Co. C, 2nd New York Provisional Cavalry
Mustered out on August 9, 1865 at Louisville, KY.
Also served as a Private, Co. E, 7th US Infantry
Discharged Sept 26, 1867 at Fort Brook, Florida
born: 8 Nov 1845
died: 2 Feb 1921
buried: Hartington Cemetery, Hartington, Cedar Co., NE
Findagrave Memorial
- Frank A. Thoene
Private, Co. G, 5th Missouri Infantry
Enlisted on 9/1/1861 as a Private. On 9/1/1861 mustered into Co. G.
born: 24 Dec 1833
died: 23 Mar 1912
buried Saint Peter and Paul Cemetery, Bow Valley, Cedar Co., NE
Findagrave Memorial
- Frank Xavier Riiff
listed in the Civil War Draft Registrations Records, June 1863 in Prairie Du Chien, Crawford Co., Wisconsin.
F H. Rieff, was a farmer, born in France, no further regimental information found.
born: 5 May 1838
died: 13 May 1913
buried: Hartington Cemetery, Hartington, Cedar Co., NE
Findagrave Memorial
As these veterans marched to the cemetery in 1909 to honor their departed comrades for Memorial Day, 112 years later we can visit the cemeteries to honor all of them.