The Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War conducted a ceremony in partnership with Boy in Blue to honor Gardner Homer, the last Civil War Union Army veteran in Freeborn County, during a ceremony May 31 at the Greenwood Cemetery in Glenville. Photo courtesy Mike Murtaugh

The ceremony included a volley fire at the cemetery. The Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War William Colvill Camp No. 56 presided over the ceremony. The ceremony will feature the Last Union Veteran dedication ritual based on an 1880s Grand Army of the Republic ceremony and includes the placing of a special marker. Camp No. 56 supports the national goal of identifying and placing a marker on the grave of the last Union veteran buried in each of Minnesota’s 87 counties. The members of Camp #56 consider the Last Union Veteran ceremony an honor and a fitting tribute for a soldier whose service helped preserve the liberties Americans enjoy as a nation today. Photo courtesy Mike Murtaugh

A marker is placed at the gravesite as part of the ceremony. Photo courtesy Mike Murtaugh