Major General Thomas West Sherman Camp No. 1, Rhode Island Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, will hold its annual Memorial Day observance at 2 p.m. on Monday, May 25, at Island Cemetery, 30 Warner St.
Sherman Camp 1 is inviting the public to join the ceremony at the Grand Army of the Republic burial plot. The program will feature speakers, poetry and patriotic readings, the laying of flowers and a military salute with a firing detail provided by the 2nd Rhode Island Volunteer Infantry.
Signage will be placed within Island Cemetery to direct visitors to the G.A.R. plot behind the Belmont Chapel.
Memorial Day was established in 1868 by Grand Army of the Republic Commander-in-Chief John A. Logan through his General Order No. 11.
“As Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, the principle of keeping Memorial Day has been passed down to us by generations of our predecessors on Aquidneck Island,” said Junior Vice Camp Commander James McGuire. “Camp 1 is the latest of a long line of SUVCW Camps on the island to take up the charge in order to ensure that the Boys in Blue are not forgotten. It was their sacrifice that led to the creation of Memorial Day. This year as we look ahead to America’s 250th celebration, it is equally as important to offer our attention and humble admiration to those who saved the Union as it is to offer such to those whose own service and sacrifice established it.”
Next year will mark the camp’s 10th anniversary.
The Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War is the congressionally chartered legal heir to and representative of the Grand Army of the Republic. Initially established in 1881 as the Sons of Veterans, the organization was founded by GAR members who sought to preserve their legacy through a lineal organization of descendants that would keep Memorial Day, decorate the graves of the “Boys in Blue,” tell a true account of the service of the Union Army and promote fraternity, charity and loyalty.
The organization continues its mission through educational events with local historians and living history interpreters, flagging the graves of Civil War veterans, cemetery restoration and historical and genealogical research.
