The Society of Grand Army of the Republic dedicated a veteran’s Civil War headstone over a previously unmarked gravesite at the Hauppauge United Methodist Church Cemetery on Long Island. Alfred Griffin was an enslaved man living in Florida before the Civil War.
According to the GAR:
“Griffin was born in Florida in 1828 and self-emancipated, fighting off bloodhounds with a mason’s trowel during his daring escape. In 1861, he answered President Lincoln’s call to save the Union, enlisting in the U.S. Navy on [November 25] of that year. During the Civil War, he served on the U.S.S. Huntsville, the U.S.S. North Carolina, the U.S.S. Circassian, the U.S.S. Osccola, and the U.S.S. Ohio. He achieved the rank of Landsman before his honorable discharge on [March 12,] 1864. An 1897 obituary described the veteran Mr. Griffin as a master bricklayer whose work was without equal.”
Because the trustees of the cemetery did not know Griffin’s first name, they never requested a veteran’s tombstone. A Long Island historian found his name and the cemetery requested a tombstone. His was installed today in advance of Juneteenth.
A fully military guard of Civil War living historians conducted ceremonies at the grave site.
