Restore Pvt. Crowley's Desecrated Grave

My name is Ian Emmott. I located a Catholic cemetery that contains the remains of a Civil War veteran and his family along with many other graves. I am focusing on a Civil War veteran who died in the war because it’s the right thing to do, and there are laws protecting veterans' graves. His grave was desecrated and now sits in a wilderness, unmarked and with trash all around it.

After hundreds of hours researching and walking the old cemetery grounds, I discovered the Diocese of Portland, Maine, purchased the cemetery in 1852 and sold it in 1975 after being guaranteed by the buyer it would disinter all human remains to nearby St. James Cemetery in Thomaston, Maine. The land has since been zoned since the '70s as a mine for cement making. PVT. Pat Crowley’s headstone was removed years ago after the land was sold, and evidence on the cemetery clearly indicates no human remains were moved. There are headstones still on the property that were unseen in the brush when the property changed hands. What stones could be seen were plucked up and moved across town. Grave dowsing the site suggests there are probably over 400 interments. The cemetery’s latest grave is from 1871, belonging to a Peter Burdge. That means there were nearly 20 years of interments for this former mining town. The parish was primarily Irish Catholic immigrants escaping the famine.

Military records and Patrick Crowley's epitaph (2 miles away at a separate cemetery) show he was part of the 4th Maine Volunteers. He was in the Battle of Bull Run, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, Chancellorsville, the Wilderness Campaign, and finally Spotsylvania, where he was mortally wounded and died a month later in a DC hospital. He was wounded in three separate battles, and the final one was fatal two months before his enlistment was to end. His children predeceased him while he was at war and were interred next to them. Records show his father, wife, and two children are in the cemetery as well.

He was alleged to have been moved to another cemetery with his headstone. However, recent investigation of his headstone two miles away from his actual grave indicates no human remains are detected anywhere close to his headstone. I connected with older residents who remember where his grave was located in the old cemetery after it was rediscovered toppled over in 1960 (cover photo). Human remains are detected all around his grave, and the next step is to properly identify his plot. I have a 10x10 area identified by actual former neighbors of the cemetery, and old pine trees flanking his grave site indicate very old pruning marks keeping the space sightly. Since his grave was the only grave maintained from 1960-1975, it follows this space is likely identified physically by people who remember it, and dowsing indicates human remains. I would like to pay and have a cemetery archaeologist research his grave site and positively identify his remains. His obituary states he was one of the best men in his regiment. His funeral was twenty carriages long and received a military burial. This means he is very much identifiable since he was likely buried in uniform. Pvt. Crowley's grave on the Dragon Cement plant property is very much overgrown. The local Sons of Union Veterans have expressed a willingness to rededicate his restored actual burial site.

Unfortunately, the current and former property owners have been reluctant to engage. The City Manager of Thomaston as well as the Select Board have been informed of the veteran's grave situation. I expect action to be slow as molasses unless we take the steps to properly ID the remains. I have found it dishearteningly depressing the lack of concern for a desecrated veteran grave, especially one who gave their last full measure in the Civil War.

Help us in SAVING PVT CROWLEY!