A riderless horse stood near the old stones at Rice Cemetery on Sunday, May 17, as flags moved in the wind, an honor guard raised rifles and a small crowd gathered around the grave of Private Homer Isaac Sherwood.
Sherwood, who served with Company I of the 5th Michigan Cavalry during the Civil War, was honored with a bronze star marker recognizing him as the last Union veteran of the war buried in Monroe County.
The dedication was organized with help from Nash-Hodges Camp No. 43 of Blissfield, Department of Michigan, Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, and Andrew Noland, the cemetery sexton who has been working to preserve and document Rice Cemetery’s history.
“More than 160 years ago, as a young man from Monroe County, Homer Sherwood answered the call to serve during one of the most difficult times in our nation’s history,” Noland said…