On September 18th ,
I went to the Trails and Sails event at Pine
Grove Cemetery in Lynn, Massachusetts.
One
of the places I focused on was The Civil War G.A.R Lot. There are 573 veterans
buried in the lot.
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| Civil War G.A.R Lot |
In
this lot is buried John B. Stackhouse who was born a slave in Nashville, Tennessee.
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| John B. Stackhouse's gravestone. |
The
map and guide of the tour states “He enlisted on December 23, 1863(about 11
months after The Emancipation Proclamation) and mustered out on August
20, 1865. Stackhouse participated in the 54th campaign in South
Carolina, Florida and Georgia. Originally part of the Lincoln Post 7 in
Maryland, he then joined the G.A.R post 5 on January 30th, 1896. He died on
April, 1899 in the Soldiers Home in Chelsea Massachusetts.”
The EmancipationProclamation. On Jan. 1st, 1863, The U.S. President Abraham Lincoln
declared free all slaves residing in territory in rebellion against the
federal government. This Emancipation Proclamation actually freed few people.
John Stackhouse was one of the few freed people. The soldiers
home where he died is an important place in Chelsea, MA. Given that many slaves had no rights for such a long time, it is good to know that
regardless that once he was a slave he became free, served as a soldier, was
recognized for his service and treated equally at the end of his life.
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| This is a tall water tank in Chelsea labeled "SOLDIERS HOME" |
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| This is the main building at Soldiers Home. |
Established in 1882, the Soldiers' Home in Chelsea is a
multifaceted health care facility available to eligible veterans of the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The mission of the Soldiers' Home in Chelsea is
to provide, with honor and dignity, the highest quality personal health care
services to Massachusetts Veterans.
Sincerely, I hope that treatment and conditions of the Soldiers Home towards veterans was great when the home was stablished.
However, as the time passed by, the conditions and treatment towards veterans changed; I hope the conditions for
veterans are much better nowadays.
I like how you tied the Chelsea Soldiers Home into the John Stackhouse post.
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