HELP
US RECOVER AND REPLACE
STOLEN GAR GRAVE MARKERS
A GAR Grave Marker
Over the past few months it has come to the attention of
Charles W. Canney Camp No. 5, Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War that
Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.) grave markers are being sold on eBay, antique
shops, flea markets and yard sales.
When a Civil War Veteran who belonged to the G.A.R. died, a
grave marker was placed near the head stone and in May a flag was placed in the
holder for Memorial Day.
Recently Charles W. Canney Camp along with a Camp in
Massachusetts has been working to stop the sale of G.A.R. grave markers on
eBay.
The Sons of Union
Veterans is the legal heir to the Grand Army of the Republic. The U.S. Congress
has enacted a law regarding the selling of items that belonged to
GAR Posts.
Camp 5 has been collecting New Hampshire G.A.R. grave
markers to be placed back on the proper graves. Anyone having these markers can
contact the Camp.
EBay’s policy:
Historical graves, tombstones, or related markers
These items may not be listed on eBay. While we recognize that some
historical grave markers may be privately held within families and legal to
sell, eBay is concerned with vandalism that has occurred in graveyards across
the world.
The following is from the NH RSA's regarding cemeteries
635:5
Penalty. – Any person who is found removing, defacing or
destroying any sign, poster or property of another shall be guilty of a class B
misdemeanor.
635:7 Unlawful Possession or Sale of Gravestones and Gravesite Items. –
No person shall possess or sell, offer for sale or attempt to sell, or transfer
or dispose of any monument, gravestone, marker, or other structure, or any
portion or fragment thereof, placed or designed for a memorial of the dead, or
any fence, railing, gate, plot delineator, or curb, knowing or having
reasonable cause to know that it has been unlawfully removed from a cemetery or
burial ground.
The governing board of the municipality in which the burial
plot lies shall not grant approval for the removal or disturbance of a tomb,
monument, gravestone, marker, or plot delineator without first giving 30 days'
notice, along with a report of the full circumstances, to the division of
historical resources, that such approval has been requested. The governing board
of the municipality shall maintain a record of the date, circumstances, and
disposition of the request for removal or disturbance.
Another GAR
Grave Marker
Buy new and legal GAR
Markers from this camp.