Community Corner

Plainfield Cemetery Hosts Dedication Ceremony for Civil War Soldiers

Nearly 90 Civil War veterans are buried in the Plainfield Township Cemetery. Several Plainfield-area soldiers will receive new grave markers.

Submitted by the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War:

The Plainfield Township Cemetery Association in conjunction with the Philip H. Sheridan Camp of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil WAR (SUVCW) will conduct a dedication ceremony for seven new markers placed on the graves of Civil War veterans buried in the Cemetery. 

The ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 28, at the cemetery, 15408 S. Joliet Rd.

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Local historians Caron Stillmunkes and Michael Lambert will discuss Plainfield’s experience in the Civil War and Burrell Post # 744 of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), Plainfield’s Civil War veterans’ organization. 

SUVCW National Chaplain Jerome Kowalski will provide an inspirational message. 

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The event will also include Civil War re-enactors from the 10th Illinois Infantry and the 8th Illinois Cavalry will join local Boy Scouts from Troops #13, #19, #82, #83 and #91 in the Color Guard. A rifle salute will be provided by Plainfield’s American Legion Marne Post # 13 and a period artillery salute by Mulligan’s Battery, SVR.

Nearly 90 Civil War veterans are buried at Plainfield Township Cemetery. Most of the graves are for men who served from the Plainfield area, including veterans of some notable units, including the 10th and 100th Illinois Infantries and the 8th Illinois Cavalry. Additionally, there are graves of a number of veterans from other states who migrated to and settled in Plainfield after the war.

As part of the cemetery’s ongoing effort to care for burials of veterans, the cemetery association teamed with the local SUVCW to identify those Civil War veterans buried in the Cemetery who either did not have markers or whose markers were no longer readable. Once identified, those veterans’ service was documented and new markers were obtained from the US Department of Veterans Affairs.

Amongst those receiving new markers is Capt. John A. Burrell of Company D, 100th Illinois Infantry. A resident of Plainfield, Capt. Burrell was killed in action during the campaign to capture Atlanta. After the war, his fellow veterans thought so highly of him and his service that they named their GAR Post in his honor. This will be recognized with the presentation of memorial wreaths at his grave. The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was founded at Decatur on April 6, 1866 and became the largest Civil War veterans’ organization.

The Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW) is a volunteer, non-profit, charitable, fraternal, patriotic and educational organization composed of members who can trace their lineage to soldiers, sailors, or marines who were mustered into Federal service and served honorably in, were honorably discharged from, or died in the service of the Union Army or Navy during the Civil War. The SUVCW is officially recognized as the GAR's legal successor, receiving its Congressional Charter in 1954. Philip H. Sheridan Camp #2 serves the western and southern Chicago suburbs.

For further information on the ceremony, contact Steven Westlake at westlakesteven@yahoo.com.  


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