Memorial Day Program Honors Civil War Veterans

Tue, 05/29/2012 - 11:03pm — Diane Dyer

The Butler County Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution hosted the Annual Memorial Day Program in the courthouse lawn on Monday at 11:00am. Lynda Knight, Butler County NSDAR Regent, opened the 2012 program paying tribute to the Civil War Veterans of Butler County.

The Butler County High School JRNROTC presented the colors, followed by the pledge lead by Lois Russ, Flag Chairman Butler County NSDAR, and the National Anthem sung by Hannah Renfrow, BCHS freshman.

After the invocation by NSDAR Chaplin, Linda Wood, Melaine Hunt, of Green River NSDAR and Savara Johnson of Green River CAR presented selected readings by Roger Robicheau, What Heroes Gave.

Jane Eaton Henderson, Ladies Auxiliary VFW Post 5837 Jr. Vice President, shared the story of Taps. According to Henderson the tune is actually a variation of an earlier bugle call known as the "Scott's Tattoo" which was used in the U.S. from 1835 until 1860 and was arranged in its present form by the Union Army Brigadier General Daniel Butterfield, an American Civil War general and Medal of Honor recipient who commanded the 3rd Brigade of the 1st Division in the V Army Corps of the Army of the Potomac while at Harrison's Landing, Virginia, in July 1862 to replace a previous French bugle call used to signal "lights out." Butterfield's bugler, Oliver W. Norton, of Erie, Pennsylvania, was the first to sound the new call. Within months, Taps was used by both Union and Confederate forces. It was officially recognized by the United States Army in 1874.

Russ shared family names of several of the over 500 Civil War Veterans in Butler County. Roger Givens, Sons of the American Revolution, shared his research of personal stories of local Civil War Veterans.

Veterans Doug Odle, Ray West, and Geoffrey Henderson assisted in the release of one hundred red, white and blue balloons prior to the laying of the wreath at the base of the Civil War Monument followed by the playing of Taps by Odle. Mary Alice Black and Elaine Daugherty provided music for the event.