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HONORING THE COLONEL

Published on October 31, 2004

© 2004- The Press Democrat

BYLINE: SHADI RAHIMI

THE PRESS DEMOCRAT PAGE: B1

The loud boom of a 21-gun salute fired with Civil War-style muskets echoed through the air and smoke drifted through the trees Saturday above a shiny new grave marker at the Santa Rosa Rural Cemetery.

A crowd of about 30 onlookers watched silently as re-enactors from the American Civil War Association dedicated the marker to Union Army Col. James Boydston Armstrong.

``It's a sobering experience,'' said Russell Mortenson of Santa Rosa. ``It kind of leaves you speechless.''

It's more than a century after Armstrong's death, but the grave was only recently identified by researchers studying the history of the rural cemetery on Franklin Avenue.

After his military service, Armstrong made a mark in Sonoma County -- preserving several hundred acres of redwoods that would form the Armstrong Redwoods State Reserve near Guerneville. But the location of his simple grave in an Armstrong plot at the cemetery was long ago forgotten.

Cemetery researchers assigned to identifying Civil War veterans found earlier this year that Col. Armstrong of Waynesburg, Ohio, and lumberman Armstrong of Cloverdale were the same man, cemetery docent Charles Christian said.

Armstrong has been identified as the top-ranking officer of the 150 Civil War veterans buried in the cemetery, he said.

Until now, John Gotea Pressley, a Confederate lieutenant colonel who later became a California Supreme Court justice was believed to be the highest-ranking Civil War veteran in the cemetery.

``We were very enthused when we found out,'' said cemetery researcher Ray Owen, who discovered Armstrong's identity from information in military records and obituaries.

At the dedication ceremony Saturday, Civil War buffs and cemetery neighbors watched as men dressed in military uniforms lined up shoulder to shoulder before the gravesite. A recorded bugle song, ``The Assembly,'' was played on a small stereo and a 21-gun salute was fired in Armstrong's honor.

Jennifer Miller of Santa Rosa watched the dedication with her 5-year-old twins, Kirby and Sophia, and her husband, Lincoln. She said Armstrong was her grandfather's uncle.

``We always come here for walks,'' said Miller, who lives near the cemetery. ``To have an ancestor here is very exciting.''

Armstrong came to Sonoma County in 1874 after earning his rank with an Ohio regiment in the Civil War, said Ronald Cannon of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, who spoke of the colonel's civilian life at the dedication.

By 1877, Armstrong had purchased several large tracts of redwoods and was operating a sawmill in Guerneville, Cannon said. A dedicated conservationist, Armstrong set aside 440 acres of forest to preserve as a natural park, said Lanny Kingston of the Friends of the Redwoods and Coast.

Today, Armstrong is best known in Sonoma County for Armstrong Redwoods, within which the 1,400-year-old Col. Armstrong Tree stretches 308 feet tall.

On Saturday, a colorful wreath and a basket of orange flowers were placed on his grave during the dedication. For some people at the morning ceremony, the event was a reminder of wars past, and present.

World War II veteran John Warner of Santa Rosa recalled in detail stories of the Civil War as told by his grandfather, a veteran of the war.

His wife, Donna, said the event cemented her feelings about war.

``I think of every war as the loss of our young men,'' she said. ``I think it's nice that we keep these memories alive as part of our history, especially while we're at war right now.''

You can reach Staff Writer Shadi Rahimi at 526-8606 or [email protected].

PHOTO: 3 by JEFF KAN LEE / The Press Democrat

1: Union soldier, conservationist honored 100 years later (Teaser, A1)
2: American Civil War Association reenactors fire one of three volleys to salute the ranking soldier of the Civil War buried at Santa Rosa Rural Cemetery. Researchers recently identified the grave of Union Army Col. James Boydston Armstrong.
3: The new marker for Armstrong was dedicated Saturday. After the Civil War the soldier traveled to Sonoma County, where he eventually preserved acres of redwoods now known as Armstrong Redwoods State Reserve.
American Civil War Association reenactors fire one of three volleys to salute the ranking soldier of the Civil War buried at Santa Rosa Rural Cemetery. Researchers recently identified the grave of Union Army Col. James Boydston Armstrong.