The newest Civil War monument in the country was dedicated Saturday at the Richmond Cemetery, where the last portion of the Battle of Richmond was fought in August 1862. Phillip Seyfrit is the curator of the Battle of Richmond Visitors Center and was one of the speakers during the unveiling of a memorial honoring the Union mass grave.
“The vast majority of those buried here after the battle were moved to two large mass graves in what then was the back of the Richmond Cemetery.”
The monument is a simple one, reading, “Site of the Battle of Richmond. UNION MASS GRAVE. 1862-1868.” Seyfrit, wearing Union blue, explained what became of the bodies two or three years after the Civil War.
“Remains of the federal soldiers were disinterred from their resting places and moved to the new national cemeteries. Approximately 125 Union dead from the battle of Richmond were moved to the newly established Camp Nelson National Cemetery.”
The invocation was delivered by longtime Richmond Mayor Robert Blythe, who is African American.
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