| Taps were blown
for the last member of the Samuel T. Hughes Post,
Grand Army of the Republic, of Collinsville, when
Hugh McCugh was laid to rest in St. John’s
cemetery Sunday afternoon. Mr. McCugh, who for
many years kept the records of the local post and
saw his comrades answer the last roll call one by
one, died at 6:30 o’clock last Friday
morning, at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Frank
Patek, 630 Burroughs avenue. With the death of Mr.
McCugh, Samuel T. Hughes Post passes into history
and all that remains are memories and records
– memories of the deeds performed on the
field of battles during the Civil War by its
members and the efforts they put forth to advance
this community, and records of the Post’s
activities, many of them inscrolled with the hand
of Hugh McCugh, the last hand to be made
motionless.
One more entry is
to be made to the records and the final chapter
of the G.A.R. Post will have been written –
Hugh McCugh has been laid to rest.
Mr. McCugh was 91
years old at the time of his death, and would
have been 92 had he lived for 17 more days. He
was born in Hanover, Ohio, on May 6, 1843. He was
educated in Hanover and was graduated from the
high school in that city.
Before the Civil
War broke out, Mr. McCugh entered Mt. Union
College and from college he went into the service
of the Union, enlisting in Company H, 19th
Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, on April 20,
1861, when he was less than 19 years of age. He
served under Gen. McClellan and Gen. Rosecrans in
West Virginia and took part in the Battle of Rich
Mountain, one of the first of the war.
When he was
discharged from this organization, he re-enlisted
in Company K, 115th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He
served as a sergeant, second lieutenant and acted
as quartermaster for his regiment until his final
discharge from the army at Cleveland, Ohio, on
July 7,1865.
Some time after
the war, Mr. McCugh came to Illinois and located
in Madison county. He settled near Edwardsville
and was married to Miss Martha McTeer. He resided
in Collinsville for about 45 years.
Mr. McCugh’s
wife, two sons and one daughter preceded him in
death. Two daughters survive. They are Mrs. Frank
Patek of Collinsville and Mrs. Leo James of East
St. Louis. There are also five grandchildren and
five great-grandchildren.
Funeral services
were conducted at 2 o’clock Sunday afternoon
from the residence of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Patek on
Burroughs avenue to the Methodist Episcopal
church at 2:30 o’clock, Rev. O.B. Kinsey
officiating. Burial at St. John’s cemetery.
Military rites
accompanied the final services for Mr. McCugh.
The Sons of Veterans had charge of the services,
with the Superintendent of the Schools, C.H.
Dorris serving as commander and E.A. Friend as
chaplain. Leighton Evatt Post No. 365, American
Legion, paid honor to Mr. McCugh and its firing
squad took part in the services. Members of the
Daughters of Veterans attended in body.
Pallbearers were
members of the Sons of Veterans, J.G.
Gerstenecker, Dan Turntine, William McCormick,
William Gavin, Charles Thilman and George Turner.
As the body of Mr.
McCugh was laid to rest Charles Thilman blew taps
and from a distance, as if an echo, Chris Menze
repeated the final notes.
Note: Spelling
from Obituary military records states name as
McHugh.
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