US Civil War soldier receives long overdue honors at London cemetery (2024)

LONDON — A Civil War soldier received military burial honors for the first time over the weekend, thousands of miles from where he served and nearly 94 years after he was laid to rest.

The ceremony for Pvt. James Schobel White took place Saturday at the East London Cemetery and was hosted by the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War.

White was born in the United Kingdom in 1843 and joined the Union side on an impulse, keeping his enlistment secret from his family because he thought they’d be concerned for his safety, said Michael Hammerson, junior vice-commander of the Union veterans’ group.

They were right to be worried. He joined Company B, 113th Ohio Volunteer Infantry and fought in November 1863 at the Battle of Missionary Ridge near Chattanooga, Tenn., where more than 50,000 Union soldiers attacked over a long front and forced a Confederate retreat into Georgia. A Confederate officer described the loss as “the death knell of the Confederacy,” according to the National Parks Service.

White also fought in the broader Chattanooga campaign and well as the Atlanta campaign. He served for 20 years, family members at the service said Saturday.

The earliest incarnation of Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War was founded in 1881 and open to both veterans and family members. The group honors the fallen by seeking out, marking and maintaining the graves of Civil War veterans. It also awards college scholarships, provides educational resources and works on Civil War-related preservation projects.

More than 1,155 Union and 151 Confederate soldiers are buried in the United Kingdom, with more to be identified, according to the organization.

The ceremony on Saturday included choir hymns, prayers and a remembrance. Later, an American flag was held over the grave, then folded and presented to the family. Wreaths were laid at White’s gravesite, followed by a rendition of Taps.

White joined the London branch of the veterans’ group after he retired, said David Frost, White’s grandson.

“My mother always told me that he feared that since they were using so many flags for the increasing burials, he didn’t think there would be any left for him.

“I’m glad to finally say he was wrong.”