Newspaper:Soldiers Rest in Baber Cemetery Contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Jim Blythe USGENWEB NOTICE: Printing this file by non-commercial individuals and libraries is encouraged, as long as all notices and submitter information is included. Any other use, including copying files to other sites requires permission from the submitters PRIOR to uploading to any other sites. We encourage links to the state and county table of contents. ____________________________________________________________ Soldiers rest in Baber Cemetery Graves may be visited on 3rd appreciation day BY NATHAN DICKINSON Staff Writer ndickinson@republicanherald.com In quiet, secluded Charles Baber Cemetery, echoes of war are everywhere. And given the national crisis, participants in Sunday's third Baber Cemetery Appreciation day may want to take a detour from the organized tours to reflect on their heroism. According to Leo L. Ward, president of the Historical Society of Schuylkill County, these men are among the notable veterans of the Civil War resting in the 1400 W. Market St. burial ground: Henry Pleasants, brigadier general for the Union in the Civil War, was hero of the Battle of the Crater in Petersburg. Brothers William Thompson and Lewis Thompson also served in the Civil War. The Thompson Building in Pottsville is named after William Thompson. Joshua K. Sigfried, army general in the Civil War. Lived on Mahantongo Street in Pottsville. Curtis Clay Pollock, lieutenant in Civil War. The historical society possesses a collection of 150 letters Pollock wrote home to his mother during the war, Ward said. Pollock was killed in the Battle of Petersburg. Henry Royer, colonel of a militia regiment in the Civil War. Lived on Mahantongo Street in Pottsville. Breed N. Hyde, colonel of the 3rd Vermont Volunteer Infantry in the Civil War. Moved to Pottsville afterward and served as a mining engineer. Cyrus Sheetz, captain of an infantry unit in the Civil War. A First Defender, known as the first to arrive in Washington, D.C. after President Abraham Lincoln called for volunteers to defend the capital. Keeper of the Northwest Hotel in Pottsville after the war. Charles Potts, captain of an infantry unit in the Civil War. A First Defender. Captured at the Battle of Gettysburg and sent to the infamous Libby Prison in Richmond, Va. Worked as a milk man on Norwegian Street after the war. Albert Bordy, cavalryman in the Civil War. Survived a saber wound to the skull at the Battle of Gettysburg. "It is a treasure for the community," said Rev. Charles C.H. Morris, rector of Trinity Episcopal Church, of the cemetery. "We need the community's involvement and appreciation of the cemetery in order to make it viable and enrich its presence." While the cemetery is non-denominational, Baber, a prominent local businessman in the second half of the 19th century, deeded it to the Episcopal church to manage it. The appreciation day is co-sponsored by the church, the Baber trustees and The REPUBLICAN & Herald. Dr. Thomas E. Graves, who will lead the Baber Cemetery tour with Mark T. Major, said among the other famous figures in the city's history that will be discussed will be cemetery founder Charles Baber himself. "It's the final resting place for many of the more prominent Pottsvillians and Schuylkill Countians," said Graves, of Orwigsburg. " (The tour) is a who's who of the cemetery." Graves said he will talk about symbols in the columns, stones and crypts of the non-denominational cemetery on the tour. "It will show shifts in symbolism and highlight changes in attitudes toward death from colonial times to the present," Graves said. The appreciation day is special for a number reasons, Graves said. "The cemetery is really a city park," he said. "It was developed during an era when it was outside the developed area of city. People went out and picknicked there. We're trying to recapture a bit of that feeling." The day begins at 1 p.m. and music will be provided by local act the Third Brigade Band, Graves said. There will be refreshments and activities for children, and tours start at 2 p.m., he said. There will also be a nature tour about the wildlife, trees and plants in the cemetery led by Frank P. Snyder, a district forester with the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, and Patrick M. McKinney, Graves said. More than 150 people attended last year, although the weather was rainy, Graves said. In the event of bad weather this Sunday the tour will become a slide presentation and activities will be moved inside to Trinity Episcopal Church, located at Centre Street and Howard Avenue in Pottsville. "There has been a growing fascination with cemetery tours in several areas of country," Graves said. "In his will Charles Baber left the cemetery to the City of Pottsville. We want people to know it is a public space."