A forgotten Civil War veteran who died without a proper burial is finally being recognized, thanks to two New York eighth-graders.
Kendall Peruzzini and Mary McCormick spoke on Fox News Digital Wednesday about efforts to honor Daniel Walterhouse, a Union veteran who died in 1910.
Both teens attend Albion Middle School in Western New York.
Walterhouse was born in Orleans County, New York in 1823, and died at the Orleans Parish Almshouse at the age of approximately 87 years.
He was a native of Orleans County and enlisted in 1861 in the 4th Michigan Infantry.
Tim Archer, a former service learning teacher at Albion Middle School, told Fox News Digital that the former Union soldier spent about 10 years of his life in the workhouse.
He was wounded during the war and spent time in a Confederate prisoner of war camp.
“[The almshouse] It was a place for people who didn't have anyone to take care of them to come,” the teacher explained. “Anyone [people] People with mental and physical disabilities, unwanted babies to the elderly, immigrants with no family in the area, and the visually impaired. ”
Archer said the Orleans Parish Aid Station operated from the 1830s until 1960. In 1910, Walterhouse was buried in an unmarked grave in an almshouse cemetery for people who could not afford a headstone.
Archer had been familiar with the cemetery for years, but was contacted by a Michigan historian who asked about the Civil War veterans buried there.
The retired educator presented the research opportunity to McCormick's mother, a school secretary.
In Archer's mind, there were no researchers better suited to take advantage of the summer vacation opportunity than Peruzzini and McCormick.
“I had had these two girls as students a few years before I retired, so I knew they were good students and great girls,” Archer explained. “I knew they were great researchers, and I knew they would be happy to participate, even if it was over the summer.”
After spending a summer doing extensive research on forgotten veterans, the girls successfully petitioned the Orleans Parish Council to approve Walterhouse's headstone application.
They are currently waiting to hear back from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to approve their request for a headstone, which is likely.
Both girls said they love learning about history and found this project interesting. Although many of the workhouse records were destroyed in a fire, they were able to gather some details about Walterhouse's life.
“He's a veteran and he's been injured,” McCormick explained. “He was stabbed and caught, so I think it’s really important that he gets recognized.”
“I really like history,” she continued. “We learned about the Civil War in class, and we explained to the class this project we were doing, and it was all very interesting.”
“I think it's very interesting to know about the past and the present,” Peruzzini added.
The two 14-year-olds are honored to be able to help commemorate Walterhouse's legacy, which they still admire 160 years later.
“For me and Mary, I think this is an honor because he should be respected and appreciated for everything he did,” Peruzzini said.
“I would like to recognize more people…I think there is an opportunity for more veterans to be recognized,” McCormick explained. “And I really think that from this whole experience we can learn to appreciate everything that we have for what it is…because we learn about the houses of alms and how much they have. Because we learned how it wasn't and how difficult it really was for all these people.” So it's really great for Daniel to be recognized. ”
Archer told Fox News Digital that Walterhouse served her country “in a unique way” and that the project was an important learning experience for the girls.
“The workhouses are a kind of added speciality: they are people who were forgotten in their time, much less who served their country in such a unique way for two years and who were forgotten even in their own time. Especially if you're a Civil War veteran who was there “all your life,'' Archer said.
“And this is kind of an added piece to this that the girls created, and if we can put a headstone in it, the community will really recognize this.”
“When kids are able to do their own research and get outside of the classroom, it can be even more exciting than just reading from a textbook,” the educator said.
“It also helps you get to know community leaders by going to town officials, county historians, and giving presentations in front of the county council.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for comment.
