GAR Lot Historical Marker Project

At our February 2024 Camp meeting we launched a project to fund and commission a Texas historical marker to honor the lives of 10 Union veterans buried in the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) plot at Washington Cemetery in Houston. We need your donations to help us reach our fundraising goal of $3,000!

The veterans buried in the GAR Plot (called lot G-26) hailed from four states and four countries, yet were united by a common cause in a bloody conflict that changed our Nation for the better.

All are worthy of remembrance and were members of the GAR, yet one stands out for her unique role in the conflict and the GAR. Her name was Sarah Emma Edmonds and she enlisted as a man with the 2nd Michigan Infantry under the pseudonym of Franklin Thompson. Sarah was one of about 150 women who enlisted with the Union Army as men during the Civil War. She served as a nurse, mail carrier, and spy and was present at battles including First Bull Run (Manassas), Fredericksburg, and Antietam.

After the war, Sarah married her childhood friend Linus Seelye, applied for and received a pension of $12 a month for her military service and was the first woman to be initiated in the GAR, in 1897, for her service as a solider. Sarah died in LaPorte, Texas, the following year. In May 1901, McLellan Post 9 of the GAR reinterred Army Nurse Sarah Emma Edmonds Seelye (aka Frank Thompson) with full military honors in the GAR Lot of the German Cemetery in Houston. Nine other Union Veterans rest there today and also deserve recognition and remembrance:

Please help us reach our fundraising goals by donating to the GAR marker fund!

The Boys in Blue Thank You!

Fraternity – Charity – Loyalty