Sitting in the pews of a quiet, colonial chapel in Standish, members of the Charles A. Warren Patriotic Association gathered on Monday afternoon to commemorate the Grand Army of the Republic.
The Grand Army organization was formed after the Civil War by veterans banding together to support one another and the families of fallen soldiers, according to Butch Gannett, a senior member of the association.
Member Scott Perry took some time during the invocation to speak about his experience visiting Gettysburg.
“I was nearly overcome by the courage of the Maine 20th Regiment,” which held the Union flank during one of the most crucial battles of the war, he said.
Taking a passage from the Gettysburg Address, Perry said, “it is fitting and proper that we should meet here today.”
Another member of the society, Rebecca Smith, testified about her experience researching those veterans and their families who are buried in the Standish area, determining their genealogy, biographical data and lifespan.
“Their stories are heartbreaking,” said Smith, who paused to gather herself, “but what is more heartbreaking is that these veterans have crept into the unknown of history.”
Smith says her research has evolved from a hobby to a full-time job.
“No one will ever be forgotten… they all deserve to be remembered,” she said.
And that is the essence of this organization: to prevent those veterans who sacrificed their lives from slipping away into obscurity. “It’s a way of life,” says Gannett. “It’s just something you do.”
According to member and former president Donald Harvey, the Patriotic Society aims to raise money for the maintenance of the veterans’ graves and the restoration of the Charles A. Warren Post 73 building, the meeting place of the society.
“The building was in great disrepair,” he said. “We also raise money for educational purposes, to raise awareness.”
Many of the members of the patriotic society descend from Civil War veterans, including Alice Abbott and her cousin, Ethel, whose great-grandfather fought during the Wilderness Campaign. “I’ve been coming here since I was a little girl,” said Alice.
After the meeting, members traveled either on foot or on school bus to Maplewood Cemetery. Butch Gannett read from a decree written by General John A. Logan, May 5th, 1868, who requested that the graves of veterans be maintained and decorated accordingly, and concluded the brief ceremony by placing a flag on the headstone of Charles A. Warren and graves belonging to other veterans, including Napoleon Bonaparte Abbott, great-grandfather of Alice and Ethel Abbott.
“I’m very proud,” Alice said. “We need to remember all those who fought.”
Lance Pepin, a resident of Hollis, said that although only 20 members were in attendance on Monday, it is the actions of a group, no matter how small, that counts most.
“Yeah, the group’s a little smaller this year, but we remember in our own way.”
Those who wish to join the Charles A. Warren Patriotic Society need only pay “two bits,” joked president Steve Nichols, a retired Major General, who says that it costs very little to remember those who gave so much for this country. “We have good times here,” he said. “What we do is important.”
Members of the Charles A. Warren Patriotic Association gather at the Maplewood Cemetery in Standish on Memorial Day. The association is one of two chapters of the Grand Army of the Republic.Send questions/comments to the editors.
