Sons of Union Veterans Honor Last Union Civil War Soldier Buried in Cheyenne County as Part of Effort to Honor Fallen Union Soldiers in Nebraska

SIDNEY--An important and solemn event was held at Greenwood Cemetery in Sidney on Saturday, October 19, at 9 a.m. It was a ceremony to mark and honor the last Union Soldier buried in Cheyenne County. It is an effort undertaken by the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, the Department of Nebraska and the Dakotas. The organization has committed to honor every last buried Grand Army of the Republic soldier in all Nebraska counties, except for Arthur County, which has no G.A.R. Veterans buried there.

John Surman of the Sons of Union Veterans conducted the ceremony, which honored Charles S. Howser, a veteran of the G.A.R. who fought in the Civil War. Howser was born in Pennsylvania in 1832, and enlisted in the Union Army for a two-year term at Ashland, Pa., and was mustered into the 80th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, which became known as the 7th Pennsylvania Cavalry. He re-enlisted at Huntsville, AL, on November 28 1865 for the duration of the war. He was mustered out on August 23, 186r, as a Private. He was a member of the E.V. Sumner G.A. R. Post #12 in Sidney and was its last surviving member when he died. During the Civil War, he participated in battles such as Perryville, Stones River, Chickamauga, and the siege of Atlanta. The losses for his regiment were 292 men, and of those eight officers and 94 enlisted men were killed in active duty.

After the war, Howser returned to Pennsylvania and married Ann Jones in Girardville on May 19, 1867. He moved west, eventually settling in Sidney in 1888 working for the Union Pacific Railroad looking after their stationary boilers. He had five children, 21 grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild who survived him when he died on June 27, 1931. The American Legion provided full military honors at his burial. He was buried next to his wife, Ann.

Surman explained the importance of the ceremony, saying, "This is an important part of our history, and it is necessary to honor those who made such great sacrifices during such a time of conflict and strife. Many don't know what an important role Nebraska residents played in the Civil War, and honoring Private Howser is another way to highlight the importance of our area in the conflict."

Surman was wearing an authentic Union Cavalry soldier's uniform at the ceremony that he had custom-made for these types of events.

"It is very warm in the cold weather, but it sure does get hot when it's warm outside," he said.

To end the ceremony, Surman produced a bugle and played "Taps", the traditional bugle call to signal "lights out" at the end of a military day, and during patriotic memorial ceremonies and military funerals. As the notes lilted out of the bugle, the serene silence of the overcast sky started to lift, and the sun's rays broke through the early morning cloud cover. It was a fitting end to a solemn ceremony, honoring a Sidney resident who lived through the horrors of the Civil War and then came to our town to build a family and a life that will always be remembered.