Memorial Day weekend-beginning at 9 AM on May 27 and 10 AM on May 28, 2007-at Woodland Cemetery, 6901 Woodland Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio, will feature a rich array of events, including May 28 ceremonies at the graves of two Civil War Officers. Approximately 2,100 veterans of the Civil War, the War of 1812, and post-Civil wars are buried in Woodland Cemetery. The event is free and the public is invited to bring picnic lunches and lawn chairs. The main Cemetery entrance is on Woodland Avenue, with an additional entrance on Quincy Avenue. Parking is available on side streets. In the event of inclement weather, events will be cancelled. For more information, visit the Woodland Cemetery website at http://www.rootsweb.com/~ohclecem/woodlandcemetery.html.
Col. William R. Creighton and Lt. Col. Orrin J. Crane were buried next to each other in the mid-1860s and the stone eagles perched atop each grave monument had long disappeared before being restored this year. Creighton and Crane were volunteers with The Seventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry and were among the 12 of 13 officers killed on November 27, 1863 when the Seventh was ordered to take Taylor's Ridge near Ringgold, Georgia. Their bodies were returned to Cleveland and lay in state in City Hall before burial in Woodland.
Participants in the May 28 ceremonies include the Cleveland Grays, the Seventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry, the 23rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry, the 51st Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Cleveland Firefighters Memorial Pipes and Drums, Sons of Union Veterans, Disabled Veterans Association, Forest City Singers, and many dignitaries and speakers, including a Keynote Address from Tuskegee Airman Arthur Saunders.
On Memorial Sunday, May 27, visitors may honor an old Grand Army of the Republic tradition starting with a non-denominational church service performed by Reverend Timothy Leslie, a Navy veteran and co-tour director of the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument. Afterwards, public assistance will be needed to place veteran flags on the graves of the nearly 2,100 veterans buried in Woodland Cemetery.
Covering 60 acres, this cemetery has an interesting and rich history. Since its first grave in 1853, there have been more than 85,000 burials, including notable politicians such as Reuben Wood B 16th Governor of Ohio (1850-1853); John Brough B 26th Governor of Ohio (1864-1865); Jacob Mueller B Lieutenant Governor of Ohio (1872-1874); John Patterson Green B Founder of Labor Day, elected to Ohio House of Representatives and first black member of the Ohio Senate in 1892; George W. Gardner B Mayor of Cleveland (1885-1886, 1889-1891); Edward Wade B US House of Representatives (1853-1861); John W. Walworth B Cuyahoga County clerk, recorder, and clerk of the Ohio Supreme Court; Gershom M. Barber B Lieutenant Colonel in the Civil War, city councilman (1872-1873) and elected judge of the Second Superior Court and the Common Pleas Court; William H. Clifford B Black Republican Ohio Legislator who cast the deciding vote for Marcus A. Hanna to the U. S. Senate, county clerk, Ohio House of Representatives (1894-1895, 1898-1899).
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