ALEXANDRIA, S.D. — A Civil War veteran was honored with a military headstone on his grave in South Dakota more than a century after his death.
The Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War held a remembrance ceremony Saturday for Cpl. Timothy Peters in Alexandria, the Daily Republic reported. Peters served as a corporal from 1861 to 1865 in a Wisconsin company. He mostly fought in Missouri and Arkansas.
Peters survived the Civil War, got married, had children and eventually moved to Hanson County. He died in 1906 and was buried without an official military headstone.
Peters’ military headstone was at first wrongly placed on the grave of a Timothy Peters in Washington state in 2007. A Civil War history buff in Washington had tried to get Civil War soldiers buried in his county the proper headstone, but didn’t realize that the Timothy Peters he’d found was born after the war ended.
Joni Krause stumbled upon the mix-up while researching her family history, including her distant relative Timothy Peters.
“I messed around for a couple years, trying to get it straightened out,” Krause said of the headstone error. “I just kind of gave up. I knew the truth.”
Gordon Stuve, a camp commander for the nonprofit Sons of Union, contacted Krause about the issue about two years ago. Stuve wanted to move the stone to the proper grave, but he needed permission from Peters’ relatives.
“After almost 11 years exactly, this stone has found its home,” Stuve said at the headstone dedication. “And I thank the people that participated in this project with me.”
Krause was given a memorial flag, while Peters was remembered with a firing squad salute.
