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Home›Dose of History›Abraham Lincoln’s Bodyguard and Other Civil War Soldiers Buried in Southern Arizona

Abraham Lincoln’s Bodyguard and Other Civil War Soldiers Buried in Southern Arizona

By Andrea Aker
February 12, 2013
4824
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While far removed from the thick of the Civil War, some fighting and territorial conquests extended here to present-day Arizona, including the war’s westernmost battle.

Sign at the Pearce Cemetery, courtesy of Paranormal Intuitive Investigators. (Click to enlarge.) "Where Abrahan Lincoln's body guard and General Sherman's adjutant are buried, as well as Union and Confederate Soldiers, and colorful characters from Pearce's "Hey Dey."

Sign at the Pearce Cemetery, courtesy of Paranormal Intuitive Investigations. (Click to enlarge.) “Where Abrahan Lincoln’s body guard and General Sherman’s adjutant are buried, as well as Union and Confederate Soldiers, and colorful characters from Pearce’s “Hey Dey.”

Sierra Vista-based Paranormal Intuitive Investigations recently stumbled across an interesting relic from this time during an historical investigation at the Pearce Cemetery – a sign and gravestones commemorating both Union and Confederate soldiers, including George H. Platt, member of the Union Light Guard of Ohio and bodyguard of President Abraham Lincoln. Platt also reportedly served as a member of Tombstone’s Burnside Post, Grand Army of the Republic. (See the gravestone on Find A Grave.)

“We were out there doing a pre-investigation of the cemetery because of the history with the town and mines,” said Rhonda Reid, intuitive and co-owner of Paranormal Intuitive Investigations. “We had no idea that someone of such great importance was buried there more than 100 years ago. This is very exciting for us.”

Upon the discovery, Reid researched the historical records and submitted the information to the History Society of Pearce and the Old Pearce Preservation Association. A decision is pending whether the grave site can be officially marked in honor of Platt’s service. Little is known about Platt, but this find could open the doors for additional research.

To see the site for yourself, take Highway 191 to Pearce Road through old Pearce to Memorial Drive. This road will take you directly to the Pearce Cemetery.

Founded in 1893, Pearce is one of Arizona’s last boom towns. At its height, the population hovered around 3,500. While mainly a ghost town now, a few families still reside there. Learn more about Pearce from the Pearce Sunsites Chamber of Commerce.

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Tagsboomcemeterycivil warpearce

5 comments

  1. Holly H 12 February, 2013 at 15:12 Reply

    Another set of Confederate Gravesites exist in Southern Arizona. At Dragoon Springs Stagestop there are 4 graves from a small group that was taking refuge there overnight only to be attacked by Apaches over the night.

    http://azghosttowns.blogspot.com/2012/05/dragoon-springs.html

    • Rhonda Reid 13 February, 2013 at 20:21 Reply

      Hi Holly,

      Thank you for your information. There are Union and Confederate soldiers buried all over Arizona; including Tombstone Cemetery, St. David Cemetery, Picacho Peak and up north as well. We are working tirelessly to get a memorial plaque at the Pearce Cemetery and we also hope to find a photo of Sgt. Platt and/or the Ohio Union Light Guard.

      Rhonda Reid
      Paranormal Intuitive Investigations

      • Carolyn Gray 5 May, 2016 at 16:48 Reply

        Rhonda, the Pearce Cemetery Association has just completed all the necessary paperwork for the DAR to have Sergeant Platt’s plaque approved. Hope to have it in by 2017. it’s a long process.

  2. Andrea Aker 6 May, 2013 at 07:18 Reply

    UPDATE: Rhoda Reid and Dwight Hull contributed to an in-depth story about George Platt and his son in the Tombstone Epitaph. Link will only be available through the end of May 2013, so be sure to check it out! http://www.tombstoneepitaph.com/current.html

    • Rhonda Reid 7 May, 2013 at 08:36 Reply

      Unfortunately, the article online is only a small portion of the entire story which is about 3 pages long in the National Edition of the Tombstone Epitaph.

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