Great Conewago Presbyterian Church Cemetery

I spent some time the other day at the Historic Great Conewago Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Hunterstown, PA. This church was used as a Civil War hospital during (what I assumed) during the battle at Hunterstown which was a Cavalry battle. In the course of wandering around this cemetery, I located a plaque that had a list of the Civil War burials on it. I wrote down all the names (9 in all) and went off in search of each of these men. I located 6 of them. I'm not sure where the other 3 are but that's not surprising. It's very easy to miss portions of the cemetery because its not laid out in straight lines. Here is what I learned about each of these guys:

Robert Bell: Here is what his headstone says:

Robert Bell

Major 21 PA Cavalry

Died June 25, 1904

Aged 74 years

At Rest

Major with the 21st PA Cavalry. Mustered in: June 23, 1863, mustered out: February 20, 1864.

Boreas Deatrick: Here is what his headstone says:

Boreas Deatrick

1864 1865

Corp Co. K 184th PA Inf

Mustered in: September 5, 1864, Mustered out: June 2, 1865

Peter Decker: His headstone:

Peter Decker

Died Dec 10, 1905

Aged 72 years and 24 days

Private. Co. F 165th PA. Mustered in: November 8, 1862, Mustered out: July 28, 1863

George Ford: His headstone:

George Ford

Priv Co F 87 Reg PA Vol

1840-1915

Mustered in: September 25, 1861, Mustered out: October 13, 1864

George T. Hudson: I was unable to locate his grave

Private Co. K 184th PA Mustered in: September 5, 1864, Mustered out: June 2, 1865

Abraham King: I was unable to locate his grave

Private, Co. F 87th PA Mustered in: September 25, 1861, Discharged: September 24, 1862 on a Surgeon's Certificate

Robert McIlhenny: I was unable to locate his grave

Sergeant, Co B, 21st PA Cavalry Mustered in: June 23, 1863, Mustered out: February 20, 1864

John H. Sherman, MD: His headstone:

John H. Sherman, MD

Died July 29, 1906

In his 87th Year

Co A 136 Regt

PA Vols

Private, Mustered in: August 14, 1862, Mustered out: May 29, 1863

Jesse Wolford: His headstone:

Jesse Wolford

Private Co A 165 Regiment

Private Co C 202 Penna Vol

Infantry

Discharged Aug 3, 1865

Mustered in: September 3, 1864

After reading this list of men, I really began to realize that these guys weren't just names on a headstone....they were REAL men. Some of them fought here at Gettysburg, some didn't but it didn't matter. They fought because they were doing what they thought was right. I salute each one of these men!

*Additional information on the military service of these men was found in Samuel Bates History of Pennsylvania Volunteers.