| ACWHRS members travel to Richmond Virginia for re dedication of headstones. |
The article below was reprinted from the Lake Charles ( Louisiana) American Press on Sunday
August 27th, 2006
Local war casualty grave marked after 143 years
RICHMOND, Va. — The grave of a Lake Charles man who was killed in action at the Battle of
Gettysburg in July 1863, has recently had a marker placed on his grave, thanks to two groups of
dedicated Civil War reenactors from Canada.
On Sept. 16th, the two groups from Ontario, Canada will gather at Hollywood Cemetery in
Richmond, Virginia to dedicate the new marker for Cpl. Issac Reeves, 24, and three other
Confederate soldiers in the Gettysburg section of Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond.
The two groups, the 10th Louisiana, Co. ‘‘C’’ and the 21st Mississippi, Co. ‘‘D’’ have placed markers
on the graves of Reeves, Lt. Col. John M. Legett, Capt. Alsphonse Jonte, all of the 10th Louisiana, and
Sgt. James McLaughlin, a Canadian, of the 21st Mississippi. Legett and Jonte were both killed at
Chancellorsville, while Reeves and McLaughlin were killed at Gettysburg.
To accomplish this, the group received assistance from Bill Ward, of the Southern Soldiers
Remembrance Fund, a Virginia organization which specializes in the replacement of Veteran’s
markers on unmarked Confederate graves, primarily in Hollywood and Oakwood Cemeteries in
Richmond.
Reeves was a member of Company K of the 10th Louisiana, which had many men from Lake Charles
serving in it. He was fighting on Culp’s Hill in the battle when he was killed, either July 2 or 3.
More than 2,000 of the Confederate dead who were killed at Gettysburg, were moved to Hollywood
Cemetery between 1871 and 1873. Reeves was among them but most of the graves were unmarked, as
was his until recently when the Canadians marked it.
His brother, Sgt. James Reeves, was killed in action at the Battle of Chancelorsville, and his twin
brother, Pvt. John Reeves, was wounded and blinded in the same battle.
The 10th Louisiana re-enactors are part of the largest re-enacting group in Canada, the American
Civil War Historical Re-enactment Society which has a membership of almost 200. Within its
structure there exists Confederate, Union, Artillery, Medical and Civilian Units. The A.C.W.H.R.S. is
dedicated to bringing awareness to the more than 50,000 Canadians who fought in the Civil War and
also to the preservation of Civil War sites.
Each year in the fall the group travels to Gettysburg to volunteer in raking leaves, cutting brush, etc.,
at their ‘‘Adopt a Position,’’ ‘‘The Triangular Field’’ in the National Military Park and to bring
awareness to the 21 known Canadians buried in the National Cemetery by placing Canadian flags
on their graves.
The 21st Mississippi re-enactors also engage in activities that draw attention to Canada's involvement
in the American Civil War and have in their midst re-enactor, Jim Bazo, who portrays President
Jefferson Davis.
Bazo has been doing President Davis for a number of years and is well known in the United States
for his portrayal of Davis. He has spoken in Montgomery Ala.., Biloxi, Miss. at Beauvoir and at the
Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond.
At Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., he played President Davis in ‘‘The Trial of President Davis
and Robert E. Lee’’ and again in ‘‘The Trial of President Abraham Lincoln.’’ He will be speaking at
the museum, on the steps of the White House on the morning of the 16th and also at the grave
dedications later that afternoon.
For more information on the ceremony, contact Donna Elliott, 2 North Drive #115, Scarborough,
Ontario, Canada M1N 1Z2 (416) 691-2395; email address
wayneelliott@sympatico.ca.
For more on the history of the unit, there is a regimental history of the unit, “Lee’s Foreign Legion: A
History of the 10th Louisiana Infantry Regiment” co-authored by Tom Brooks and Mike Jones.
RICHMOND, Va. — The grave of a Lake Charles man who was killed in action at the Battle of
Gettysburg in July 1863, has recently had a marker placed on his grave, thanks to two groups of
dedicated Civil War reenactors from Canada.
On Sept. 16th, the two groups from Ontario, Canada will gather at Hollywood Cemetery in
Richmond, Virginia to dedicate the new marker for Cpl. Issac Reeves, 24, and three other
Confederate soldiers in the Gettysburg section of Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond.
The two groups, the 10th Louisiana, Co. ‘‘C’’ and the 21st Mississippi, Co. ‘‘D’’ have placed markers
on the graves of Reeves, Lt. Col. John M. Legett, Capt. Alsphonse Jonte, all of the 10th Louisiana, and
Sgt. James McLaughlin, a Canadian, of the 21st Mississippi. Legett and Jonte were both killed at
Chancellorsville, while Reeves and McLaughlin were killed at Gettysburg.
To accomplish this, the group received assistance from Bill Ward, of the Southern Soldiers
Remembrance Fund, a Virginia organization which specializes in the replacement of Veteran’s
markers on unmarked Confederate graves, primarily in Hollywood and Oakwood Cemeteries in
Richmond.
Reeves was a member of Company K of the 10th Louisiana, which had many men from Lake Charles
serving in it. He was fighting on Culp’s Hill in the battle when he was killed, either July 2 or 3.
More than 2,000 of the Confederate dead who were killed at Gettysburg, were moved to Hollywood
Cemetery between 1871 and 1873. Reeves was among them but most of the graves were unmarked, as
was his until recently when the Canadians marked it.
His brother, Sgt. James Reeves, was killed in action at the Battle of Chancelorsville, and his twin
brother, Pvt. John Reeves, was wounded and blinded in the same battle.
The 10th Louisiana re-enactors are part of the largest re-enacting group in Canada, the American
Civil War Historical Re-enactment Society which has a membership of almost 200. Within its
structure there exists Confederate, Union, Artillery, Medical and Civilian Units. The A.C.W.H.R.S. is
dedicated to bringing awareness to the more than 50,000 Canadians who fought in the Civil War and
also to the preservation of Civil War sites.
Each year in the fall the group travels to Gettysburg to volunteer in raking leaves, cutting brush, etc.,
at their ‘‘Adopt a Position,’’ ‘‘The Triangular Field’’ in the National Military Park and to bring
awareness to the 21 known Canadians buried in the National Cemetery by placing Canadian flags
on their graves.
The 21st Mississippi re-enactors also engage in activities that draw attention to Canada's involvement
in the American Civil War and have in their midst re-enactor, Jim Bazo, who portrays President
Jefferson Davis.
Bazo has been doing President Davis for a number of years and is well known in the United States
for his portrayal of Davis. He has spoken in Montgomery Ala.., Biloxi, Miss. at Beauvoir and at the
Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond.
At Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., he played President Davis in ‘‘The Trial of President Davis
and Robert E. Lee’’ and again in ‘‘The Trial of President Abraham Lincoln.’’ He will be speaking at
the museum, on the steps of the White House on the morning of the 16th and also at the grave
dedications later that afternoon.
For more information on the ceremony, contact Donna Elliott, 2 North Drive #115, Scarborough,
Ontario, Canada M1N 1Z2 (416) 691-2395; email address
wayneelliott@sympatico.ca.
For more on the history of the unit, there is a regimental history of the unit, “Lee’s Foreign Legion: A
History of the 10th Louisiana Infantry Regiment” co-authored by Tom Brooks and Mike Jones.
For photographs
from the re
dedication ceremony,
use the Legett button
below
from the re
dedication ceremony,
use the Legett button
below
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