Chasing History: The Plum Creek Cemetery Soldiers’ Monument

I didn’t grow up here. But I’ve lived in Plum for 11 years now. I drive past this cemetery twice a day on my regular commute. You can see it from my kids’ elementary school. And for 11 years, I thought it would be a pretty cool place to check out sometime.

Sometime.

As I’m writing this, the temperature outside is in the low single digits. So my exploration started online.

A Monument on a Hill

The Soldiers’ Monument at Plum Creek Cemetery in Plum Borough, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, was dedicated on November 11, 1922, by the citizens of Plum Township as a tribute to those who served in the American Civil War, the Spanish-American War, and World War I. Positioned beside the monument is a historic cannon dated 1844, which predates the Civil War and serves as a symbolic artifact of 19th-century American military history. Together, the monument and cannon stand as a lasting reminder of service and sacrifice by generations of Plum residents.

Aside from this basic description, there wasn’t much readily available information. That led me to two guiding questions:

What do we know about the cannon placed beside it?

What can we uncover about the dedication of the monument?

Early Clues

I located a brief reference in a local history compiled by the Allegheny Foothills Historical Society for Plum’s Bicentennial:

“A monument to the soldiers who fought in the Civil War, Spanish-American War, and World War I was unveiled on May 30, 1921 (sic) in Plum Creek Cemetery. Florence Hamilton (Thompson) and Twila Thompson (Sampson) helped to unveil this monument. They were given the honor because their grandfathers had been war heroes.”

It was generic, but it was a start.

Using those names, I found a much more detailed article in The Pittsburgh Press, dated Tuesday evening, May 23, 1922.

The Dedication

To Unveil Tablets to Dead War Vets

Memorial tablets in honor of soldiers, sailors and marines from Plum, Penn. and Patton townships who served in the Civil, Spanish-American and World wars will be unveiled and dedicated at 2 p.m. next Tuesday in the Plum Creek cemetery, New Texas. Rev. William L. Wishart, pastor of the Unity United Presbyterian church, will deliver the dedicatory address. Twila Thompson, great-granddaughter of Ephraim Bronner, a veteran of the Civil war; Florence McClain Hamilton, great-granddaughter of Joseph Porter, who served in the Civil war; Mary Stotler, niece of James Gray Monroe, who died of service during the Spanish-American war, and Bernice Taylor, sister of Charley Taylor, killed in service during the World war, will unveil the tablets.

Samuel A. Armstrong will be chairman of the exercises. Invocation will be delivered by Rev. J. C. McConaughey of the Hebron United Presbyterian church. Rev. D. A. Montgomery of the Plum Creek Presbyterian church will deliver the address of welcome. Kenneth Buffington, Jr., past commander of Treets-Carlyle post. Dr. Samuel Hamilton, former superintendent of the public schools, and Congressman M. Clyde Kelly will speak. Will Rhodes, tenor, will sing.

Charles R. Albright will represent the G. A. R. post of Verona. There will be representatives from other posts. There will be special bus service from Frankstown and Oakwood avenues, East Liberty, at 9:30 and 11:00 and 12:30 o’clock.

Importantly, I now had the connection between the ceremony participants and the veterans themselves.

Twila Thompson Sampson and Ephraim Brunner

First, Twila A. Thompson Sampson (1912–1972), who is fittingly buried in Plum Creek Cemetery. If this is the correct Twila Thompson, she would have been only 10 years old at the time of the monument’s dedication.

She was the great-granddaughter of Ephraim E. Brunner (1835–1922), who served as a private in Battery F, 5th Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery. Initially designated the 204th Pennsylvania Volunteers, the unit was mustered into service in Pittsburgh in August and September 1864.

According to the muster rolls, Ephraim enlisted on August 25, 1864, at age 29. His service record is sparse, noting only that he was “Discharged June 12, 1865, per General Orders No. 77, War Department, 1865” – an order issued to reduce troop strength at the end of the war.

The 5th Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery

I was able to find some general info about this unit.

The regiment served primarily in northern Virginia and the defenses of Washington, D.C. Its duties included guarding railroads and supply lines and engaging Confederate partisan forces under John S. Mosby. The unit participated in several actions in 1864 and, in the spring of 1865, performed grim work burying nearly 2,000 fallen soldiers on the Bull Run battlefield.

The regiment was mustered out in Pittsburgh in June 1865, having lost 49 men – three killed in action and 46 to disease.

Family Sacrifice

Two of Ephraim Brunner’s brothers did not survive the war. Eli Brunner (1828–1862) was killed at the Battle of Fair Oaks, and another brother, John Brunner, a private in the 101st Pennsylvania Infantry, died in August 1862 under unknown circumstances.

Eli Brunner
Photo Credit: Added by Joel Frampton Gilfert on Find A Grave

Ephraim himself lived to the age of 87, dying on November 28, 1922. He would have been alive to see his 10-year-old great-granddaughter unveil the monument’s tablets. Whether he was in attendance remains unknown. He is buried in Plum Creek Cemetery.

Florence Hamilton and Joseph Porter

The other descendant named in the article, Florence Hamilton, was the great-granddaughter of Joseph Porter, also a private in Battery F, 5th Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery.

Porter enlisted on August 31, 1864, at age 36. His muster roll contains a notable entry: he was captured on October 5, 1864, and released on February 5, 1865 – likely connected to the regiment’s action around Salem, Virginia. He was discharged on June 13, 1865, under the same general orders as Brunner.

Joseph Porter is buried not in Plum Creek Cemetery, but in Homewood Cemetery. He died in November 1905. Records indicate that a government-issued headstone was not erected until February of the following year, as he died “without leaving sufficient means” to pay for his burial.

The Cannon – and What Comes Next

And that’s where the trail ends – for now.

I haven’t yet uncovered much about the cannon itself, other than its 1844 date. My next step may be reaching out to a Licensed Battlefield Guide from Gettysburg or another expert in 19th-century artillery. (If that’s you, reach out!)

When the ground thaws a bit I’ll be visiting these gravesites and further exploring the civil war vets in the Plum Creek Cemetery.

Final Thoughts

I’m happy to be joining Vince on this blog. In future posts I intend to explore:

  • How much local history sits undiscovered – at least to me – right under our noses?
  • What is the purpose of monumentation, and how do we honor the service and sacrifice of those who have struggled for the cause?
  • What lessons do these stories hold for us today, and how should they inform our current perspective on the concept of America?

One final thought: The newspaper clipping announcing the monument listed a full slate of local speakers, as well as “special bus service” to accommodate the crowd. It’s hard to imagine something like that happening today. It feels antiquated. 

What that tells me is that we must find a modern way to honor these patriots. It’s time to flesh out how their stories – their sacrifice – should inform our current concept of America. Because the work is always unfinished. 

We must advance.

Sources

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