Infantry soldier stands ready to defend his comrades Ralph Ely Post 127 GAR Memorial
Coe Townshp Cemetery
Shepherd, Isabella County
1861 to 1865"
Located just south of Shepherd, on Old US-27, the Coe Township cemetary GAR Memorial was erected by the members of Ralph Ely Post 150 and W.R.C. 202. The west side relief portrays stacked arms. There is no dedication date found on the monument.
The post is named for a local pioneer that was largely responsible for the successful settlement of this area in the early 1850's. Ralph Ely was what we would call today an overachiever. His first fame came as the builder and owner of a saw mill and grist mill on the Pine River, south of here. The village that came up around the mill was named Elyton, but that didn't stick - it's known as the City of Alma now.
Colonel Ralph Ely
8th Michigan Infantry
Ely was the first postmaster and Village President, showing his penchant for politics and organization. He wasn't afraid to
confront a foe, either in debate or with physical force. He gathered up his friends and neighbors in 1861 and
together they became Company C of the 8th Michigan Volunteer Infantry. Ely, as the guy with all the ideas and
leadership ability, was appointed Company Commander, and given the rank of Captain.
Although wounded in battle at Secessionville, South Carolina, Ely continued to serve in leadership posts throughout the war, rising to regimental and brigade command as the war progressed. He was a regimental Major during the infamous Battle of Antietam in September of 1862. Colonel Ely was mustered out of the Army in 1866. He didn't return to Michigan, but instead tried his luck as a southern citrus farmer. When frost killed his trees near Jacksonville, Florida he returned to Michigan and began serious "politickin!"
He was elected to the Michigan Senate in 1873 and for a time was Michigan's Auditor General. He died in Emmett County on April 14, 1883 and his body was returned to Alma for burial. He is interred at the cemetery next to the Pine River, only a few yards away from where he first constructed a dam to power his mills and begin to settle the Central Michigan area.
