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On Memorial Day, May 27, 1907, a monument was dedicated at Vine Lake Cemetery to commemorate seven Civil War soldiers who were buried in unknown locations. To the committee who funded the memorial, there were few factual resources available to make a determination with any certainty about their burial sites.
Today, communication opportunities and field research have helped to solve a variety of mysteries about Civil War soldiers. The cooperation and resources of National Park Service personnel now offer factual answers to where only questions existed one hundred eleven years ago.
These are the Medfield soldiers now commemorated with burial locations once thought unknown:
Frank Edward Morse - 6th Connecticut Infantry Regiment Company A; died in battle at Deep Run, Virginia, 1864; buried at Poplar Grove National Cemetery, Petersburg, Virginia.
Caleb Howard - 4th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment Company K; Massachusetts Infantry Regiment Company K; 58th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment Company F; died in battle at Petersburg, Virginia, 1864; buried at Poplar Grove National Cemetery, Petersburg, Virginia.
Joseph Edward Hardy III - 33rd Massachusetts Infantry Regiment Company D; died of disease at Regimental Hospital, Carrollton, New Orleans, MS; buried in the hospital cemetery there.
Gabriel Strang - 1st Massachusetts Cavalry Company L; died in battle at High Bridge, Virginia, 1865; buried at Poplar Grove National Cemetery, Petersburg, Virginia.
Willard Russell Holbrook - 33rd Massachusetts Infantry Regiment Company H; died in battle at Averasboro, North Carolina, 1862; buried in an unmarked grave behind a field hospital, Averasboro, North Carolina.
Daniel McMahon - 33rd Massachusetts Infantry Regiment Company H; died in battle at Wauhatchie, Tennessee 1862; buried at National Cemetery, Chattanooga, Tennessee.
William Vennoh - 33rd Massachusetts Infantry Regiment Company H; died of disease while a prisoner at Libby Prison, Richmond, Virginia, 1863; buried at Richmond National Cemetery, Richmond, Virginia.
Research for this project was completed by George Gray and Rob Gregg.
