Fulton Cemetery Tour Civil War

To review the names and locations of ALL Civil War veterans buried in Fulton Cemetery block by block and then lot by lot visit:

https://uscemeteries.blogspot.com/2026/05/civil-war-veterans-in-fulton-cemetery.html

To read more about each of these soldiers visit the 3rd Michigan Infantry online

block 7

block 8

Stephen Gardner Champlin (block 8) Brigadier General; died of consumption on January 26, 1864, in Grand Rapids

Stephen Gardner Champlin was born on July 1, 1827, in Kingston, Ulster County, New York, the son of Rhode Island natives Jeffrey Clarke Champlin (1798-1872) and Ellis Ellen Champlin (1804-1873). By the time he was 15, in 1842, Stephen began his professional studies in medicine, and in 1845 commenced a medical practice three years later at Warwarsing in Ulster County, New York. In 1848,  he gave up medicine and in 1849 he turned to the study of law with in Kingston, New York.  In 1850 he was admitted to the bar of the state of New York.

Stephen married New York native Mary E. Smedes (1832-1910) on January 1, 1851, in Wawarsing, Ulster County, New York, and they had at least one child: Alexander G. (1857-1937). 

Stephen practiced law for some two years in Ulster County and in 1853 moved to Grand Rapids, Kent County, Michigan where he formed a partnership with Lucius Patterson. Three years later he was elected judge of the Recorder’s Court of Grand Rapids, serving in that position for two years. In 1857 Stephen entered into a law practice with Harry Yale. 

(His brother John W. would eventually serve as mayor of Grand Rapids and as a justice on the Michigan Supreme Court. It also appears that his parents settled in Walker, Kent County, where Jeffrey reportedly died around 1872. In any case Allis is listed on the 1870 census for Walker.)

In November  1858,  Champlin was elected Prosecuting Attorney for Kent County.

Stephen joined the 3rd Michigan Infantry in April of 1861 as Major and was subsequently  commissioned Colonel of the Third Infantry on October 28, 1861. 

Champlin was wounded severely in the left hip May 31, 1862, at the battle of Fair Oaks, Virginia. By the end of August Champlin was back on duty with the regiment, and during the battle of Groveton (or Second Bull Run) on August 29, 1862, he apparently ruptured his Fair Oaks wound, which had not fully healed.

Stephen was promoted to Brigadier General of United States Volunteers, November 29, 1862. On September 22, 1863, Champlin was assigned to the command of the depot for drafted men in Grand Rapids.

Stephen died from consumption at his home in Grand Rapids on January 26, 1864.

Charles Henry Cary (block 7) Lieutenant U.S. Signal Corps; died July 17, 1863, in Jackson, MS

Collins and Cary plot

Charles Henry Cary was born in 1839 in Brockport, Monroe County, New York, the son of Rhode Island native Alfred X. Cary (1811-1882) and New York native Sarah Musdirk (1813-1890). In 1840 Alfred X. was living in Painesville, Lake County, Ohio. He eventually moved his family west and by 1850 had settled in Kent County, Michigan. That same year Charles was living with his family in Grand Rapids where his father operated a hotel. Also living with them was Robert Collins, who would eventually become Alfred’s business partner as well as Charles’ brother-in-law and who would also join the 3rd Michigan Infantry in 1861 as Regimental Quartermaster. Charles worked as a clerk probably in his father’s hotel and/or flour business and also enrolled in the local militia company.

He was 22 years old and when he enlisted as Sergeant of Company A on May 13, 1861, and promoted to Second Lieutenant from Sergeant Major on October 28, 1861. He was eventually transferred to the U.S. Signal Corps. 

Charles died of disease at about 1:30 on the afternoon of July 17, 1863, in Jackson, Mississippi. He was interred in the Cemetery of the Insane Asylum of Mississippi, some two miles outside of Jackson, and in January of 1866 his body was brought home to Grand Rapids.

Samuel Adolphus Judd (block 7) Captain 3rd Michigan Infantry; killed in action at Fair Oaks, VA, May 31, 1862. This also includes bios of his two brothers Elliott and George

Samuel with wife Clarissa and their two children William and Jennie - winter camp in Virginia

Samuel Adolphus Judd was born on May 11 or 21, 1834, in South Hadley, Massachusetts, the son of Samuel 1806-1890) and Julia Ann Swain or Swaine (1808-1894). Samuel A. was working as a butcher when he married South Hadley native Clarissa Louise Smith (1834-1922) October 25, 1854, at the Congregational church in South Hadley, Massachusetts, and they had two children: William Elliott (born 1855) and Jennie Eugenia (1858-1941, Mrs. Lyman). 

During the late 1850s, Samuel A. became involved in the development of the Valley City Guards (VCG), a local militia company organized in Grand Rapids in 1855 and elected First Lieutenant on April 24, 1859. According to one observer Samuel was a superb marksman.

Samuel was 27 years old when he enlisted as Captain of Company A on May 13, 1861, along with his younger brother George. Samuel was killed in action on May 31, 1862, at Fair Oaks, Virginia, at the same time that his brother George lost an arm.

In late June of 1862, N. L. Avery was chosen by several of the leading citizens of Grand Rapids to go out to Fair Oaks soon after the battle and distribute hospital supplies, money etc. to the wounded men of the Third Michigan Infantry; he was also tasked with bringing home the remains of Samuel Judd. On July 2, 1862, Judd’s remains were returned to Grand Rapids and according to one report the turnout for the “return” of the body was most impressive

Monument is a marble obelisk upon which is chiseled a sabre, and upon the other a double triangle, square and compass. The monument is the work of Wm. Laraway & company.

Peter Weber (block 7) Major 6th Michigan Cavalry; killed in action on July 14, 1863, at Falling Waters, MD

Peter A. Weber was born in 1841 in New York, the son of Rev. William Myers Weber (1803-1853) and Emeline Margaret Talman (1805-1879). In 1855 Peter was living with his mother and three siblings and his paternal grandmother in Friendship, Allegany County, New York (his father William is buried in Third Street Cemetery in Friendship). In 1857 Peter moved with his mother and family from Fairfield, Connecticut to Grand Rapids.

Peter was 20 years old and living in Grand Rapids when he enlisted with his mother’s consent as Second Corporal in Company A on May 13, 1861. In September he requested and was granted a transfer to 2nd Michigan Cavalry as Regimental Adjutant. By the summer of 1863 Peter was serving as Major for the 6th Michigan Cavalry. He was killed in action at Falling Waters, MD July 14, 1863.

Peter’s body was returned to Grand Rapids and his funeral was held at S. Mark’s church on Saturday July 25.

Peter Bogardus (block 7) Lieutenant 3rd Michigan Infantry; died April 24, 1863 at Saginaw, MI

Peter Bogardus Jr. was born in 1834 in New York, the son of Peter Sr. (born 1804) and Eliza (born 1805). Peter’s family left New York and settled in Pittsfield, Washtenaw County by 1840; by 1850 Peter was a student living with his family in Pittsfield. Peter was living in Kalamazoo, Michigan,  when he married Michigan native Matilda Davidson (1835-1919) on May 24, 1854, in Ann Arbor, Washtenaw County,  and they had at least four children: Robert A. (1856-1913), Isadore (born 1859), Jessie M. (1862-1944, Mrs. Stowitts), and Edward (1863-1864). 

In addition to being a fireman and a member of the volunteer militia before the war, Peter also worked as a ward constable, probably in the 3rd Ward .

Peter was 26 years old when he enlisted as Second Lieutenant in Company F on May 13, 1861, resigned his commission on December 26, 1861, presumably as a consequence of his injury in October.

He returned to his home in Grand Rapids and was in Saginaw when he died on April 24, 1862; his remains were returned to Grand Rapids for burial.

Peter A. Bogardus

Peter A. Bogardus was born 1835 in New York.

There was a Peter Bogardus living in Pittsfield, Washtenaw County, Michigan in 1840. In 1850 there was a 17-year-old New York-born farm laborer named Peter “Bogart” living with and/or working for Henry Miller in Salem, Washtenaw County, Michigan.

In any case, Peter eventually left New York and moved westward, settling in Michigan sometime before 1850 and in Grand Rapids, Kent County before 1859. Peter was living in Kalamazoo, Michigan, when he married Michigan native Matilda (1835-1919) on May 24, 1854, in Ann Arbor, Washtenaw County, and they had at least four children: Edward S. (d. 1864), Robert A. (b. 1850), Isadore (b. 1859) and Jessie M. (b. 1862).

Soon after arriving in Grand Rapids Peter became a volunteer fireman for “Alert” company No. 1, and on January 5, 1859, was elected secretary and treasurer for the company. That same year he also joined the Valley City Guard, one of three militia companies which formed in Grand Rapids before the war, and in March of 1860 he was elected Fourth Corporal of the company. Peter would remain active in the VCG until the company was enrolled as the nucleus of Company A into the Third Michigan in the spring of 1861.

In addition to being a fireman and a member of the volunteer militia before the war, Peter also worked as a ward constable, probably in the Third Ward (where he resided). On the evening of December 28, 1859, it was reported that Peter had just returned “from the north woods, bringing with him two prisoners whose names are James Mapes and Henry Ansenor. They are charged with stealing lumber sleds and a variety of useful farming implements from J. M. Lane of Solon.”

By 1859-60 Peter was reported to be residing on the west side of Jefferson Street between Maple and Elm Streets, and in 1860 he was still working as a constable and living with his wife and children in Grand Rapids’ Third Ward; also residing with them was one Joanna Walling, a 19-year-old domestic from the Netherlands.

When the Third Michigan infantry was organized in Grand Rapids in late April of 1861, the staff of the new regiment relied heavily on the prewar local militia companies to provide officers for the first new companies then being formed at the old fairgrounds located along the old Kalamazoo Plank Road (present-day Division Street) just about two miles south of the city. For example, Byron Pierce who had served as captain of the Valley City Guard was appointed to command Company K while another captain of the VCG, Samuel Judd, was appointed to head up Company A.

Indeed, the command structure of Company A filled quickly, and several former VCG officers and noncommissioned officers found commanding billets in other companies. Fred Worden, at one time a Lieutenant in the VCG, became First Lieutenant of Company F, under the command of Captain John J. Dennis, and Peter Bogardus was 26 years old when he enlisted as Second Lieutenant in Company F on May 13, 1861.

Shortly after the regiment arrived in Washington on June 16, 1861, Peter was presented a sword by members of his company. On June 30, “ as Captain B. R. Pierce of Company K, was forming his company for dress parade, Sergeant Dickinson stepped forward, and in behalf of the company, presented to the Captain an elegant dress sword. . . . At the same time company F, through Sergeant [Abram] Martindale, presented their Lieutenant, Peter A. Bogardus, with a handsome regulation sword and belt, costing 22 dollars. Both presentations were accompanied by neat speeches, and responded to in appropriate and feeling terms. The fortunate recipients of these favors were taken completely by surprise, as they had received no intimation of the affair until the time of presentation.”

Dan Crotty of Company F wrote after the war that shortly after the battle of Bull Run on July 21, 1861, a detail from the Third Michigan was formed “to guard the tools that are used for building forts and other duty. There are 20 of us on the detail, commanded by Lieutenant Bogardus, . . .” Indeed, Frank Siverd of Company G, wrote home on September 8, 1861, that “At Fort Pennsylvania is a small detachment of the 3d Michigan under command of Lieutenant Bogardus of Co. D, this officer is highly complimented by the engineer corps for the efficiency with which he discharges his duty at his post.” (Crotty noted that the fort was located on a bluff overlooking a valley below.)

Peter was promoted to and commissioned First Lieutenant on August 11, 1861, but in late September suffered a fall from his horse which apparently incapacitated him for some time. On October 17, 1861, he wrote to General McClellan seeking a 20-day furlough. “I have the honor,” he wrote, “to inform you that some three weeks since I received an injury of my right ankle, by being thrown from my horse, near Fort Scott, Va while on duty, being at that time Lieutenant in command of the guard of that post which injury up to several days since has confined me to my quarters, and as the surgeon informs me, that it will yet be at least four weeks before I shall be able to resume my duties.”

In fact, Peter never did “resume his duties” and resigned his commission on December 26, 1861, presumably as a consequence of his injury in October.

After he left the army Peter returned to Michigan, probably to Grand Rapids. In any case, he was in Saginaw when he died on April 24, 1863, and his body was returned to Grand Rapids. The funeral was held at the home of Deacon Robert Davidson, on LaGrave Street, and conducted under the auspices of the Masonic fraternity. Peter was buried in Fulton cemetery: block 7, no. 23.

By 1880 Matilda was living in Grand Rapids’ Third Ward; also living with her was her youngest daughter, Jessie. In 1892 his widow was still living in Michigan when she applied for and received a pension (no. 470820). By 1896 she was living at 27 Lagrave Street in Grand Rapids, and in 1916 at 1214 Terrace Ave., N.E., Grand Rapids.