Welcome to
Grand Army of the Republic Cemetery Park
Welcome to the final stop on your walk through GAR Cemetery Park. This stone was a finale of sorts to the Friends of GAR Cemetery Park's restoration project and serves as a potent reminder of the history of this site.
This stone was one of the last additions made by the FGAR to GAR Cemetery Park. The stone itself was donated by a local branch of Freemasons, and the FGAR selected the quote engraved on it. Pulled from two Memorial Day speeches given by Union Veteran and Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., the abridged quote is a fitting addition to this cemetery. You may recognize this quote, as it was used to open Ken Burns' 1990 documentary mini-series, The Civil War.
"But, nevertheless, the generation that carried on the war has been set apart by its experience. Through our great fortune, in our youth our hearts were touched with fire. It was given to us to learn that life is a profound and passionate thing. " (1884)
"As for us, our days of combat are over. Our swords are rust. Our guns will thunder no more. The vultures that once wheeled over our heads must be buried with their prey. Whatever of glory must be won in the council or the closet, never again in the field. I do not repine. We have shared the incommunicable experience of war; we have felt, we still feel, the passion of life to its top." (1895)
Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., c. 1860s.
Image property of the Library of Congress
Holmes' words remind us of the unique experience that the generation buried here all shared. A time when our nation appeared irreparably fractured, and blood was spilled on American soil. To this day, the American Civil War remains the deadliest conflict in the history of the United States, as 2% of the American population was killed in this war, and this violence and division indisputably shaped the generation that survived it. Modern conversations about the Civil War often end at that statistic of 2%, and seldom consider the way this generation had to rebuild and move forward from this conflict.
This cemetery shows us that many who experienced the Civil War lived where we do today and shaped the communities we currently inhabit. Men who fought at Gettysburg, were enslaved, and endured Confederate prison camps are all here in this place, joined together by their common experience. They designed our cities, influenced our political systems, and lived to see immense changes sweep the nation. Over 100 years after these veterans came together to create this cemetery, people once again came together to save it and preserve it for generations to come. The tradition of Memorial Day, a newer holiday when these veterans began observing it here in the 1890s, continues to be observed at this cemetery to this day. Though they lived here far before us, we share a connection in community and remembrance with these veterans and their families by coming to this place.
Above all, Grand Army of the Republic Cemetery is a cornerstone of community, both past, present, and future. As long as we advocate for the protection of sites like this one, we can remain connected to the past and learn for the future.
Thank you for visiting GAR Cemetery Park today. If you would like to read about the park's history and community in further detail, please explore the other sections on this guide's homepage.
For more information about GAR Cemetery Park, please visit the website of the Friends of Grand Army of the Republic Cemetery Park, linked here, or the Seattle Parks Department, linked here.