By Parker Anderson

The solemnity of honoring our deceased military veterans on Memorial Day has been weakened a bit in recent years by weekend parties to mark the beginning of summer. However, there was indeed a time when entire communities banded together to pay tribute to our brave soldiers. Prescott was one of them.

Back in those days, living war veterans in Prescott, assisted by Prescott citizens, would gather on May 30th (this was before the Memorial Day holiday was moved, in 1971, to the last Monday in May) in front of the Knights of Pythias Hall which still stands on Cortez Street. They would then march somberly to Citizens Cemetery to hold a memorial service.

The Memorial Day ceremony of 1909, exactly 100 years ago, began the same way. Beginning at the hall, the procession was led by F.E. Andrews riding a black horse and assisted by Captain C.E. Yount of the Territorial Governor’s staff. Others aiding the veterans included such notable Prescott citizens as George C. Ruffner and Joseph P. Dillon. The somber parade consisted of over 100 citizens and a brass band.

The gate to Citizens Cemetery at that time was on the south end toward Gurley Street. The procession gathered around the grave of Captain James Butler of the Second New York Infantry. R.T. Tea, Commander of the Barrett Post, presided and Chaplain W.H. Ferguson offered a prayer.

Harriet Fay Southworth recited Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address and attorney Henry F. Ashurst (later became Arizona’s first Senator following Statehood) gave a short speech. Then, 8 year old Louis Bunte recited a poem called "Cover Them Over, by Will Carleton. The poem was read again and again on Decoration Days from the late 1860s:

Cover the hands that are resting, half-tried;

Crossed on the bosom, or low by the side;

Hands to you, mother, in infancy thrown;

Hands that you, father, close hid in your own;

Hands where you, sister, when tried and dismayed,

Hung for protection and counsel and aid;

Hands that you, brother, for faithfulness knew;

Hands that you, wife, wrung in bitter adieu.

Cover them over – yes, cover them over –

Parent, and husband, and brother, and lover;

Clasp in your hearts these dead heros of ours,

And cover them over with beautiful flowers.

Barrett Post Company E fired three volleys, the bugler played taps and the ceremony was over. It was as simple and moving as that.

The Arizona Journal Miner newspaper noted the presence of 22 Civil War veterans of the Union forces in attendance, including Samuel Goldsworthy (whose wife Ellen would die two days following this ceremony), W.A. Cline, Samuel C. Miller, Dr. Warren E. Day, and G.W. Taylor, who was black. The only Confederate present that day was F.A. Bowman who served with the Confederate Home Guard at the Battle of Winchester, VA.

Today, and for the past 15 years, the Yavapai Cemetery Association, under the leadership of Pat Atchison, has revived the tradition of Memorial Day observances at Citizens Cemetery. While they cannot march across town anymore, the services are very similar to what they were 100 years ago.

This year, the Memorial Day service at Citizens Cemetery on Sheldon Street will be on Monday, May 25th and the public is encouraged to attend. It will begin at 9:00 a.m.

"Day is done…gone the sun…from the lakes, from the hills, from the sky…" Taps calls us to remember all those who sacrificed all for our freedoms. Let us never forget. God Bless our veterans and God Bless America.

(Parker Anderson is an active member of Sharlot Hall Museum’s Blue Rose Theater)

Sharlot Hall Museum Photograph Call Number:(Chapman-Memorial Day, 1909) Reuse only by permission.

Postcards for all occasions were very popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This antique postcard by artist C. Chapman from series 6, published by the International Art Company of NY, was popular in 1909. Many antique Memorial Day postcards are available for view or purchase online.

Sharlot Hall Museum Photograph Call Number:(James Butler) Reuse only bypermission.

The grave of Captain James Butler of the Second New York Infantry at the Citizens Cemetery where, in 1909, the Memorial Day service was held. Captain Butler was born c.1821 in Douglas, Isle of Man and died in Prescott, AZ Territory on December 11, 1897 of consumption. He had been a soldier, farmer and freighter.

Sharlot Hall Museum Photograph Call Number:(Gen. John A. Logan) Reuse only bypermission.

Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John A. Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11, and was first observed on 30 May 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery.