The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) Cemetery was platted in 1896 in the north Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. Surrounded by a grassy field, maple and oak trees, and hedge fencing, the cemetery is intimate and secluded. It is maintained by the Seattle Parks Department and the Friends of the GAR Cemetery Park (FGAR).
The GAR is home to the 526 graves of Union soldiers and their wives. The buried include both Army and Navy veterans representing almost 25 states, though the majority are Union military units. At the conclusion of the Civil War, many veterans traveled west with hopes of a prosperous new life in what is now Washington state. By 1889, Washington’s Centennial year, the land was lush and fertile, brimming with adventure and opportunity. With the boom of the fishing and lumber industries, Seattle became a busy seaport on the Puget Sound — and many descendants of the Civil War veterans buried at the GAR still live in the area.
At the center and oldest part of the cemetery stands a pylon monument, placed by the Woman’s Relief Corps. Its face reads, “In memory of our Heroes 1861–1865.” The three remaining sides are engraved with crossed swords, cannons, and muskets. The flagpole was originally installed beside the pylon, and later moved to the eastern side of the cemetery.
Individual Stories
Each of the more than 500 people buried here has a unique story. The nine biographies below are drawn from original research by Katherine Hinman, and each links to a full profile page hosted here on our site — including the fuller story, primary-source quotations, and photographs for each person.
Elizabeth J. Aufderheide
October 16, 1820 – January 14, 1902Widowed twice — the second time when her husband, a soldier with the 33rd Wisconsin Infantry, died of pneumonia in 1864 — Aufderheide later claimed and “proved up” 160 acres of Nebraska homestead land on her own before moving to Seattle in her late 70s.
Read her full story →
William L. Beach
August 1832 – September 30, 1904Beach's Union cavalry unit never fought the Confederacy — instead, in 1863 it took part in the Bear River Massacre of Shoshone people in present-day Idaho. His surviving diary and hand-drawn map are among the few firsthand accounts of that day.
Addison W. Hastie
May 27, 1847 – December 29, 1924Enlisted at 14 as a Union Army musician, one of an estimated 200,000-plus child soldiers of the war. He later became a King County prosecutor and, for decades, led Seattle’s Memorial Day parade on a white horse.
Read his full story →
Gideon S. Bailey
June 30, 1838 – July 3, 1905A Canadian-born civil rights leader who became the first president of Washington’s Afro-American League chapter and, in 1894, reportedly the first Black Justice of the Peace in the Pacific Northwest.
Read his full story →
Frank Bois
September 13, 1841 – January 25, 1920The cemetery’s only Medal of Honor recipient. As his gunboat sank under fire during the 1863 Siege of Vicksburg, Bois nailed its flag to the last standing mast so it would go down with its colors still flying.
Read his full story →
Albert A. Manning
July 1821 – April 26, 1890Came to Washington Territory in 1866 on Asa Mercer’s second expedition, settled in Olympia as a shoemaker, and became an early women’s suffrage advocate, hosting Susan B. Anthony during her 1871 visit.
Read his full story →
Susan Ann Baird Malson Bristol
August 12, 1848 – December 27, 1927Traveled the Oregon Trail with her family at 14, married at 16, and endured 11 pregnancies with only three children surviving to adulthood, before later remarrying a Union veteran and eventually returning to Seattle.
Read her full story →
Gilford P. Hervey
1832 – September 8, 1920Born enslaved in North Carolina, Hervey and his brother enlisted in the Union Army in 1863 after the Emancipation Proclamation opened the door to Black enlistment. His story was rediscovered generations later through the genealogical research of two of his descendants.
Read his full story →
Daniel A. Reams
October 22, 1846 – October 9, 1943As a boy, Reams met Abraham Lincoln at his family’s Illinois farm. He enlisted at 15, survived four separate gunshot wounds during the war, and by 1943 was one of the last two living Union veterans in Seattle.
Read his full story →Mapping the cemetery
The original transcription of gravestone names was completed in 1979 by Helen Chase Keliehor, president of the Children of the American Revolution (CAR) group of Washington. Keliehor worked with young CAR members to collect and record GAR cemetery data, and is the presiding Regent of the Elizabeth Bixby Chapter of the National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR) in Seattle.
Cemetery mapping was undertaken in April 1989 by Eileen E. Boyce Stich and Joan E. Zorn Strand, members of the Elizabeth Bixby Chapter of the NSDAR. Their map lists graves by row and number, and shows the location of all but eighteen people listed in the 1979 transcription — eighteen gravestones discovered missing between 1979 and mid-1989. Six veterans’ graves are marked “Unknown.”
There may be other veterans buried in the cemetery whose gravestones went missing before 1979, but the remaining stones show varying deterioration and are difficult to read. The Elizabeth Bixby Chapter of the NSDAR felt it was most important to have a published record of the cemetery’s information for present and future generations, and to honor the Civil War veterans buried in this Grand Army of the Republic Cemetery.
The Notice That Sparked FGAR
By the 1990s, the cemetery had gone largely unmaintained for years. In August 1998, neighbors arriving at the grounds found the notice shown here, posted by Seattle Parks & Recreation: the department was considering the GAR Cemetery Park as a replacement site for the off-leash dog area then located in nearby Volunteer Park, and invited comment at a public meeting later that month.
For a quiet, historic cemetery that few people were actively watching over, the prospect was alarming — and it’s what pushed neighbors, descendants of those buried here, and local Civil War history groups to organize. That organizing became Friends of the GAR Cemetery Park, channeling the neighborhood’s concern into the sustained advocacy and hands-on restoration work described below.
Restoration & Care
Between 2003 and 2021, FGAR carried out a phased restoration of the grounds, then kept the park cared for through 2020’s uncertainty. The project is now complete. FGAR has also worked with the Veterans Administration on an ongoing basis to replace deteriorated headstones.
Arborist’s Report
Alongside the physical restoration, FGAR commissioned a full tree inventory and condition assessment — every one of the park’s 52 trees, individually surveyed, measured, and rated for health. The report also covers summer irrigation needs, mower damage, an insect pest affecting the flowering cherries, and the genetic significance of the park’s unusual Dutch elms.
Read the Full Arborist’s Report →
Phase I — Irrigation & Native Plantings, 2003
Installed the cemetery’s first sprinkler system as part of this modern, automatic irrigation build-out, and replaced overgrown, non-native hedging along the north edge with low-maintenance native plantings.
- 8/15/2003 — Irrigation system designed, reviewed, and approved by the Seattle Parks Department.
- 8/1–30/2003 — North laurel hedge removed; land graded and prepared for new native plantings.
- 10/15–11/10/2003 — Irrigation installed across the north hedge area, south planting area, and east lawn; plantings completed along the north edge of the park.
Phase II — Park Entry & Interpretive Kiosk
Focused on how visitors arrive at the cemetery, and on giving the park’s history a physical presence at its entrance:
- Extended the automatic irrigation system into the cemetery
- Cleared underbrush in the drive-through area
- Installed a commemorative rock with inscription
- Installed historical granite curbing
- Created a cobblestone entry to the cemetery area
- Installed bollards at the entry area to the cemetery
- Installed an interpretive center (kiosk)
2020 — Keeping the Grounds During COVID-19
- When the COVID-19 shutdown paused FGAR’s regular group work, a small crew of volunteers stepped in individually to keep the grounds maintained — several brought a son or daughter along to help.
- Thanks to volunteers Allan J. and son, Steven C. and son, Peter S., and Tom E., who kept the GAR Cemetery Park cared for through the shutdown.
Concept Plans & Drawings
Renovation Progress
Re-Dedication, 2005
On Veterans Day, November 11, 2005, the community gathered to rededicate the newly restored GAR Cemetery grounds. Re-enactors joined city officials, the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, and Seattle Parks & Recreation to mark the occasion.
Thanks to Bev Corwin, photographer; the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War and Rod Fleck; the re-enactors and John Strand; and Sue DeNure and the Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation.
A 130+ Year Legacy
Step through the cemetery’s history event by event — drag along the timeline or use the arrows below. Photos for each moment are on the way; for now, here’s where they’ll go. Get in touch if you have historical photos of the GAR you’d like to share.
With Thanks
Thanks to the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War for editorial input on this history, and to Katherine Hinman for her research on the individuals of the GAR Cemetery.