The Grand Rapids Civil War Round Table welcomes the return of Steve Soper and his new presentation, "Touring Fulton Cemetery with the 3rd Michigan Infantry". The Fulton Street Cemetery is the oldest remaining public cemetery in Grand Rapids. The original six acres of land was purchased for $300.00 by the trustees of the Village of Grand Rapids on July 9, 1838. The oldest grave in Grand Rapids is located here (that of Andrew Haldane, died September 6, 1838). The grave of John Ball is also here, a large granite boulder dug from the hills of the park that bears his name has marked his grave since 1884. Many other well-known citizens of the Grand Rapids area also have their final resting places here. Among the many cemetery plots are the graves of several Civil War soldiers who fought with the Third Michigan Volunteer Infantry! Generals Stephen Champlin and Bryon Pierce are both buried here. Captain Samuel Judd and the Reverend Francis Cuming are two more. Please join us as Steve Soper takes us on a tour of the Fulton Street Cemetery to honor these many men!
Steve Soper is a retired digital photo archivist. He has been working on the history of the Old Third Michigan project since 1988 and has published a history of the regiment including its postwar association. He followed this up with four volumes of biographical sketches, one for each of the 1,411 men who served at one time or another in the regiment. All of these books are available in the Michigan Historical Collections room at the Grand Rapids Public Library. They are also available for purchase online on Amazon.com.
Membership fees for the 2024-2025 season are $30.00.
Checks can be made out to GRCWRT.
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Dues are based on the meeting year, September - June.
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"We all thought Richmond, protected as it was by our splendid fortifications and defended by our army of veterans, could not be taken. Yet Grant turned his face to our Capital, and never turned it away until we had surrendered. Now, I have carefully searched the military records of both ancient and modern history, and have never found Grant's superior as a general. I doubt that his superior can be found in all history."
~ Confederate General Robert E. Lee
after the war
North Carolina seceded from the Union on May 20, 1861, bringing the count of Confederate States to ten. The occasion was marked by a hundred-gun salute in the state capital, Raleigh.
Wednesday
May 21, 2025
Steve Soper
Touring
The Fulton Street Cemetery With
The 3rd Michigan Infantry
We Meet At:
Orchard View Church of God
2777 Leffingwell Ave. NE
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Located at the southwest corner of
3 Mile Road NE and Leffingwell Avenue NE
Doors open at 6:30 p.m.
Program begins at 7:00 pm
Civil War Notes
Our Next Meeting
Special Announcements:
Graves of Some of Those with Ties
to the Third Michigan Volunteer Infantry
at the Fulton Street Cemetery
