YARMOUTH — Pvt. William Johnson, a veteran of the Civil War, received long overdue recognition today during a headstone dedication and burial service.

Johnson, who drowned in Casco Bay after the war in 1870, had been laid to rest in the Old Baptist Cemetery. His grave remained unmarked and a mystery to cemetery keeper Chris Stilkey until last year, thanks to the research of the veteran’s great-grandson Dick Johnson.

Additional Photos

Carolyn Lawson, a member of the Auxillary of the Union Veterans of the Civil War, lays a wreath at the new headstone of the grave of Private William Johnson, a Union soldier in the Civil War, with the assistance of Mike Nugent of the 1st Cavalry reenactors during a special ceremony today marking the newly confirmed grave of Civil War Private William Johnson at Baptist Cemetery, Yarmouth. In back are the 3rd Maine Infantry reenactors and related character reenactos of the Civil War era. Gordon Chibroski/Staff Photographer

“It’s a sorry affair that a union soldier was buried without a marker,” Johnson said. “This really was a wonderful tribute to my great-grandfather.”

American Legion Post No. 91 Commander Ron Hamlin officiated the ceremony, which was attended by Johnson, his cousin Muriel Gade, area residents, veterans, and members of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, the Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War and the Auxiliary to the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War. Civil War reenactors from the 1st Maine Cavalry and the 3rd Maine Infantry helped conduct a Civil War-era burial service.

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