Sons of Union Veterans pay tribute at Westmoreland's last Civil War veteran gravesite

A Plum woman who teaches students about American history learned about her own ties to one of the most significant chapters in that history Monday when she joined fellow descendants of Civil War veterans at the Irwin gravesite of her great-great-great-great-grandfather.

Local members of the Sons of Union Veterans presented Kimberly Herman with citations from government officials honoring her ancestor, John E. Wiegel, as the last known Union veteran of the Civil War to be laid to rest in Westmoreland County — in 1946.

Herman teaches an online civics class through the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School.

“In the beginning of my class, we talk about American history,” she said. “So to be able to go back and say, ‘Hey, I’m actually related to a Civil War veteran,’ is pretty awesome.”

Herman said older family members had discussed Wiegel, but she had never heard about his Civil War service until William Bray, commander of the Greensburg-based Sons of Union Veterans Capt. George Cribbs Camp, recently reached out to her.

“This is all brand new to me,” she said. “It sounded a little surreal. For a social studies teacher and somebody who has grown up loving history so much, to find out that you’re related to a Civil War veteran was really cool.

“It’s cool to be able to pass it down to the next generation.”

Now she can share her family’s Civil War legacy with her children — Valerie, 6, and Franklin, 7 — and her husband, Brandon, an Army veteran who served two deployments, to Iraq and Afghanistan, between 2004 and 2009.

“If it wasn’t for people like (the Sons of Union Veterans), things would be forgotten,” Brandon Herman said. “The kids, as they get a little bit older, they’ll be able to understand.”

Now that she knows a little about her ancestor’s service, Kimberly Herman said she intends to follow up with additional research. She said she plans to donate the citations that memorialize his military and public service to a local historical society for posterity.

Bray said Memorial Day is an appropriate time to honor Wiegel as part of a Sons of Union Veterans campaign to recognize the gravesites of the last Civil War soldier buried in each county across the nation.

Representatives of the Sons of Union Veterans, the Ladies of the Grand Army of the Republic and the Irwin-based Blue and Gray Brigade Civil War reenactment group gathered at Irwin’s Union Cemetery for a ceremony at the site where Wiegel was buried in 1946, at the age of 99 years and four months.

“The mission of the Sons of Union Veterans is to make sure Civil War veterans are remembered ,” said Bray, who lives in Harrison City. “The Civil War has been over for 160 years, and a lot of the veterans’ graves are unattended.”

The group’s campaign began in 2003, and the Greensburg camp joined the effort when it was chartered in September.

“This is a way to respect their memory and what they went through during the war,” Bray said.

According to Wiegel’s obituary, he was born Oct. 18, 1846, and was one of six brothers who served in and returned home safely from the Civil War.

He volunteered with the 189th Ohio Volunteers, serving with the unit at the end of the war — from Feb. 27 to Sept. 28, 1865. Following the conflict, he came to Irwin, where he served as the borough tax collector from 1902 to ‘13.

Wiegel was the last surviving member of Irwin’s Grand Army of the Republic post. He attended the last encampment of GAR veterans in 1937 at Gettysburg.

He moved in 1924 to Florida, where he later died at the Orlando home of a daughter, R.D. Mock. At the time, he also was survived by two sons, 12 grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren.

His body was returned to Irwin, and he was buried next to his wife, Caroline, who had died in 1918.

Bray presented Kimberly Herman with a 35-star U.S. flag. The flag is a replica of the ones that flew in the United States beginning on July 4, 1863 — when a star was added for the newly created state of West Virginia.

Bray said hereditary membership in the Sons of Union Veterans is open to any male 14 or older who can trace descent from a Union Civil War veteran through a great-grandfather or great-uncle. The group also offers junior and associate memberships.

The ceremony for Wiegel included the laying of wreaths and a gun salute by the reenactors. It followed Irwin’s Memorial Day parade and a traditional service, held near the entrance to Union Cemetery.

Otis DiCerbo of North Huntingdon, an Air Force veteran who has served as an Air Force Junior ROTC and aerospace science high school instructor, was the guest speaker at the initial service.

He told those attending, “Memorial Day is the most expensive holiday on the calendar” because of the debt owed to the many military members who died while serving their country. He called on area residents to take “the opportunity to contribute to our nation’s success” and “celebrate the things that unite us.”