Commanders of RI SUVCW Elisha Dyer Camp 7 History Page TWO

Elisha Dyer Sr. and Elisha Dyer Jr.

PAGE TWO
THE HISTORY
OF
RHODE ISLAND
SONS OF UNION VETERANS OF THE CIVIL WAR GOVERNORS
ELISHA DYER CAMP No. 7
ROSTER OF CAMP 7 COMMANDERS
&
CAMP 7 DEPT. COMMANDERS
SINCE 1909

Lest We Forget

RHODE ISLAND CAMP 7
AND
GAR POST 4 RECORDS

Welcome to the History of RI SUVCW ELISHA DYER CAMP No.7 Commanders.
Here you will find the most accurate up to date listings of our Camp Commanders since 1909.
Please Note: We do not have access to all our Camp records at this time
The information on this pages is based on the accuracy of records we currently have in our inventory and information passed down by members now diseased.
In the future if we find there are mistakes on this page they will be corrected when discovered.

The RI Department SUVCW was founded by Lieutenant Theodore A. Barton, 58th Massachusett Volunteer Infantry, in 1888. He also served as RI GAR Department Commander in 1886. By 1920 there were 26 SUVCW Camps in the R.I. Department. The R.I. Dept. SUVCW (or R.I. Division S of V USA) was officially chartered by the R.I. General Assembly as a non profit entity of the National SUVCW functioning in the State in 1893. Today there are only five RI SUVCW Camps remaining with active Camp Charters approved by the National SUVCW. To date there have been over 90 men elected to the office of R.I. Department SUVCW Commander from several RI SUVCW Camps. Since 1909 there have been over 70 men elected to the office of Camp Commander of RI SUVCW Elisha Dyer Camp No. 7. Thirty (30) former Camp 7 Commanders have gone on to serve as R.I. SUVCW State or Department Commanders since 1921. The first Camp 7 man elected to Department Commander was Enoch A. Hoyt of Cranston, R.I. As the 1926 Camp 7 Camp Commander and a Past Department Commander, he also worked with George E. Hand the 1926 R.I. Department SUVCW Commander; Robert M. Pollard the 1926 RI GAR Department Commander; and Nicholas Ross, the 1926 RI GAR Arnold Post No. 4 Commander and the last surviving officers and Civil War Veterans of RI GAR Arnold Post No. 4 to legally certify Camp 7 as only true RI SUVCW successor to RI GAR Post 4 for all time. Their actions deemed Camp 7 to be the only true and rightful owner of all Post 4 property, records, and assets tangible and intangible any where and every where.

Camp 7 by far holds the record of having more of its men serve as State or R.I. Department SUVCW Commander than any other Camp in the history of the SUVCW in Rhode Island. Seven (7) Camp 7 men were also elected Dept. Commander more than once. The 1993 Camp 7 Commander Gregg A. Mierka of Cranston-Coventry seved as Department Commander longer than any other man in the history of the R.I. Department SUVCW since 1886, serving as Department Commander for six (6) consecutive elected terms of office from 1994 to 2000. He also helped found the first MOLLUS Commandery for Rhode Island and helped found the first Rhode Island Civil War Roundtable. Past Camp 7 Commander Joseph A. Plante of Providence was also elected to serve 5 terms as RI Dept. SUVCW Commander, although not consecutive. He served as Camp 7 Commander 6 times, more than any other member of the Camp. His uncle, Aram A. Plante also served as Camp 7 Commander for 5 consecutive years from 1988 to 1992, and served 2 consecutive terms as RI SUVCW Department Commander from 1992 to 1994. Warren B. Bolester and Aram A. Plante were the only two Camp 7 Commanders who also served as R.I. Department Commander, while still in office simultaneously as Camp 7 Commander.

The first Camp Commander of Elisha Dyer Camp No. 7 was Union Civil War Veteran and RI GAR Arnold Post 4 member Albert M. Bennett, of Cranston, who served in Battery E, 1st Regiment Rhode Island Light Artillery. He served under William A. Arnold, who was promoted to captain in late 1862 and transfered from Battery E to commande Battery A, 1st R.I. Light Artillery. Battery A from then on became know as "Arnold's Battery". Alfred M. Bennett was also an SUVCW Camp 7 "Charter Signer" and the "Founder" of Camp 7 in 1909. As members of both the RI GAR and the RI SUVCW three (3) other Camp 7 Camp Commanders were Union Civil War Veterans of RI GAR Arnold Post No. 4 as well, and two served as Commander of RI GAR Post 4, plus two men additionally served as RI Department GAR Commanders. A total of four (4) RI GAR Arnold Post No. 4 Civil War Veterans served as Camp Commander of RI SUVCW Governors Elisha Dyer Camp No. 7.

Civil War Veteran, Nicholas Ross, served as RI GAR Arnold Post 4 Commander several times between 1922 and 1930. He asked the question, "Who Will Carry On When The Last Of The Grand Old Fellows In Blue Are Gone?" The grown sons of the Post 4 Veterans, the men of Camp 7, answered, "WE WILL". Little did he know "GAR Comrade" Ross would be the last RI GAR Arnold Post 4 Commander. Prior to his death, as Post 4 Commander in 1926, he urged and approved Camp 7 to become the true SUVCW successor to Post 4, in part to carry on for Post 4 and in part to thank all the men of Camp 7 for their hard work in the service of Post 4 from 1909 to 1926. Civil War Veteran George R. Saunders was another supporter of the SUVCW and Camp 7. He served as Camp 7 Commander in 1925. He also served as Post 4 Commander in 1888, as RI GAR Department Commander in 1924, and as RI GAR Brown Post 25 Commander 14 times between 1917 and 1938.

The 2001 Camp 7 Commander, Gregory H. Payne, PCC, also served as Camp Commander of another RI SUVCW Camp. Robert J. Mierka, PCC, also served as Commander of another RI SUVCW Camp, but not as Camp 7 Commander. Two Camp 7 members were also Charter Fellows of the National Congress of Patriotic Organizations; Aram A. Plante and Gregg A. Mierka. By 1990 the R.I. Department SUVCW was on the verge of folding due to low membership in the other three remaining Rhode Island Dept. SUVCW Camps. Several members of Camp 7 agreed to transfer to the other Camps to save the Department Charter for Rhode Island. Today most officers and past officers of all the other Rhode Island Camps are former members of Camp 7. The Rhode Island Department SUVCW ranks 11th oldest Department Chartered by the National SUVCW. RI SUVCW Elisha Dyer Camp No. 7 is the oldest continually operating Camp in the R.I. SUVCW Department, actually started by RI GAR Civil War Veterans and their sons. R.I. SUVCW Joel Abbott Camp No. 21 is the second oldest also started by RI GAR Civil War Veterans and their sons. The other three RI SUVCW Camps (Bliss Camp 12, Rhodes Camp 11 and Ballou Camp 3) were either started in the mid 20th century by men in the SUVCW who were descendants of Union Civil War Veterans or re-started a previously closed RI SUVCW Camp in the 20th century by newer men in the SUVCW. In fact Camp 3 is a 21st Century Camp, symbolizing the SUVCW has a strong future in Rhode Island. On the 100th Anniversary (2009), through our namesake, Elisha Dyer Sr. and Elisha Dyer Jr., both former Adjutant Generals, RI SUVCW Governor Elisha Dyer Camp No. 7 is proud of its historical relationship to the R.I. National Guard and the long service Camp 7 has rendered to the people of Rhode Island by educating citizens about the Civil War, promoting patriotism, supporting veterans and perpetuating the memory and service of the Rhode Island Grand Army of the Republic (RI GAR) Union Civil War Veterans---"The Grand Old Fellows In Blue".

RHODE ISLAND
Sons of Union Veterans
of the Civil War
Elisha Dyer Camp No. 7

HONOR ROLL OF COMMANDERS SUVCW Department Commander Insignia

~ RHODE ISLAND SONS OF UNION VETERAN OF THE CIVIL WAR ~

~ Camp 7 Commanders 1909 to the present ~
~ Department Commanders 1888 to Present ~

ORDER	DATE	CAMP 7 COMMANDERS	RESIDENCE	PLACE OF BIVOUAC	ORDER	DATE	RI DEPT. COMMANDERS	CAMP
1st	1909	Albert M. Bennett GAR Post 4	Cranston	Benefit Street Arsenal	1st	1888	Theodore A. Barton GAR Post 10 RI GAR PDC	Burnside Camp 5
	1910	Albert M. Bennett GAR Post 4	Cranston	Benefit Street Arsenal		1889	Theodore A. Barton GAR Post 10 RI GAR PDC	Burnside Camp 5
2nd	1911	G. Leon Lewis	Cranston	Benefit Street Arsenal	2nd	1890	Charles H. West
3rd	1912	Frank N. Luther	Providence	Benefit Street Arsenal	3rd	1891	Ruben H. Dexter
4th	1913	Alfred E. Gleason	Warwick	Benefit Street Arsenal	4th	1892	William B. Russell
5th	1914	Ernest S. Miles	Warwick	Benefit Street Arsenal	5th	1893	Thomas M. Sweetland	Burnside Camp 5
6th	1915	John J. Conley	Providence	Benefit Street Arsenal	6th	1894	William M.P. Bowen, Sr	Burnside Camp 5
7th	1916	George F. Greene	Providence	Benefit Street Arsenal	7th	1895	Arthur B. Spink	Burnside Camp 5 CnC 1903
8th	1917	Enoch A. Hoyt	Cranston	Benefit Street Arsenal	8th	1896	Herbert S. Thompson
9th	1918	George H. Brown	Providence	Benefit Street Arsenal	9th	1897	Charles W. Abbott	Abbott Camp 21
10th	1919	Alonzo C. Bennett GAR Post 4	Providence	Benefit Street Arsenal	10th	1898	Walter R. Williams
11th	1920	James McCaffery, Jr.	Providence	Benefit Street Arsenal	11th	1899	Frederick E. Carpenter	Burnside Camp 5
12th	1921	Isarel B. Arnold GAR Post 4	Providence	Benefit Street Arsenal	12th	1900	Frank J. Clinton
13th	1922	Winthrop J. Goff	Providence	Benefit Street Arsenal	13th	1901	John H. Leonard
14th	1923	Harold L. Burlingame	Providence	Benefit Street Arsenal	14th	1902	Son of Sgt. John H. Hammond Battery A, 1st R.I.L.A.	Burnside Camp 5
15th	1924	Howard O. Higgans	Providence	Benefit Street Arsenal	15th	1903	Orray T. Mason
16th	1925	George R. Saunders GAR Posts 4&25	Providence	Benefit Street Arsenal	16th	1904	Charles H. Young Attested the Camp 7 Charter	Burnside Camp 5
	1926	Enoch A. Hoyt, PDC Negotiated the Post 4-Camp 7 agreement Deeming Camp 7 SUVCW Successor to Post 4	Cranston	Benefit Street Arsenal	17th	1905	George W. Hoxie	Burnside Camp 5
17th	1927	Walter E. Thurber	Providence	Benefit Street Arsenal	18th	1906	Edward S. Moulton
18th	1928	James H. Smith, Jr Grandson of RI Civil War Governor James Y. Smith	Providence	Benefit Street Arsenal	19th	1907	Herbert J. Briggs	Burnside Camp 5
19th	1929	Frederick B. Kingsbury	Providence	Benefit Street Arsenal	20th	1908	Frank T. Sibley Signed the Camp 7 Charter	Burnside Camp 5
20th	1930	John J. McCurdy, Jr	Providence	Benefit Street Arsenal	21st	1909	Charles A. Davenport
21st	1931	Ashworth L. Charnley	Providence	Benefit Street Arsenal	22nd	1910	Joshua Pfeiffer
22nd	1932	Chester Faque	Providence	Benefit Street Arsenal	23rd	1911	John H. Bailey
23rd	1933	Edwin B. Cobb	Cranston	Benefit Street Arsenal	24th	1912	John P. Davis	Burnside Camp 5
24th	1934	John M. Lewin	Providence	Benefit Street Arsenal	25th	1913	G. Clinton Parker	Burnside Camp 5
25th	1935	Lewis R. Cobb	Cranston	Benefit Street Arsenal	26th	1914	George V. Nichols	Burnside Camp 5
26th	1936	Rolvin J. Allen	Providence	Benefit Street Arsenal	27th	1915	Louis H. Knox
27th	1937	Danforth L. Willis	Providence	Benefit Street Arsenal	28th	1916	Claud W. Perry
28th	1938	Joseph H. Cobb	Cranston	Benefit Street Arsenal	29th	1917	Charles P. Hall
29th	1939	Charles F. Handy	Providence	Benefit Street Arsenal	30th	1918	Henri E. Gobeille
30th	1940	William M.P. Bowen, Jr	Providence	Benefit Street Arsenal	31st	1919	Charles W. Senior
31st	1941	Frank O. Finnegan	Providence	Benefit Street Arsenal	32nd	1920	Emmerson L. Adams	Burnside Camp 5
32nd	1942	George D. Ross Son of Nicholas Ross Last Commander of RI GAR Arnold Post 4	Providence	Benefit Street Arsenal	33rd	1921	Enoch A. Hoyt	Camp 7
33rd	1943	Andrew H. Lee	Providence	Benefit Street Arsenal	34th	1922	Ralph L. Cheek	Burnside Camp 5
34th	1944	Vincent J. Bonner	Providence	Benefit Street Arsenal	35th	1923	Frank P. Ballou	Burnside Camp 5
35th	1945	Wallace Macomber	Providence-Johnston	Benefit Street Arsenal	36th	1924	Robert L. Ward
36th	1946	Elmer A. Chaffell	Warwick	Benefit Street Arsenal	37th	1925	John W. McGuire
37th	1947	William E. Hooper	Providence	Benefit Street Arsenal	38th	1926	George E. Hand Approved the Camp 7-Post 4 agreement	Burnside Camp 5
38th	1948	George A. Parker	Providence	Benefit Street Arsenal	39th	1927	Col. Frank L. Burrows	Burnside Camp 5
39th	1949	Robert G.E. Fowler	Johnston	Benefit Street Arsenal	40th	1928	Storrs T. Richmond
40th	1950	Ralph E. Mix	Cranston	Benefit Street Arsenal	41st	1929	George E. Bowman
41st	1951	George E. Burrows	Providence	Benefit Street Arsenal	42nd	1930	Edward E. Briggs	Burnside Camp 5
42nd	1952	Clarence E. Young	Providence	Benefit Street Arsenal	43rd	1931	Frederick O. Arnold	Burnside Camp 5
43rd	1953	Elghon Sherman	Warwick	Benefit Street Arsenal	44th	1932	Frank S. Reavey
44th	1954	Earl T.M. Hinze, Sr	Providence	Benefit Street Arsenal	45th	1933	John J. McCurdy, Jr	Camp 7
	1955	William E. Hooper, PDC	Providence	Benefit Street Arsenal	46th	1934	Charles T. Glines
45th	1956	Albert E. Fowler	Johnston	Benefit Street Arsenal	47th	1935	Frederick J. Arnold	Burnside Camp 5
46th	1957	John A. Young	Cranston	Benefit Street Arsenal	48th	1936	A. Walter Lewis, Sr	Burnside Camp 5
	1958	John A. Young, PCC	Cranston	Benefit Street Arsenal	49th	1937	Charles E. Sleeper
47th	1959	James B. Magee	Providence	Benefit Street Arsenal	50th	1938	Daniel Johnson
48th	1960	Charles L. Huling	Cranston	Benefit Street Arsenal	51st	1939	William J.B. Spencer	Thomas Camp 11
49th	1961	Joseph D. Plante	Providence	Benefit Street Arsenal	52nd	1940	Harold J. Geer
50th	1962	Robert M. Hoyt Son of Enoch Hoyt	Cranston	Benefit Street Arsenal	53rd	1941	Charles W. Skinner
	1963	James B. Magee, PCC	Cranston	Benefit Street Arsenal	54th	1942	Harold E. Arnold	Bliss Camp 12 CnC 1959
	1964	Clarence E. Young, PCC	Providence	Benefit Street Arsenal	55th	1943	William M.P. Bowen, Jr	Camp 7
51st	1965	Norman E. Briggs	Providence	Benefit Street Arsenal	56th	1944	William H. McCormick	Powell Camp 1
52nd	1966	Robert E. Young	Providence	Benefit Street Arsenal	57th	1945	Edward A. Baker	Powell Camp 1
53rd	1967	Earl T.M. Hinze, Jr	Providence	Benefit Street Arsenal	58th	1946	Reginald P. Harris	Powell Camp 1
54th	1968	Warren B. Bolester	Providence	Benefit Street Arsenal	59th	1947	Wallace Macomber, PCC	Camp 7
	1969	Warren B. Bolester, PCC	Providence	Benefit Street Arsenal	60th	1948	Vincent J. Bonner	Camp 7
55th	1970	Charles E. Reynolds	Pawtucket	Benefit Street Arsenal	61st	1949	Elmer A. Chaffell	Chapman Camp 6
	1971	James B. Magee, PCC	Cranston	Benefit Street Arsenal	62nd	1950	Albert Aldrich	Bliss Camp 12
56th	1972	Clarence E. Plante	Providence	Benefit Street Arsenal	63rd	1951	William E. Hooper	Camp 7
	1973	Warren B. Bolester, PCC	Providence	Benefit Street Arsenal	64th	1952	Frederick A. Holden	Burnside Camp 5
57th	1974	Russell E. Cole	Providence	Benefit Street Arsenal	65th	1953	George E. Burrows	Camp 7
58th	1975	Joseph A. Plante	Providence	Benefit Street Arsenal		1954	William E. Hooper, PDC	Camp 7
	1976	Earl T.M. Hinze, Jr, PCC	Providence	Benefit Street Arsenal	66th	1955	Clarence E. Young	Camp 7
	1977	John A. Young, PCC	Cranston	Benefit Street Arsenal		1956	Harold E. Arnold, PCnC	Bliss Camp 12
	1978	Joseph A. Plante, PDC	Providence	Benefit Street Arsenal	67th	1957	A. Walter Lewis, Jr	Bliss Camp 12
	1979	Warren B. Bolester, PDC	Providence	Benefit Street Arsenal	68th	1958	George A. Strait	Bliss Camp 12
	1980	Joseph A. Plante, PDC	Providence	Benefit Street Arsenal	69th	1959	A. Dwight Bromley	Chapman Camp 6
	1981	Joseph A. Plante, PDC	Providence	Benefit Street Arsenal	70th	1960	Albert E. Fowler	Camp 7
	1982	Earl T.M. Hinze, Jr, PDC	Providence	Benefit Street Arsenal	71st	1961	Dexter Coombs	Bliss Camp 12
	1983	Joseph A. Plante, PDC	Providence	Benefit Street Arsenal	72nd	1962	Charles L. Huling	Camp 7
	1984	Joseph A. Plante, PDC	Providence	Benefit Street Arsenal		1963	Clarence E. Young, PDC	Camp 7
59th	1985	Dennis Wilks	Providence	Benefit Street Arsenal		1964	Harold E. Arnold, PCnC	Bliss Camp 12
	1986	Dennis Wilks, PCC	Providence	Benefit Street Arsenal	73rd	1965	Perley C. Wallace	Chapman Camp 6
60th	1987	Kenneth Bouvier	Providence	Benefit Street Arsenal	74th	1966	Frank Lueth, Sr	Bliss Camp 12
61st	1988	Aram A. Plante	Cranston	Benefit Street Arsenal	75th	1967	James B. Magee	Camp 7
	1989	Aram A. Plante, PCC	Cranston	Benefit Street Arsenal		1968	Harold E. Arnold, PCnC	Bliss Camp 12
	1990	Aram A. Plante, PCC	Cranston	Benefit Street Arsenal	76th	1969	Robert E. Young	Camp 7
	1991	Aram A. Plante, PCC	Cranston	Benefit Street Arsenal	77th	1970	Earl T.M. Hinze, Sr	Camp 7
	1992	Aram A. Plante, PDC	Cranston	Plante Residence Cranston		1971	Frank Lueth, Sr, PDC	Bliss Camp 12
62nd	1993	Gregg A. Mierka	Cranston-Coventry	Hall Library		1972	Wallace Macomber, PDC	Rhodes Camp 11
63rd	1994	Brian E. Guiot	W. Warwick	Armory of Mounted Commands	78th	1973	Warren B. Bolester	Camp 7
64th	1995	Jan M. Ouhrabka	E. Greenwich-Rumford	Armory of Mounted Commands		1974	Warren B. Bolester, PDC	Camp 7
65th	1996	George A. Perry	Johnston	Nathanael Greene Masonic Lodge		1975	Wallace Macomber, PDC	Rhodes Camp 11
66th	1997	Matthew J. Hecht	Cranston	St Rose of Lima Church	79th	1976	Donald Desantis	Abbott Camp 21
67th	1998	Dennis P. Kohl	Cranston	St Rose of Lima Church	80th	1977	Joseph A. Plante	Camp 7
68th	1999	Robert L. Renehan	Warwick	Pilgrim Church	81st	1978	Irving Burney	Chapman Camp 6
69th	2000	Henry B. Pierce	W. Warwick	Pilgrim Church		1979	Irving Burney, PDC	Chapman Camp 6
	2001	George A. Perry, PCC	Johnston	Shawomet Church	82nd	1980	William Perry	Barton Camp 19
70th	2002	Gregory H. Payne, PCC	N. Scituate	Shawomet Church	83rd	1981	Harold Sylveria	Abbott Camp 21
71st	2003	David J. Duggan	Providence	Shawomet Church		1982	Wallace Macomber, PDC	Rhodes Camp 11
72nd	2004	Geoffrey D. Gardner	Coventry	Governor Sprague Mansion		1983	William Perry, PDC	Barton Camp 19
	2005	George A. Perry, PCC	Warwick	Shawomet Church		1984	Harold Sylveria, PDC	Abbott Camp 21
	2006	Gregory H. Payne, PCC	N. Scituate	Shawomet Church		1985	Joseph A. Plante, PDC	Camp 7
	2007	Gregory H. Payne, PCC	N. Scituate	Shawomet Church		1986	Joseph A. Plante, PDC	Camp 7
	2008	Gregory H. Payne, PCC	N. Scituate	Shawomet Church	84th	1987	Alan E. Peterson	Rhodes Camp 11
	2009 100th YEAR	Gregg A. Mierka, PDC	Coventry	RI GAR Civil War Museum		1988 100th YEAR	Alan E. Peterson, PDC	Rhodes Camp 11
					85th	1989	Dennis Wilks	Camp 7
						1990	Alan E. Peterson, PDC	Rhodes Camp 11
					86th	1991	Kenneth Bouvier	Camp 7
					87th	1992	Aram A. Plante	Camp 7
						1993	Aram A. Plante, PDC	Camp 7
					88th	1994	Gregg A. Mierka	Camp 7
						1995	Gregg A. Mierka, PDC	Camp 7
						1996	Gregg A. Mierka, PDC	Camp 7
						1997	Gregg A. Mierka, PDC	Camp 7
						1998	Gregg A. Mierka, PDC	Camp 7
						1999	Gregg A. Mierka, PDC	Camp 7
					89th	2000	Robert C. Bromley	Bliss Camp 12
						2001	Robert C. Bromley, PDC	Bliss Camp 12
					90th	2002	Leo F. Kennedy	Bliss Camp 12
						2003	Leo F. Kennedy, PDC	Bliss Camp 12
					91st	2004	Brian E. Guiot	Rhodes Camp 11
					92nd	2005	Joseph Hall	Bliss Camp 12
					92nd	2006	William Vieira	Bliss Camp 12
						2007	William Vieira, PDC	Bliss Camp 12
						2008	William Vieira, PDC	Bliss Camp 12
					93rd	2009	Bruce Frail	Ballou Camp 3

*Name* = Camp 7 or RI S of V--SUVCW Member, who was also a RI GAR, Union Civil War Veteran
PCC = Past Camp Commander (local)
PDC = Past Department Commander (State)
CnC = Commander-in-Chief (national)
PCnC = Past Commander-in-Chief (national)

RI GAR DEPARTMENT COMMANDERS
WHO SUPPORTED THE FOUNDERS OF CAMP 7

George Cheek 1913 © Web-Rendering G.A. Mierka Camp 7

Ezra Dixon 1911 © Web-image G.A. Mierka Camp 7

LEFT: George H. Cheek, RI GAR Dept. Commander 1913
and
RIGHT: Ezra Dixon, RI GAR Dept. Commander, 1911

Signers of the R.I. SUVCW Elisha Dyer Camp No. 7 Camp Charter were: Frank T. Sibley, R.I. Department SUVCW Commander, Attested by Charles H. Young, PDC,
R.I. Department Secretary; and Edgar Allan, Jr. National SUVCW Commander-in-Chief, Attested by H. H. Hammand, National SUVCW Secretary, January 15, 1909.

A BRIEF HISTORICAL SUMMARY
OF
RHODE ISLAND DEPARTMENT SUVCW CAMPS
And how Camp 7 has assisted the R.I. Dept. SUVCW and R.I. Camps
for several decades since the mid part of the 20th Century

GOVERNOR ELISHA DYER CAMP No.7
The Oldest Camp
Observing Its Centennial
&
The Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial

Elisha Dyer Camp No. 7 was Chartered on January 15, 1909. Its Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW) Camp Charter was authorized and signed by Frank Sibley, RI Dept. SUVCW Commander, Attested by Charles H. Young, RI Dept SUVCW Secretary; and Edgar Allen, Jr., Commander-in-Chief, Attested by H. H. Hamman, National SUVCW Secretary. Camp 7 was started by R.I. Civil War Veterans of R.I. Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) Arnold Post No. 4 and their sons. As children of Post 4 Veterans, the first SUVCW men of Camp 7 were Arnold Post 4 Associates from 1879 to 1909. From 1909 to 1930 Camp 7 assisted Arnold Post No. 4 and Browne Post No. 25. Arnold Post 4 deeded Camp 7 its SUVCW successor in 1926. Camp 7 is also the only SUVCW Camp in the country named after a father and son with the same name who were both GAR Civil War Veterans---Elisha Dyer, Sr, and Elisha Dyer Jr. For 70 years Camp 7 held its meetings and events and had its headquarters at the Benefit Street Arsenal in Providence and for 40 years (1930 to 1970) it managed the facility for the Order and the State of Rhode Island. Most of the records, artifacts and memorabilia of Camp 7, Post 4 and Post 25 are housed at the Benefit Street Arsenal and the R.I. Historical Society in Providence. In the late 1980s the R.I. Dept. SUVCW nearly went out of existance. In the 1990s Camp 7 re-doubled its efforts to preserve the entire Order in the State of Rhode Island. On six occasions from 1945 to 2000, Camp 7 voted to assist the R.I. Dept. SUVCW to help save six different R.I. SUVCW Camp Charters due to depleted membership by transferring men to other Camps. Three of the six attempts were successful and as result the R. I. Department SUVCW continues to flourish as the 11th ranked Department in the National SUVCW today. The Camp Charters saved were E.H. Rhodes Camp No. 11, Z.R. Bliss Camp No. 12, and J. Abbott Camp No. 21. The Camps that eventually closed were Burnside Camp No. 5, Chapman Camp No. 6, and Barton Camp No. 19. Today, including Camp 7, there are 5 Camps State wide active in the R.I. Dept. SUVCW. To begin the 21st Century memberts of Camp 7 founded and chartered RI SUVCW Sullivan Ballou Camp No. 3. As of 2009, Camp 7, upon its 100 year Centennial currently ranks 1st in the State as the oldest Camp continually active since its charter was approved by the National SUVCW in January 1909. Today Elisha Dyer Camp No. 7 is based in Cranston serving Central Rhode Island with an office and GAR Meeting Hall at the RI GAR Civil War Museum located at 762 Dyer Avenue (the old carriage house facility) on the grounds of the Governor Sprague Mansion.

COMMODORE JOEL ABBOTT CAMP No. 21
Second Oldest Camp

Joel Abbott Camp No. 21 was Chartered on April 20, 1909. It was formed by Tobin Post No. 24 GAR men and their sons. Camp 21 assisted Tobin Post No. 24 and Babbitt Post 15. No record exists indicating that Post 24 deeded Camp 21 to be its SUVCW successor, but they very well may have taken the same action that Post 4 did with Camp 7 in 1926. Camps 7 & 21 are the only two R.I. SUVCW Camps that have operated continuously since the original or beginning dates of their Charters and voted a tradition of holding a joint Annual Bivouac-Convention every 10 years. They are today the oldest Camps in the R.I. Dept. SUVCW and will commemorate their 100th anniversary together in 2009. Camp 21 was named after Commodore Joel Abbott, an officer of the United States Navy. Camps 7 & 21 are also the only two Camps now functioning continuously that were actually started by GAR men and their sons, and actually had GAR Civil War Veterans as members of their Camps. In 2000, Camp 7 member Donald C. Walker transferred to Camp 21 to rebuild its membersip and save the Camp 21 Charter. Former Camp 7 member John T. Duchesneau likewise reinstated as a member of the SUVCW and serves as its Commander for its Centennial Year. Today Camp 21 ranks 2nd oldest in the R.I. Dept. SUVCW active in the southern portion of Rhode Island. Camp 21 is primarily based in Newport where during the late 1990s the RI SUVCW was hopeful to re-start John Powell Camp No.1, with the assistance of Camp 21. Unfortunately the effort never came to fruition. The original Powell Camp 1 was also based in Newport and worked with the City of Providence for the perpetual care of the RI GAR burial site at Old North Burial Ground. For their efforts the RI GAR deeded ownership of the site to Powell Camp 1, which closed in the 1960s. Today the GAR burial site is jointly under the care of the RI Department SUVCW and the City of Providence. For over 50 years Camp 7 flagged Old North Burial Ground for Memorial Day. Both Camps 7 & 21 are today part of the Department effort to flag and maintain the burial site. However Camp 21 is focusing most of its efforts to keep the SUVCW alive and active in Warren, Bristol, Newport, Westerly, Jamestown and Narragansett on both sides of the Bay; including Little Compton and South County and meets with permission on occaision at the Newport Artillery Armory.

GENERAL ZENAS BLISS CAMP No.12
Third Oldest Camp

Zenas Bliss Camp No. 12 was re-started 3 times in its history. It was first Chartered in the mid 1890s. Under its first charter activation Camp 12 originally assisted RI GAR Guild Post No. 27. Had it not stopped twice, Camp 12 would then be the oldest Camp in Rhode Island. The 2nd Charter date for Camp 12 was July 31, 1911, but it stopped a 2nd time then was re-chartered again in the 1930s. Harold E. Arnold and Frank Luth were among the men who re-started Camp 12 the 3rd time. Arnold was only the 2nd Rhode Islander to serve as National SUVCW Commander-in-Chief in 1959. Arthur B. Spink was the 1st Rhode Islander to serve as National SUVCW Commander-in-Chief in 1903, but he was a member of the original Burnside Camp No. 5, located in Providence. Camp 5 was re-started in 1995, in Westerly under its original Camp Charter, but it closed again in 1998. When it closed Gregory H. Payne, PCC, (who reinstated in Camp 7) was the last Camp 5 Commander. In 1997, Camp 5 under Commander Payne had made arrangements with the Westerly Public Libary to hold its meetings there, and carry on for Chapman Camp 6 which closed in the 1960s. The Westerly Public Library is today the repository of most RI SUVCW-RI GAR records and memorabilia of Southern Rhode Island. By 1993, Blis Camp 12 was also in danger of closing a 3rd time, so Leo F. Kennedy (who later became RI SUVCW Dept. Commander) agreed to transfer from Elisha Dyer Camp No. 7 to rebuild Camp 12. He will become only the 3rd man in RI SUVCW History to be elected National SUVCW Commander-in-Chief. Bliss Camp No. 12 is named after Brigadier General Zenas R. Bliss who as Colonel during the Civil War commanded the 7th R.I. Volunteer Infantry Regiment. Bliss was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for valor at the 1st Battle of Fredericksburg in December 1862. Bliss was buried at Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia. Camp 12 ranks 3rd oldest Camp in the R.I. Dept. SUVCW today.

COLONEL ELISHA RHODES CAMP No.11
Forth Oldest Camp

Elisha Rhodes Camp No. 11 was originally Chartered as General George Thomas Camp No. 11 on April 12, 1916. The original Camp 11 held its meetings at the Warwick Kentish Artillery Armory in Apponaug along with RI GAR Budlong Post, who the original Camp 11 members assisted. The Budlong Library next to the reconstructed Armory was named after Budlong Post. Today the Armory is the Warwick Museum. As of 1992 the museum had some of the records of Budlong Post and material of its most prominant member Gideon Spencer. Thomas Camp 11 stopped functioning and closed in the 1920s, but was again Chartered as Elisha Hunt Rhodes Camp No. 11 in April 1946. Wallace Macumber was one of the founders of the current version of Camp 11 and became the 4th Camp Commander after he transferred from Elisha Dyer Camp No. 7 in 1949. He also served as Commander of Elisha Dyer Camp No.7. The current Camp 11 is a 20th Century RI SUVCW Camp. It was started completely by members of the SUVCW, not by members of the GAR and their sons. Although it holds no start up lineage to the GAR except as an entity through the National SUVCW, it honors Lieutenant Colonel Elisha Hunt Rhodes, one of the State's greatest Civil War Soldiers who commanded the 2nd R.I. Volunteer Infantry Regiment by the end of the Civil War. Rhodes participated in every major Campaign of the Union Army in the east from 1861 to 1865. See Rhode Island's Own", by RI MOLLUS for more details about Rhodes. In 1997 Aram A. Plante, PDC, transferred from Dyer Camp 7 to help Brian E. Guiot (also formerly of Camp 7, who also later went on to serve as Department Commander) save the Camp 11 Charter. Today Camp 11, based in West Warwick and meets on occaision in West Warwick. Today it ranks 4th oldest in the R.I. Dept. SUVCW and has the largest collection of McGregor Post material.

MAJOR SULLIVAN BALLOU CAMP No.3
The Youngest Camp

Sullivan Ballou Camp No. 3 is the newest RI SUVCW Camp in the Department and the first to begin the 21st Century. In 2006, members of RI SUVCW Governor Elisha Dyer Camp No. 7, led by David Duggan, PCC, and Bruce Frail, began the effort to establish a fifth Camp in the State. The Department Commander assigned the new Camp the number three (3) in honor of RI GAR Ballou Post No. 3. RI GAR Post No. 3 and RI SUVCW Camp No. 3 were/are named after Major Sullivan Ballou, who was third in command of the 2nd RI Volunteer Infantry during the Civil War. In keeping with GAR/SUVCW tradition, the name of the new RI SUVCW Camp No. 3 is important because Ballou was killed at the 1st Battle of Bull Run in July 1861. Ken Burns featured the letter Ballou wrote to his wife Sarah a few days before the battle in his award winning PBS series, "The Civil War". The series instantly put forgotten Rhode Island Civil War Veterans at the forefront of the current national fascination with American Civil War History. Today both RI SUVCW Lieutenant Colonel Elisha Hunt Rhodes Camp No. 11 and Major Sullivan Ballou Camp No. 3 enjoy this distinction. The Adams Public Library in Central Falls has the largest RI GAR-RI SUVCW collection of RI GAR Ballou Post No. 3 records and material in the State. Camp 3 meets on occaision in Coventry.

A Footnote:
Many Rhode Islanders are surprised to learn the RI Department SUVCW (representing all the Camps of RI on the State level) still exists in the Ocean State, (since 1888), still carrying on in the best tradition of the GAR in every way. People are still surprised to learn the Rhode Island entities of the National SUVCW are a two-thirds hereditary membership based historical organization, and all Camps under the umbrella of the National SUVCW are still recognized by the Federal Government (the United States Congress & the US Defense Department) as Congressionally Chartered Veterans organizations. All Camps hold this distinction because the US Government stipulates that a hereditary or historical-fraternal organization must be started by the Veterans who actually fought during the conflict in order to qualify and be recognized as a legal Veterans organization anywhere in America. RI SUVCW Camp 7 and RI SUVCW Camp 21 fit this definition in Rhode Island, because both were actually started by the RI Civil War veterans of the GAR and their sons in 1909. However by 1989, in Rhode Island, the SUVCW had almost disappeared in to history. The over-all membership had sunk to barely enough men to function in one Camp and only two were actually functioning, Dyer Camp 7 and Rhodes Camp 11. At several National SUVCW Encampments (annual conventions) the SUVCW Department of Massachusetts proposed all men in the RI Department should be consolidated into one Camp and merged into the Mass Department SUVCW, and the 102 year RI Department SUVCW Charter forfeited. In 1992, Camp 7 officers, (who were also Department officers), Aram A. Plante and Gregg A. Mierka, got together and developed a plan to restore the RI Department and all its remaining Camps. New men were inducted and spread to serve other Camps. The membership more than quadrupled in the next eight years.

Today the Rhode Island SUVCW, also a 501c nonprofit organization, is very healthy and active throughout the entire State once again promoting remembrance of the RI GAR, conducting educational programs, supporting Veterans issues, performing charitable duties, and documenting Civil War Period and RI GAR research. The Rhode Island Historical Society, doing its part, houses more than 26 cases of RI GAR, RI SUVCW, RI Auxiliary to the SUVCW and other Allied Orders such as the WRC and LGAR records, artifacts, images and memorabilia removed from the Benefit Street Arsenal in the mid 1980s. Other material was taken from the Arsenal to the RI State Archives and the Armory of Mounted Commands by the RI National Guard. However, the bulk of RI GAR - RI SUVCW and Allied Orders of the GAR historical material still remains housed at the Benefit Street Arsenal under the care of the Providence Marine Corps of Artillery State Militia and the RI National Guard. In 1968 a study was conducted, which concluded Rhode Island was among five States left in the Nation with the most in tact and pristine GAR and Allied Orders of the GAR records and material. In the 1970s, other SUVCW-GAR material was taken to the RI Veterans Home in Bristol by Past National SUVCW Commander-in-Chief Harold E. Arnold, after a dispute between the RI SUVCW and the PMCA. Among some of the material taken to the Veterans Home (built by the RI GAR and the Allied Orders of the GAR in 1889) was the ship's bell off of the USS Rhode Island, a US Navy side wheel steamer that was towing the Iron Clad "Monitor" when it sank in a storm off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina during the Civil War. See "Rhode Island's Own" by RI MOLLUS for details about the story, by Frank Butts, a RI Veteran of Battery E and the US Navy. He was the last sailor to get off the Monitor before it sank and the man who sealed the cat, the ship's mascot, in the barrel of one of the turret guns. When the turret was salvaged and placed in a museum the bones of the cat were found still in the barrel.

Since all RI SUVCW Camps are focussed locally and the Department is the State wide SUVCW umbrella, check the RI Department SUVCW Website for more details about other RI SUVCW Camps and joint Camp activities conducted by the Department.

CARRYING ON THE G.A.R.

LEST WE FORGET

THE MAN FROM WHICH
RI GAR ARNOLD POST 4
DERIVED ITS NAME

Captain William Albert Arnold
Arnold's Battery A, 1st Regiment, R.I. Light Artillery
Hero of Gettysburg
Buried at Locust Grove Cemetery, Providence

FROM THE SONS OF VETERANS USA
TO THE
SONS OF UNION VETERANS OF THE CIVIL WAR
CAMP 7 ~ A 100 YEAR TRADITION

Photo on the left, Theodore A. Barton, "Founder of the SUVCW in Rhode Island".
Photo on the right, Arthur B. Spink, the first National SUVCW Commander-in-Chief elected from Rhode Island in 1903.

Lt. Theodore A. Barton was a veteran of the 3rd & 58th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, R.I. GAR Dept. Commander, 1883, the first SofV R.I. Dept. Commander 1888&89, a member of R.I. GAR Slocum Post No.10, a member of SofV R.I. Burnside Camp No.5 and a member of MOLLUS-Massachusetts Commandery.
Arthur B. Spink was a member of R.I. SUVCW Burnside Camp No.5 and R.I. Dept. Commander. His father was George W. Spink, Co.D 2nd R.I. Volunteer Infantry and his uncle was William R. Spink, 1st R.I. Volunteer Cavalry, Troop G. Both his father and his uncle were members of R.I. GAR Slocum Post No.10.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FOLLOWING IN THE FOOT STEPS
OF THE GRAND OLD FELLOWS IN BLUE

Who Created Memorial Day ?
Who Were The GAR ?
To Find Out Click HERE

Photo at the top is Major A.P. Davis (Civil War Veteran, member of the GAR, MOLLUS and the SAR), founder of the National S of V or SUVCW, 1881.
The photo, bottom left, is R.I. Civil War Governor, Senator and Civil War Brigadier General William Sprague, founder of the GAR in Rhode Island in 1867.
The photo bottom right is R.I. Post Civil War Governor, Senator and Civil War Major General Ambrose E. Burnside, first elected RI GAR Dept. Commander and the only Rhode Islander elected National GAR Commander-in-Chief.

The Battery A Bull Run Cannon
At The Rhode Island State House

MORE CAMP 7 HISTORY

Camp 7 History Page 2: Click our Sidebar to see the Honor Roll of Camp Commanders
of Elisha Dyer Camp No. 7 - 1909 to the Present & RI SUVCW Department Commanders 1888 to the Present
and learn more about the history of Camp 7 and the RI GAR.

Camp 7 History Page 3: Go to the Camp 7 Dyer Memorial Flash-Media Page to learn more about the only Camp in the SUVCW
named after a GAR Father & GAR Son.

Click our Sidebar the RI GAR Arnold Post 4 History Page for more detailed information about Post 4.

Go to the Arnold's Battery A, 1st R.I. Light Artillery History Page for more detailed information about Battery A.

Go to the SUVCW History Page on the National SUVCW Website for more background on the SUVCW nation wide since 1881, and the founder of the National SUVCW, GAR--Civil War Veteran,
Major A. P. Davis.

Go to the GAR ~ SUVCW Deed Of Conveyance Page on the National SUVCW Website for more detailed information about the relationship between the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) and the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW).

Go to the Camp 7 Dyer Memorial Flash-Media Page to learn more about the only Camp in the SUVCW named after a GAR Father & GAR Son.

Go to the Arnold's Battery A, 1st R.I. Light Artillery History Page for more detailed information about Battery A.

A NOTE ABOUT THE REGALIA OF THE ORDER: It is incorrect to view the insignia, medals and badges of the GAR and SUVCW the same as Government issue military medals. Neither the National SUVCW nor the National GAR ever wanted their symbols to be viewed the same as medals issued by the United States Armed Services or the Defense Department. The symbols of the Order are not the same, even though the United States Congress and the US Defense Department recognize the historic importance of the symbols of the SUVCW and the three other oldest veterans organizations in the country today. The military uniform regulations allow the display or wearing of these symbols on all class A and Dress Blue uniforms of the current US Military, however all members of the Order currently serving in the modern military should check with their C O and the military uniform code before wearing the regalia of the Order with their military issue medals and awards for proper etiquette and appropriateness.

It is incorrect to refer to the SUVCW, GAR and MOLLUS regalia worn by members, as medals and/or badges. They are neither. The correct terminology is membership insignia, not medals or badges. Members of the SUVCW generally wear their "Membership Insignia" on their coats and uniforms. "Medals" are only those awards given for meritorious service or usually for service as a "Past Officer" of the Order. The Badges of the Order are the souvenir, memorial or commemorative regalia and ribbons worn by members for specific occasions such as Encampments, Bivouacs and other important traditional events. Although the regalia worn by members of the Order look very similar to military medals it is important to keep these separate distinctions in mind.

If a person wears more than one symbol of recognized hereditary-veterans regalia all such items should be worn in accordance to the rank or date each Order came into fruition. Therefore, if a person is a member of all four of the oldest veterans organizations in America, the membership insignia of The Society of the Cincinnati should be displayed first, then the Aztec Club of 1847, then MOLLUS, followed 4th by the SUVCW Membership Insignia, in that order. All such regalia is normally displayed last on military uniforms if worn with standard military issue material by currently serving military personnel.

These issues are not just matters of protocol, they are matters of proper respect for all service men and women serving in America’s Armed Forces yesterday and today. All members of Governors Elisha Dyer Camp No. 7 should govern their conduct accordingly and should never wear their SUVCW Membership Insignia or other regalia of the Order on T-shirts and sweat shirts or casual shirts and sweaters out of respect for the Grand Old Fellows In Blue. All miniature regalia should be worn on formal attire, military or civilian.

BREAK THROUGH THE WALLS OF FORT SUMTER
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WANT TO JOIN CAMP 7 ?
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HONORING
OUR CIVIL WAR
HERITAGE

Want To Know More
About Rhode Island In The Civil War

Contact The Camp 7
Paul F. Cairrao
Communications Officer HERE Talk to us here!
YOU ARE VISITOR

CLICK HERE AND GET TO THE CAMP No.7 LINKS PAGE MANAGER,
TRY OUR LISTINGS OF IMPORTANT RESOURCES There You Will Also Find All Links To Our Rhode Island Civil War Enlistments Pages
(Rhode Islanders Who Served In The War And Other Important Data)
Also on our Links Page, please visit our Civil War Education Page
for Teachers and Students !

RHODE ISLAND'S OWN

THANK YOU FOR YOUR VOTE & SUPPORT

Click the links in this table For:
THE RHODE ISLAND HERITAGE HALL OF FAME, PLUS SEE THE GENERAL BURNSIDE AND GENERAL GREENE BIOGRAPHIES BELOW
The 2003 inductees of the R.I. Heritage Hall of Fame
Thank you all for your support by contacting the R.I. Historical Society-R.I. Heritage Hall of Fame, and nominating both Generals A.E. Burnside, G.S. Greene and E.H. Rhodes to the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame. Each year important Rhode Islanders, past & present, are selected. Prior to November, 2003, "no" Rhode Island Civil War Veteran had ever been chosen. To make nominations and suggestions or find out more, contact the offices of the "Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame" at 1445 Wampanoag Trl # 203 Riverside, RI 02915. Your support helped to put an end to this oversight. We are pleased to inform all our viewers that “12” important Rhode Island Civil War Veterans and nationally known Pre-Civil War Social-Political Activists were selected.
Again thank you all for supporting the work we do.
In F, C & L, Elisha Dyer Camp No.7.

Go Back To Our Site "ENTRY" Page and Click
The Button To Go To The "RHODE ISLAND'S OWN"
Civil War Biographies
By: RI MOLLUS
RI Civil War Stories
And Biographies of
WILLIAM SPRAGUE STEPHEN LUCE, AMBROSE BURNSIDE, GEORGE GREENE, FRANK WHEATON, ELISHA RHODES, JOHN SLOCUM, ZENAS BLISS, SULLIVAN BALLOU, ISAAC RODMAN & ISAAC STEVENS

CAMP 7 SLIDE STRIP

This site is managed by: Paul Cairao, Assistant Camp 7 Webmaster ©All Rights Reserved, 1877, 1881, 1888, 1893, 1909, 1926, 1954, 1993, 2009

Camp 7 also proudly carries on the tradition welcoming the Adjutant General
of the R.I. National Guard as Honorary SUVCW member.

BACK TO THE ORIGINAL CAMP7
SITE ENTRY PAGE HERE
To see our Links to
RI MOLLUS, "Rhode Island's Own" (Biographies & War Papers)
Auxiliary 2 and the RI GAR Civil War Museum

Click The Camp 7 Button
To Return To The Main Camp 7 Home Page.
Click Our Left Blue Website Links Navigator To See All Our Pages.

Click Your Top Tool Bar "Back Button"
If You Leave The Camp 7 Website
And Return To Our Camp 7 Site "Entry" Page
Then Re-enter To Continue Surfing Our Site
"All For The Union" & "The Grand Old Fellows In Blue"
Thank You For Stopping By
Hope You Enjoyed Surfing Our Site
Let Us Know
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{Return To The Top of This Page}

~ CREDITS ~
We wish to thank Brother/Companion Keith G. Harrison, Past National SUVCW Commander-in-Chief and, current National SUVCW and MOLLUS Webmaster, as well as all the artists/musicians for the use of their music on all the pages in our site. Viewers of this Internet Site may copy only the material designated with a mouse-over copy bar.

Thanks also to Robert Hunt Rhodes for allowing us to use some of his material about his ancestor, Elisha Hunt Rhodes and to Ken Burns for featuring E.H. Rhodes and our State's Civil War History in his PBS series on The Civil War. And a special thanks to Edwin Bearrs, David McCullough, Brian Pohanka, Jeff Shaara and Ron Maxwell for their support for Rhode Island Civil War History and raising the American conscience about the triumphs and tragidies of the Great War of the Rebellion 1861 to 1865.

A special thanks also to Keith Laurent for arranging and playing
Jay Ungar's Ashokan Farewell
©1983 by Swinging Door Music-BMI
Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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