Civil War vet receives military honors nearly 84 years after death

Staff photo/Scott Stewart

Alan Kirshen, a camp commander with the Sons of Union Veterans of Civil War, discusses the role Iowa soldiers played in the Civil War during a gravestone dedication Sunday afternoon at Graceland Cemetery in Avoca.


http://www.nonpareilonline.com/news/local/civil-war-vet-receives-military-honors-nearly-years-after-death/article_40eb4742-10b4-5b35-b9a2-0a1134da3ec9.html

By Scott Stewart
sstewart@nonpareilonline.com | 0 comments

AVOCA – William Pickerill enlisted in the U.S. Army on Aug. 8, 1863, at age 16 – at least if you go by the birth date on his gravestone.

Pickerill enlisted to as a private to fight for the Union in the American Civil War. He helped guard an arsenal in Detroit as part of Company B of the 116th Indiana Infantry, and then he traveled and fought in the Battles of Blue Springs and Walker’s Ford in Tennessee.

He re-enlisted on Jan. 24, 1865, and he continued serving as a corporal with Company G of the 47th Wisconsin Infantry. After the war, he traveled to western Iowa, settling in Avoca as a farmer and a barber.

He was also an accomplished violin player, according to his obituary.



Staff photo/Scott Stewart
Sunday's ceremony concluded with a three-volley salute and the sounding of a cannon, as well as the playing of "Taps" on a bugle at Graceland Cemetery in Avoca.

FULL story at link.