In the coming days, I will profile veterans from Monroe County who survived the Civil War.
I recently found files of the veterans from old newspaper clippings in our archives.
I believe each one of these men has a unique story to tell and I thought I would share with readers.
Joseph Blair’s story was published on April 22, 1932. He died at age 86.
Mr. Blair was the last Civil War veteran of Bedford Township to die.
“In the largest military funeral accorded one of the boys of ’65 since the World War, village and township turned out Thursday afternoon to pay last honors to Joseph Blair,” the story said.
He enlisted twice in the Union forces, the first time when he was 16 years old.
Mr. Blair served with the 15th Michigan Infantry and was in the southern and southwestern campaigns.
For his first enlistment, he was a private in Company B under Captain Moses A. LaPointe beginning Dec. 16, 1861 where he served for three years.
During his second enlistment, he earned the rank of corporal.
When Mr. Blair returned to Temperance, he was one of the charter members of the W. L. Lawton post of the Grand Army of the Republic at Samaria, the story said.
The Sherman H. Osborne Post of the American Legion was in the charge of the funeral.
A.J. Teall of Samaria, at the time, was the last remaining Civil War veteran in the southern portion of the county.
Near the end of the story, it mentioned that Mr. Blair always attended Memorial Day ceremonies and made his last public appearance in Temperance when he participated in the May 30, 1931 Memorial Day parade .