The Plots
Rosehill Cemetery has several lots populated primarily by Union soldiers. The main soldiers’ lot is located just inside the cemetery gate and is home to approximately 228 of the over 350 Union soldiers buried in Rosehill. An additional 1,500 Union veterans can be found in other sections of the cemetery.
As detailed in the Chicago Tribune article below, the Board of Managers of Rosehill tendered the lot to the Union Defense Committee in 1862.
A list of early burials appears in the April 1862 article. The four soldiers, whose names are transcribed below, will be featured in the “The Soldiers” section.
Chicago Tribune, April 21, 1862
Burials on the Soldiers’ Lot at Rose Hill Cemetery.
In May last, when the papers announced the death of Geo. Mather, a member of the 19th regiment Illinois Volunteers, and that his body would be sent to Chicago for interment, the Board of Managers of Rosehill Cemetery tendered to the Union Defense Committee, through the President, A.G. Burley, Esq., a lot at Rosehill for the burial of all volunteers who might die or be killed while in the service of their country, together with the services of the Superintendent of the Cemetery to take charge of any bodies to be buried, and see that they were properly interred without charge. The Committee accepted the offer, and the lot, by their direction, was deeded to the Hon. Julian S. Rumsey, Mayor – and to his successors in office, in trust for the above purposes. Since that time, the following internments have been made:
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Wm. Bird, Co E, 13th Ill. Cavalry.
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Oliver Bardwell, 9th Ill. Cavalry.
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Wm. Nourse, Co. B, 65tg Reg. Ill. Vol.
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H.H. Hadley, Co. A, 65th Reg. Ill. Vol.
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The lot is one of the best in the Cemetery, and located near the main entrance. As internments are made, a correct record is kept so that the grave of any one can at any future time be pointed out to friends of the deceased. Among those who have fallen and whose bodies are now in the vault at Rosehill to be buried by their relatives, are Captain W. W. Peck, of the regular service; Capt. Chas. H Shepley of the 19th Illinois Volunteers, and Sergeant C. W. Everett, of Taylor's Battery.
Chicago Tribune, December 11, 1862
In this connection we may also mention the lots donated by the Cemetery Association for the use of soldiers who lost their lives in their country’s service. These are located near the entrance of the grounds, occupying a prominent position, in full view from the cars as they pass. One lot each is appropriated to companies A and B, Chicago Light Artillery; one each to the Board of Trade Regiment and Battery; one to Illinois soldiers not belonging to these organizations; and one to soldiers from other States. Each of these lots has some tenants, about 100 having been interred thus far, and ample room is afforded for all the interments that will be required in this “silent city.” Long rows of green mounds which mark the resting places of those who have died in their country’s service, are among the first objects which meet the eye on entering the grounds. It is believed that at no distant day, a monument, worthy of the liberality of our citizens and of the noble cause in which the soldier fell, will be erected about their mortal remains.
A second soldiers’ lot exists in the middle of a section northwest of the main Civil War section. In this lot are buried soldiers who died between January and July of 1865. The existence of this lot suggests that the cemetery required additional space for burials after filling the original lot.
Chicago Tribune, May 31, 1870
OTHER GRAVES.
For the benefit of those of our readers not acquainted with Rosehill, we will say that the entrance is at the foot of a hill, having a slope of about 200 feet to a rise of about 25 feet. On the summit of this elevation, immediately facing the entrance and grand approach, stands the monument dedicated yesterday on behalf of the Board of Trade and the county government. On each side of the gravel walking leading from the gate lie the graves of the soldiers to the number of about 230. A few were decorated by private hands, but the most of them were decked from the common store. Noticeable among those that had felt the hand of love and affection, was a simple mound, one of a long row, which was surrounded by a wreath of oak leaves, inside of which, in immortelles, beautifully fashioned, thousands of passers-by read the simple name of “Frank.” Nothing could have been more beautiful or touching. At the head of the grave, lying in a wreath and under a glass cover, lay a photograph of him who lies beneath. The picture represented a handsome, dashing youth, a true type of the American soldier. Not a single soldier’s grave, no matter how remotely situated in the enclosure, was forgotten, and many a fond parent mourning a loved offspring, husband a wife, or orphaned children a tender mother, accepted this occasion to lay a tribute of love and devotion on the grave of one long mourned but not forgotten.