Cove honors Civil War veterans

New monument to be unveiled at Memorial Park on Saturday

MARTINSBURG -- When it came time to pick a topic for her fifth grade Civil War history report, Maci Roush didn't have to look very far.

Her great-great-grandfather, Corporal J. Levi Roush, is Blair County's first Congressional Medal of Honor recipient and a decorated veteran of the Battle of Gettysburg.

"Back then, my classmates weren't that impressed, but my teachers were," Roush, now 22, said with a laugh. "It's all very intriguing and definitely opens up a different perspective on the war."

On her class' subsequent field trip to the battlefield, Roush saw firsthand where, in 1863, her relative and five other Union volunteers stormed a log cabin filled with Confederate sharpshooters near Devil's Den, forcing them to surrender.

After the war ended in 1865, J. Levi Roush returned home to McKee Gap, healed from a gunshot wound to his face, and returned to work as a laborer. He and his wife Mary raised nine children before he was killed in a work-related accident in 1906.

He is one of 70 men from the Morrisons Cove area who fought for the Union at Gettysburg and contributed to an eventual victory over Southern forces. A new monument at the entrance to Morrison's Cove Memorial Park in Martinsburg will be unveiled on Saturday to honor that group of local men for their bravery and sacrifice.

"This is to remember those that fought and to learn from our history, not to destroy it and not to repeat the bad parts of it," said Randy Stoltz, a Martinsburg resident who published the book,"Civil War and the Hearts of Morrisons Cove," in 2019.

A former borough manager with a love of living history, Stoltz, 66, began researching Civil War veterans with local connections about a decade ago. To make an accurate list of names, he meticulously scoured newspaper clippings, cemetery records, census records and a 1934 park dedication booklet he bought off of eBay. He also asked for community input.

He was able to cross reference sources to verify name spellings and other personal information with the long term goal of assembling that information in one place.

"It was always a side hobby while I was working, but when I retired I finally got my book done and this memorial was second on my list," Stoltz explained.

Stoltz estimated that 1,032 men from the Cove fought in the Civil War and had a presence in nine of the 10 bloodiest battles.

Most were about 20 years old at the time with some as young as 15, Stoltz added.

"There were some accounts of visitors (to the Cove) asking 'Where are all the men?'" he said, adding that Pennsylvania contributed the second-highest number of soldiers to the Civil War after New York, leaving many Cove towns noticeably vacant.

"Williamsburg went first, then Martinsburg went," he explained. "Some of these guys even went several times. They would go in for 90 days, get out and then go again."

According to Stoltz, the 3-ton concrete memorial features 70 names etched on a black polished granite slab framed by six rectangular-shaped stones, which originated from the Gettysburg National Military Park.

The stones were gifted to the borough by the federal government in the early 1900s as part of another memorial that's since been restored, Stoltz said. Those stones were removed and placed in storage until Stoltz learned about them through his research and requested them.

"I explained their significance and ... one morning when I arrived at work, the stones were stacked at my office door," he said.

Stoltz then started applying for grant funding and soliciting input from his friend, Charlie Doutt, an avid Civil War reenactor and historian from Roaring Spring. They estimated the memorial would cost about $15,000, even with volunteers contributing manpower.

The Sons of the Union Veterans of the Civil War and the Blair County Department of Parks and Recreation contributed money and when Doutt suddenly passed away last January, his friends and family stepped up to financially support the project in his memory.

Maci Roush's father, Bryan Roush, of Roaring Spring, believes Doutt would be happy with the result and the community will, too.

"It's beautiful," said Bryan Roush. "Randy (Stoltz) can be commended for the job he did."

Bryan Roush, 52, plans to attend the ceremony with other descendants of the veterans and help unveil the impressive structure.

Civil War reenactors from the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War and the 2nd U.S. Cavalry Co. A will be on hand to perform a rifle salute, and the 46th PA Regiment Logan Guard band from Altoona will perform.

"No one today has a clue what these people really went through," Bryan Rousch said. "It's hard to believe how brave they were just to leave home and go out to fight. Then they came home and just had to move on."

According to Jared Frederick, a professor of history at Penn State Altoona, there are two other Civil War monuments in Blair County -- one in the Fairview Cemetery and one in front of the Blair County Courthouse.

Frederick, who specializes in Civil War history, said the controversy surrounding Confederate monuments and their destruction in the South proves that the conflict still resonates with many Americans.

A new memorial will bring more local connections to light and spark conversation among future generations, especially when they see familiar last names, he added.

"For Pennsylvanians to honor their Union ancestors, it's very fitting and timely," he said. "The memorials honor our local sons who didn't want to see democracy be destroyed … It was a call to arms that we rarely see (in history). They knew their future was at stake."