Saturday morning, November 30th, 2019, found several FoWB members on their hands and knees! No, they hadn’t lost anything. Rather, they were participating in the most recent iteration of the Fredericksburg Confederate Cemetery marker-replacement program. The cemetery, managed by the Women’s Memorial Association, seeks to continue supplementing the deteriorating 140 year-old Georgia Marble markers with new flat markers.
For a number of years, several area organizations who have Civil War interests have donated time and resources (money) to purchase and install replacement markers on the grave sites of fallen Confederate soldiers buried in the local confederate cemetery. This year, FoWB contributed with the purchase of four new markers.
Making this unique for FoWB was the fact that the four makers purchased were designated to be for four of the soldiers who were originally buried on the Ellwood manor grounds following the Chancellorsville Battle in 1863. Because J. Horace Lacy, the owner of the property, chose to record the names of some of those almost two dozen burials in 1866, we are able to honor them by name today.
The four markers are for:
Lt. William W. Posey, Co. F, 2nd LA Inf
Sgt Joseph Trunszler, Co. I, 15th LA Inf
Pvt Byron Vaughn, Co. D, 4th VA Inf
Pvt Archibald H. Vance, Co. D, 10th VA Inf
FoWB Director Bob Epp and his grandson.
FoWB President Mark Leach welcomed the FoWB volunteers to the work party. He was joined by Joe Lafleur, a master stone and mason engineer. Joe has several ancestors who served in the Confederate ranks during the Civil War. Ted Watkins, a descendant of a New York combatant who fought at the Wilderness, also participated in the project. Bob Epp and his grandson learned the sod-digging and marker packing techniques that are important to the effort. Marcia Hovenden was present with shovel in hand and camera at the ready. Stephanie Bianchi dropped by with a gift of baked goods and words of encouragement. And finally, Mike Burns, also a Civil War Round Table member and FoWB Heritage Program member, provided a morale boost to all.
FoWB Member Volunteers Brad Gerstbrein and Joe LaFleur
With all that practical experience, the volunteers are fully prepared for the next marker-placement party to further honor the service of the Ellwood deceased.
