The Grand Army of the Republic Cemetery is a cemetery

Cemetery

A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...

 for American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

  veterans in the U.S. city of Portland, Oregon

Portland, Oregon

Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...

. It is located at S.W. Palatine Hill Road and S.W. Boones Ferry Road, next to River View Cemetery

River View Cemetery (Portland, Oregon)

River View Cemetery in the southwest section of Portland, Oregon, United States, is a non-profit cemetery founded in 1882. It is the final resting place of many prominent and notable citizens of Oregon, including many governors and United States Senators...

.

Fourteen Union Civil War veterans, members of the Grand Army of the Republic

Grand Army of the Republic

The Grand Army of the Republic was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army, US Navy, US Marines and US Revenue Cutter Service who served in the American Civil War. Founded in 1866 in Decatur, Illinois, it was dissolved in 1956 when its last member died...

, formed the Grand Army Cemetery Association and purchased the cemetery in 1882. The Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War took over the management and administration of the cemetery at that time.

Ownership of the cemetery eventually passed to the State of Oregon

Oregon

Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...

 in 1961 then to Multnomah County, Oregon

Multnomah County, Oregon

Multnomah County is one of 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. Though smallest in area, it is the most populous as its county seat, Portland, is the state's largest city...

 in 1971. In 1996 ownership was granted to Metro

Metro (Oregon regional government)

Metro, formerly known as Metropolitan Service District, is the regional governmental agency for the Oregon portion of the Portland metropolitan area...

 Regional Parks and Greenspaces. The oldest marker is dated October 15, 1889.

Salmon Brown, son of John Brown

John Brown (abolitionist)

John Brown was an American revolutionary abolitionist, who in the 1850s advocated and practiced armed insurrection as a means to abolish slavery in the United States. He led the Pottawatomie Massacre during which five men were killed, in 1856 in Bleeding Kansas, and made his name in the...

 (of the song "John Brown's Body

John Brown's Body

"John Brown's Body" is an American marching song about the abolitionist John Brown. The song was popular in the Union during the American Civil War. The tune arose out of the folk hymn tradition of the American camp meeting movement of the 19th century...

") is buried here, as is Hartwell B. Compson

Hartwell B. Compson

Hartwell Thomas Benton Compson was an American military officer who received the Medal of Honor for heroism in the American Civil War.-Biography:...

, who received the Medal of Honor

Medal of Honor

The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...

for heroism in the Civil War.

External links

• Union Army sentry returns to his Portland post after long absence - The Oregonian
• The Forgotten Hero - Oregon Magazine