Took some time to decorate the grave of the sharpshooter from my little community here in Upstate New York for Memorial Day.
As we were relying on the horticultural skills of a 30 year old single guy the one big flower and the little one with it in a pot was really the best I could do, but I'd like to think that is enough.
"Henry H. Collins
Co. D, 1 Reg. U.S.S.
Died April 25, 1916
Aged 78 yrs."
The grave marks Pvt. Collins as belonging to the U.S.S., rather than the U.S.S.S. that we use today. Do any other graves of known sharpshooters have this abbreviation?
I did my best to clean the headstone off a bit, but I feared scratching or defacing the stone. Anyone want to volunteer some cleaning techniques?
The stanchion holding his flag is for WW1! I was going to ask the groundskeeper if there was a extra G.A.R. one in the maintenance house, but then again was every veteran a member of the G.A.R.? Was there a stanchion made just for veterans of The War of the Rebellion? What would it take to get a specific U.S.S.S. stanchion made up?
Next door is the grave of his wife, Eliza Hardon Collins...who was born in 1860! While Henry was fighting on the peninsula, Eliza was learning to walk!
I guess that the government pension was a pretty big hook to cast into the dating pool back in the day, eh? I decorated her stone as well.