Part of our long weekend involved one of my favorite hobbies, visiting lonely old cemeteries and taking a look at the stones. This being Memorial Day weekend we were especially lucky to find the grave of a man who participated in the reason for the observance, the Civil War. B. R. Cawthorn was a part of Company B of the 78th Indiana Infantry, a unit mustered in August of 1862 Indianapolis from residents of western Indiana (Putnam, Parke, Hendricks, Wayne, and Clay Counties). They deployed to protect the port of Evansville to combat guerrillas from Kentucky. In spite of its strategic significance, the south never really made an attempt to occupy Evansville. Incursions into Indiana would come to Franklin and Uniontown, but never Evansville.
Still, Mr. Cawthorn served his country with pride and dignity and now he rests in the quiet churchyard of Union Chapel Baptist Church with lichen growing on his simple headstone and an American flag gently fluttering by its side. Thanks for your service, Mr. Cawthorn.
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