Sons of Union Vets working to restore Civil War gravesites

VALPARAISO, Ind. (AP) - There are some 500 Civil War veterans buried in Porter County.

Many have graves that are unmarked or headstones that don't fully tell their stories of battle.

Members of the David D. Porter Camp 116 of The Sons of the Union Veterans are working to correct that.

"One of our main duties is to honor those who served in that war. That's been on the back burner mainly because of funding," said member Stephen Mockler Jr., of Wanatah, who is overseeing the group's project to mark each of those graves with a flag and marker. They also are working to erect headstones on graves either not marked or where stones are in a poor state.

The project recently received the blessing of the Indiana Bicentennial Commission and has been chosen as one of the state's Legacy Projects.

Mockler joined the group about a year and a half ago and began touring cemeteries, looking for the graves of Civil War veterans. Many weren't marked.

"It has been a small, grassroots effort. We've been trying to get flags, grave markers for all the Civil War vets," he said.

They started a GoFundMe page and have raised about $1,500 of the $6,000 they need for the project.

The funding, so far, said Mockler, has allowed them to order flags and Grand Army of the Republic markers for 180 grave sites. They've also applied for headstones through the Veterans Administration for six local Civil War vets and will install those themselves when they arrive.

On Saturday, they began their work at Union Street Cemetery in Valparaiso, also known as Old City Cemetery. Volunteers cleaned up the grave sites and began installing the flags and markers. They'll be doing the same thing May 14 for veterans buried at Maplewood Cemetery in Valparaiso.

"Our long-term goal is to include all the graves in Porter County and neighboring counties," said Mockler, noting that this year also is the 150th anniversary of the Grand Army of the Republic organization.

Mockler said the group will join this year with the Porter County Museum to co-host cemetery tours, pointing out the graves of Civil War veterans and telling their stories. They will host a Memorial Day ceremony at the museum 10 a.m. May 30.

In addition, said Mockler, they are accepting memberships to the Sons of Union Veterans local camp. Associate members don't have to have an ancestor in the Civil War, but need to have an interest in the war. Full members must prove lineage to a Civil War veteran.

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Source: The (Munster) Times, http://bit.ly/24qhm9q

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Information from: The Times, http://www.thetimesonline.com