The Civil War: Still making news 150 years later

Our story on the Civil War was posted today at heritage.com, and it documents some historic ties Washtenaw County had with the bloodiest war in American history.

It's a fascinating war, the only war fought completely by Americans. Being in Michigan, it can be difficult to connect with the war: most of the battles were fought in the South, and very few made it north of the Mason-Dixon Line (with the exception of this doozy).

But we have lots of history from the war in our state, and Washtenaw County, and specifically Manchester, is no exception.

If you travel down Main Street to Austin Road on the west side of the village, you'll find Oak Grove Cemetery, which is full of history and headstones from the Civil War. It's always interesting to wander around old cemeteries and look back at what remains of people that died 100, 150, even 200 years ago.

The flagholder with an iron star denotes a
Grand Army of the Republic member in Oak Grove Cemetery. 

Almost immediately walking into the cemetery for the first time a few weeks ago, you are in the midst of American flags complete with "GAR," or Grand Army of the Republic, icons. The Grand Army of the Republic was the North's fraternal organization after the war that lasted until the mid-1900s, when the remaining Civil War vets died. It's a reminder of the service those men and women performed to keep the Union intact, and also, not to mention that below your feet rests someone who fought during the most divisive period in American history. It's kind of eerie, if you think about it long enough.

Manchester has several veterans buried in the cemetery from the war, and it could behoove you to just go and visit. School's out, which makes for the perfect history lesson field trip during the day. Read the names on the headstones. Maybe head to the Manchester library and find some local history. Or talk to the Manchester Area Historical Society, there are several members that are into the war and could help you understand more about our local ties.

And you'll never know when you'll find that connection. Just this week, my parents, who are vacationing in Kansas to visit family, found out our family had several soldiers participate in the Civil War. They were members of the 12th and 13th Iowa Volunteer Infantry, and participated in battles such as the ones at Shiloh, Vicksburg and even Gen. George Sherman's infamous March to the Sea, which resulted in the burning of Atlanta.

Hopefully our local history piece has inspired you to go and do some digging on your own. It's a lot like the Ancestry.com commercial: You don't have to know what you're looking for, you just have to start looking.