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Peacemaking long after last shot; Ex-Rebel's project honors one-time foes.

Article Excerpt
Byline: Martha M. Boltz, SPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON TIMES

The quaint Martha's Vineyard town of Oak Bluffs features a unique monument near its town square. Erected to honor the "Union Soldier of the Grand Army of the Republic," it was envisioned by the editor of the local newspaper, Charles A. Strahan, who led the fundraising effort. Of interest is his background.

Charles Strahan was a veteran of the Civil War, during which he served with Company B, 21st Virginia Infantry. Yes, a former Confederate soldier was the moving force behind a monument to honor his enemies - those who fought for the Union. Therein lies the story.

A Marylander

Strahan was born in Baltimore on Nov. 10, 1840, one of five boys. He enlisted in the 21st Virginia Infantry Regiment at Richmond in May 1861. Maryland was one of the few slave states that did not secede, and its Southern sympathizers frequently went to Virginia to join the Confederacy.

Strahan transferred to Weston's Battalion of the Maryland Guards, which ultimately would again become Company B of the 21st Virginia Infantry Regiment. He was described as5-foot-101/2-inches tall, with brown hair and blue eyes.

Wounded in battle

Strahan's official war record is slim. The local historical society in Martha's Vineyard states that he was wounded in the Battle of Seven Pines near Richmond. In later speeches to members of the Grand Army of the Republic - the fraternal organization of Union veterans - he said he would always "carry the mark of a Federal bullet on my body."

Strahan, in a note he wrote to Confederate Veteran magazine, said he was hospitalized at St. Luke's Hospital in Richmond for two months before he received a medical discharge in October 1861. The discharge is the last official record of his service. According to later sources, however, that was not the end of it.

At this point, one must go to Maryland-related publications as secondary sources to find any record of his service. Both W.W. Goldsborough's "Maryland Line" and Daniel Hartzler's "Marylanders in the Confederacy" record his later service with the rank of lieutenant. The caveat remains that these are postwar books compiled from other than military sources, and their...