John A. Beasley is an almost-forgotten footnote in the Civil War. His grave in Hutchinson, Kansas was unmarked for nearly 100 years until distant cousin Jim Converse of Olathe, along with Heath Roland, a member of a Kansas City branch of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, discovered that the soldier never received his free government-issued tombstone — something all veterans of the Civil War were granted if they chose. That tombstone is now in place.
There's little information on this man who Converse said probably grew up the son of a plantation owner in Kentucky. Beasley enlisted in Company I of the 7th Kentucky Cavalry of the Confederate States of America, fighting in Civil War battles until he was captured by Union troops and sent to a prisoner-of-war camp in the North for the remainder of the war.
All other information is lost, Converse said. Perhaps you have information about this man in your family records?
You can read more in The Wichita Eagle at http://www.kansas.com/news/story/921047.html?storylink=pd?storylink=pd.
My thanks to John Matrow for telling me about this story.
