The old Eaton Courthouse is now a museum Eaton County Veterans Memorial & GAR Cannon
Charlotte, Eaton County
"In Memory Of All Those Who So Gallantly Served In The Wars of Our Country"
The old Eaton County courthouse is now a museum and the lawn has become a very appropriate spot to visit and spend a few moments of remembrance. The centerpiece monument is the tableau that recognizes two Medal of Honor winners; Ens. Francis Flaherty, USNR and Sgt. Michael Hudson, USMC.
Hudson was a Civil War Marine that performed beyond the standards of the service during a naval battle in Mobile Bay and Flaherty was lost aboard USS Oklahoma on December 7th, 1941 when he remained in a gun turret to assist shipmates as Oklahoma rolled over. Hudson was born in Ireland and part of the huge migration of men and women escaping the famines and poverty of the British Isles for a new life in America. He is buried in a local cemetery. Flaherty was a native of Charlotte and perished on December 7, 1941, aboard the USS Oklahoma.
There is a very strange coincidence that connects these two men. Hudson was not the only man to earn a Medal of
Honor during the Battle of Mobile Bay. The other man, James Ward, US Navy, was aboard the USS Lackawanna and, although
wounded, contributed significantly to the ability of his ship to fight.
GAR Post 40 Cannon
Flaherty lost his life when he chose to stay behind in a turret and hold a flashlight, showing the way to escape through the smoke and confusion for several other men in the compartment. A second man in the turret also stayed with Flaherty to guide those men and also perished with Flaherty. That man was a Seaman First Class . . . and his name was James Ward. It's unlikely that Marine Sgt James Ward of Civil War and Seaman 1st James Ward of the USS Oklahoma are related, but this is one of those oddities that lead us all to ponder just how the odds are calculated!
I've visited other memorials that honor MOH awards, but few are as nicely done as the one here in Charlotte. The A. S. Williams GAR Post #40 marker is nearly illegible and, without some restorative work, will soon be erroded away to nothing. The inscription reads; "Presented to A.S. Williams Post No. 40 Dept of Mich G.A.R. by US Govt. In service of Civil War from 1861 to 1865. This Post dedicates them to the memory of Soldiers and Sailors of Eaton County 1898"
