GREENFIELD — A Civil War veteran whose headstone misspelled his name for more than a century now has a new grave marker thanks to a history professor’s passion project.
Samuel O. Fansler was buried in Park Cemetery in Greenfield after dying on Jan. 1, 1917 at age 72. More than 50 years earlier, the Hendricks County native served as a private in Company C of the 33rd Indiana Infantry, which was part of several Civil War campaigns throughout the southeastern United States.
Dr. Chris Walker, an assistant professor of history at Indiana Wesleyan University, did his master’s thesis on the 33rd Indiana Infantry while at the University of Indianapolis about 20 years ago.
“There was a unique, personal connection for me to that regiment,” he said, explaining two of his ancestors served in it.
Eventually it evolved into an interest beyond that personal connection. He had plenty to keep him busy, as the regiment had about 2,000 soldiers throughout its history.
Walker started tracking down which of their graves were unmarked and working to get them marked in early 2019. In the past year and a half, he’s worked with 50 headstones in 12 states.
While Fansler’s grave was marked, his headstone still warranted a replacement, Walker said.
“His name was misspelled,” he continued, adding the stone read “Fausler.” “And it bothered me.”
Walker wanted to get Fansler a new headstone with his name spelled correctly and his birth and death dates added, too. He went through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, which pays for veterans’ grave markers if the proper paperwork is provided. Walker supplied Fansler’s muster card to prove his service, which he came across during his research on the veteran.
While the VA funds the headstones, it doesn’t cover installation costs. Walker reached out to Bob Workman, Hancock County’s veterans services officer, to see if he could suggest any means of financial assistance. Workman, a U.S. Marine Corps Vietnam War veteran who’s also commander of the Greenfield Veterans Honor Guard, said the honor guard would be glad to foot the $175 cost.
“We owe it to all our old-time veterans, all those that came before,” Workman said.
Walker got a headstone for Fansler in the traditional Civil War style of upright white marble emblazoned with a shield.
“It’s been rewarding,” Walker said of his endeavor to secure headstones for the Civil War veterans. “In the end, some of these graves people may never visit, but for me personally just to get them memorialized with markers is important to me.”
Walker said Park Cemetery was helpful in helping him facilitate the headstone replacement as well.
Fansler joined the 33rd Indiana Infantry in late 1863 at age 19, according to Walker’s research.
Based on his dates of service, Fansler would have participated in Gen. William T. Sherman’s Atlanta Campaign from May to September 1864 and Sherman’s March to the Sea from November to December 1864, Walker said.
Sherman’s troops captured Atlanta in September 1864 before marching east to capture Savannah, destroying factories, farms, houses and railroads along the way, according to history.com.
Fansler also would have been a part of Sherman’s Carolinas Campaign, Walker continued, which started in South Carolina before moving into North Carolina.
The 33rd Indiana Infantry participated in the May 1865 Grand Review in Washington, D.C. to celebrate the Union Army’s victory in the war before the regiment mustered out in Louisville, Kentucky in July 1865, Walker said.
Fansler died of stomach cancer, according to his Indiana State Board of Health permit for removal and burial. His obituary in the Greenfield Daily Reporter states he died at his home in the eastern part of the city and was survived by a widow, one son and one daughter.
He was born on May 5, 1844, in Hendricks County, the son of George and Anna (Manship) Fansler, both natives of North Carolina, Walker told the Daily Reporter in an email.
“He moved around quite a bit,” Walker added, listing Iowa; Nebraska (a territory at the time); Morgan County, Indiana; Marion County, Indiana; and Knightstown as his homes before Greenfield.
“His occupations given on census records include farm laborer, teamster, farmer and horticulturist,” Walker said. “He made his living off the land, like most Americans did before the Industrial Revolution in the late 19th century.”
Fansler married twice and had at least five children, Walker continued. A son, George Walter Fansler, died on May 6, 1947 and is also buried at Park Cemetery.
Walker said he conducts his research through sources like ancestry.com, Find a Grave and county cemetery records. He created a traveling exhibit on the 33rd Indiana Infantry and a website at 33rdindiana.org/new.
He said he enjoys making contact with descendants of the soldiers he researches and for whom he gets headstones and invites them to email him at [email protected].
“Honestly I’m getting pretty close to completing about all that I can do,” Walker said. “Because to mark the graves, you have to find out where they’re buried of course and sometimes you just can’t determine that exactly. Probably within a year here I’ll be done with the grave-marking enterprise.”
Walker also said there were 16 soldiers in the 33rd Indiana Infantry with a Hancock County connection. Along with Fansler, three others were buried in Park Cemetery: James Comstock, Jefferson Patterson and Raleigh Sitton.
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”At a glance” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
Samuel O. Fansler
- May 5, 1844, to Jan. 1, 1917
- Buried in Park Cemetery in Greenfield
- Served in 33rd Indiana Infantry during Civil War from 1863 to 1865
- Served in Gen. William T. Sherman’s Atlanta Campaign, March to the Sea and Carolinas Campaign
[sc:pullout-text-end]
