Patriot Guard Stop By Garryowen On A Special Mission

By Max Fitsimmons Custer Battlefield Museum Intern · Originally published October 2016 · p. 10

GARRYOWEN, MONT.—The Town of Garryowen, home of the Custer Battlefield Museum, received very special guests on a hot and sunny day on Wednesday, August 3. The Patriot Guard of Montana, escorted by the Montana Highway Patrol, arrived in Historic Garryowen to gas up and cool down on their long journey across Montana as they assisted in escorting the cremated remains of Private Jewett Williams, a Civil War veteran, back to his hometown. Williams was born in Maine but died in the Oregon State Hospital in 1922. He was forgotten for 94 years, but thanks to the work of the Patriot Guard along with local and state officials in Oregon and Maine, Private Jewett Williams will finally return home. The Patriot Guard chapters of 19 states will escort the ashes of Private Williams 3,200 miles to Maine. His journey will end at Togus National Veterans Cemetery in Chelsea, Maine where other members of the 20th Maine are buried. Born in Hodgson, Maine in 1844, Williams was a member of the famous 20th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment. Anyone interested in the Civil War or the Battle of Gettysburg knows about the 20th Maine and its contributions to the Union. On July 3, 1863, during the Battle of Gettysburg, the 20th Maine’s defense of Little Roundtop saving the Union’s left flank, stopping the Confederate forces from sweeping into the rear of the Union army, and ultimately helped win the battle for the Union. In October 1864, Private Jewett Williams signed up with the 20th Maine, and although he didn’t fight at the 20th Maine’s most famous battle, he still fought in many battles including the Siege of Petersburg. He was also present at the surrender ceremony at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, in April 1865. After the war, he remarried twice and moved from Maine to Michigan to Minnesota to Oregon. A 1920 census put Williams as a widower in Portland, Oregon. In April 1922 he was admitted to the Oregon State Hospital for the Insane in Salem, Oregon due to his increasing dementia. Three months later he died of cerebral arteriosclerosis, which is a thickening and hardening of the walls of the arteries in the brain, at the age of 78. Williams’ remains would’ve been left alone and forgotten had it not been for the work of historian Thomas Desjardin. Desjardin came across Williams’ records in 2015 during his research on the lives of the soldiers of the 20th Maine. Meanwhile, in Oregon, public officials have been working since 2004 to identify almost 3,400 urns found in a shed on the Oregon State Hospital property. As well as identifying the remains, officials have been creating biographies about them and trying to find any living relatives of the deceased. Desjardin came across Williams’ biography during his research and recommended to the Governor of Maine during a cabinet meeting that they should work to bring back this fallen soldier and give him the proper military burial he deserves. Helping bring Williams back home is the Patriot Guard. The Patriot Guard is a national organization of motorcyclists that offers escort services for “Fallen Military Heroes, First Responders, and Honorably Discharged Veterans” as stated on their website. They were first formed in 2005 after the Westboro Baptist Church announced they were going to picket and protest the funeral of a soldier. The Patriot Guard is primarily made up of veterans and other like-minded individuals who believe that the fallen soldiers, law enforcement officers, and firefighters of America should be honored and taken care of. On August 1st, the Patriot Guard of Oregon began the escort services and on August 3rd the Patriot Guard of Montana received the ashes of Private Williams at the Idaho-Montana border. They escorted it to Billings where Wes Lambert, a former captain of the Patriot Guard, and Bob Newman, the Eastern Assistant State Captain and other Patriot Guard riders received the remains and will complete the last leg of the journey to the Wyoming border where they will turn over the ashes to the Wyoming Patriot Guard. As Wes Lambert said, “This is one of the greatest honors that the Patriot Guard have and as a member, I am very proud and honored to be part of the cross country escort.” The Patriot Guard hopes to get the ashes of Jewett Williams to Togus National Veterans Cemetery by August 22nd. Togus National Veterans Cemetery has been closed to new internments since 1961, but it is being reopened for Jewett Williams due to his exceptional circumstances and the fact that a number of soldiers from the 20th Maine are also buried there. Thanks to the service and commitment of Patriot Guard members like Wes Lambert and Bob

Newman, the cremated remains of Private Jewett Williams will finally be getting the full military burial and honors he so richly deserved. For info visit Patriot Guard’s website at www.patriotguard.org