Forgotten No More: Two Delaware Civil War Veterans Finally Receive Grave Markers
Sometimes honoring a veteran looks like a parade.
Sometimes it's a flag flying from a front porch.
Sometimes it's standing along a road welcoming an Honor Flight home.
And sometimes it's simply making sure someone's name isn't forgotten.
That's what recently happened at Oak Grove Cemetery in Delaware, Ohio, where two brothers who served during the Civil War finally received markers identifying their graves after resting there without them for generations.
Their names were John Wesley Highwarden and Edward Highwarden.
And more than 160 years after the Civil War, someone cared enough to make sure their service was remembered.
I love stories like this.
They're not flashy.
They're not about something new being built or another major development coming to Central Ohio.
They're about the people who were here long before us.
And the responsibility we have to remember them.
Two Brothers. Two Veterans. Two Unmarked Graves.
John Wesley Highwarden and his brother Edward were Civil War veterans with ties to Delaware.
Both were eventually buried at Oak Grove Cemetery.
But there was a problem.
Their graves were unmarked.
Think about that for a minute.
Two men served their country during one of the most consequential periods in American history.
They lived their lives.
They died.
And eventually there was nothing at their final resting places telling someone walking through the cemetery who they were.
No name.
No military service.
No indication of the lives beneath the ground.
That has now changed.
One Delaware County Resident Decided to Do Something About It
The new markers didn't simply appear.
They came after years of work by Delaware County resident Fabia Taylor, who researched the brothers and worked to see that their graves were properly recognized.
That's the part of this story that really stays with me.
One person noticed.
One person cared.
And one person kept working until something changed.
We talk a lot about making a difference in our communities as though it requires creating a nonprofit, raising thousands of dollars or organizing hundreds of volunteers.
Sometimes it doesn't.
Sometimes making a difference means noticing something that shouldn't be forgotten and deciding:
I'm going to fix that.
The Highwarden Family Came Back to Delaware
The dedication wasn't simply about installing stones.
It reconnected a family with its history.
The Delaware Gazette captured Shauneen Spence placing flowers on the grave of her ancestor John Wesley Highwarden after the new marker was installed.
I think that's such a powerful image.
For generations, descendants may know names through family stories, genealogy records, old photographs or documents.
But there's something different about being able to stand in the actual place where an ancestor rests.
And now future generations of this family can walk through Oak Grove Cemetery, find John and Edward, read their names and know:
They were here.
They served.
They mattered.
Why Military Grave Markers Matter
The tradition of formally marking veterans' graves reaches back to the Civil War itself.
The federal government began developing permanent headstones for Civil War dead in the 1870s.
In 1873, Secretary of War William W. Belknap approved a standard headstone design for known Union soldiers buried in national cemeteries.
Then, in 1879, Congress authorized government-provided stones for the unmarked graves of veterans buried in private cemeteries as well.
That history eventually developed into the system we have today for recognizing eligible veterans with government-furnished headstones and markers.
So when you see those distinctive military stones in an old cemetery, you're looking at more than a headstone.
You're seeing part of a tradition that began as the country tried to figure out how to honor the enormous number of people lost during the Civil War.
Cemeteries Are History Books We Can Walk Through
I think we sometimes forget this.
Drive past an old cemetery and it's easy to see rows of stones.
But slow down and start reading the names and something changes.
Those stones tell the history of a community.
You find families whose names are still on roads.
People who built businesses.
Children who died far too young.
Immigrants who made Ohio their home.
Community leaders.
Farmers.
Teachers.
Mothers and fathers.
And veterans from conflicts spanning generations.
A cemetery like Oak Grove isn't separate from Delaware's history.
It is part of Delaware's history.
And every time an unmarked grave is identified, a damaged marker is restored or someone's story is researched, another little piece of that history becomes visible again.
This Story Feels Especially Meaningful Right Now
We're celebrating America's 250th birthday in 2026.
There are huge celebrations happening across the country.
Parades.
Fireworks.
Concerts.
Special events.
Historic commemorations.
And I love all of that.
But America's story isn't only found in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia or famous battlefields.
It's also found in cemeteries in places like Delaware, Ohio.
It's found in the stories of ordinary people who lived here generations before us.
People whose names most of us have never heard.
John and Edward Highwarden were two of them.
Now, at least when someone walks through Oak Grove and sees their markers, there's an opportunity to ask:
Who were these men?
And that's how history stays alive.
One Person Really Can Preserve a Piece of History
There's another reason I wanted to share this story.
Fabia Taylor's work is a reminder that preserving local history doesn't always begin with an institution.
Sometimes it begins with curiosity.
Someone starts researching a name.
They dig through military records.
They look through cemetery records.
They trace a family.
They discover a grave.
And suddenly a person who had almost disappeared from the physical landscape has a story again.
Taylor's years of effort resulted in something tangible.
Two markers.
Two names.
Two veterans remembered.
That matters.
Honoring Veterans Isn't Limited to One Generation
When we talk about supporting veterans, our minds naturally go to the men and women serving today or veterans we personally know.
But there's a longer thread running through our communities.
Revolutionary War veterans.
Civil War veterans.
World War I.
World War II.
Korea.
Vietnam.
The Gulf War.
Iraq.
Afghanistan.
And generations of Americans who served during times of peace.
The circumstances were different.
The country was different.
But remembering their service connects one generation to another.
And that's one reason I'm always drawn to stories about communities making sure veterans aren't forgotten.
Maybe There's a Lesson Here for All of Us
You don't have to spend years researching Civil War records.
But maybe there's someone in your own family whose story hasn't been written down.
Ask your parents.
Ask your grandparents.
Pull out the old photographs.
Write names on the backs.
Record the stories.
Ask about the military uniform in that picture.
Find out why your family came to Ohio.
Learn where your grandparents met.
Ask what your parents remember about growing up.
Because eventually the people who know those answers won't be here to tell us.
History isn't only something that happened to famous people.
It's what happened to our people.
And once those stories disappear, they're incredibly difficult to recover.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who were the Delaware Civil War veterans who received new grave markers?
The veterans were brothers John Wesley Highwarden and Edward Highwarden, Civil War veterans with ties to Delaware, Ohio.
Where are they buried?
The brothers are buried at Oak Grove Cemetery in Delaware, Ohio.
Were their graves previously marked?
No. The brothers had been buried in unmarked graves before the new markers were installed.
Who helped get the graves marked?
Delaware County resident Fabia Taylor spent years working to ensure the veterans' graves were properly identified and marked.
Are descendants of the veterans still connected to the story?
Yes. The Delaware Gazette photographed Shauneen Spence, a descendant of John Wesley Highwarden, placing flowers at his newly marked grave.
When did the United States begin providing markers for veterans' graves?
Permanent standardized markers for Civil War soldiers began appearing in national cemeteries in the 1870s. Congress expanded the program in 1879 to provide stones for unmarked veterans' graves in private cemeteries.
The Bottom Line
There are much bigger stories happening around Central Ohio every day.
New development.
New schools.
New businesses.
Road projects.
Housing.
Growth.
But sometimes the story worth stopping for is much smaller.
Two stones in an old cemetery.
Two brothers.
Two Civil War veterans.
And one Delaware County resident who decided their graves shouldn't remain unmarked.
More than 160 years after the Civil War, John Wesley Highwarden and Edward Highwarden have their names back above their final resting places.
People walking through Oak Grove Cemetery can see them.
Their descendants can find them.
And another little piece of Delaware County history has been preserved.
I think that's worth celebrating.
Because communities aren't built only by the people who live in them today.
They're built on the lives of everyone who came before us.
And remembering them is one small way we can say:
You were here.
You served.
And you are not forgotten.
Source
This article was inspired by reporting from Glenn Battishill for the Delaware Gazette, published August 31, 2026, documenting the new grave markers for Civil War veterans John Wesley and Edward Highwarden at Oak Grove Cemetery in Delaware. Historical background about federal veterans' grave markers was verified through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' National Cemetery Administration.
