Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War share special Memorial Day remembrance at Calvary Cemetery

Calvary Cemetery hosted its annual Memorial Day commemoration with a crowd of hundreds in attendance for an outdoor mass on the morning of May 27, at the base of the hilltop chapel.

The patriotic program followed with a featured address by President Abraham Lincoln, played by Nicholas Bur. Then a final military salute was performed with cannon fire from Cushing’s Battery A – 4th U.S. Artillery, along with a Civil War musket and American Legion rifle salute. The nonprofit organization Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW) organized the annual historic reenactment.

The Milwaukee County Historical Society dedicated a special marker on July 1, 2018, the 155th anniversary of the start of the Battle of Gettysburg, to commemorate the three hundred Union Civil War soldiers buried at Milwaukee’s Calvary Cemetery.

The C.K. Pier Badger Camp # 1 of SUVCW coordinated the effort, which was the third Civil War marker the organization helped establish in recent years, the others are at the site of General Rufus King’s home in downtown Milwaukee, and at Forest Home Cemetery.

These images show portions of the historic tribute to Union soldiers, for which the tradition of Memorial Day began after the devastating Civil War, and honored all the Americans who have since fallen while defending the country.