Israel Greene - Grave of a Famous Person on Waymarking.com

Israel Greene's family monument, and separate footstone, are located in Graceland Cemetery, Mitchell, Davison County, South Dakota. Graceland is located west on Cemetery Road, also known as 23rd Avenue, and can be found by proceeding north on Main Street from the "World's Only Corn Palace" to the intersection of Main Street and 23rd Avenue [a/k/a Cemetery Road] at the Mitchell Ford dealership. Head west just past the intersection of 23rd Avenue and Indian Village Road and you will find Graceland Cemetery. Follow the divided main entry road, the second gates to the west, north into the Cemetery to its end. Turn right for several hundred yards. The red Milbank granite monument is to the north of the road and prominently displays the Greene family crest. It's an interesting coincidence, since Greene served with the USMC at Harpers Ferry and then joined the Confederate Marines, that a Grand Army of the Republic [GAR] memorial is about 75 yards to the northwest of the Greene monument. The GAR was limited to Union veterans of the Civil War - or "War of Rebellion" or the "late unpleasantness" as it was sometimes called by the GAR. Both are noted in the images for this waymark.

Description: Under Lt. Israel Greene's command a force of 12 marines with sledgehammers was sent to make a entry into the Harper's Ferry engine house. Two large marines with sledgehammers tried in vain to open the heavy doors. Greene saw a large ladder lying near by and ordered 5 marines on each side of the ladder to ram the door. The door opened on the second attempt and Lewis Washington, grand nephew of George Washington, assisted Lt. Greene in locating John Brown who was preparing to fire a rifle. Lt. Greene struck Brown on the back of his neck with his sword and then thrust it into Brown's side. The abolitionist would have died on the spot if Greene had been wearing a regulation sword however, in his haste Israel Greene had brought his light dress sword which was not as deadly. A New Yorker by birth, a Wisconsinite by rearing, a Virginian by marriage, and a Marine by profession, Greene's services were much sought after when the time came to choose up sides in 1861. Declining appointment both as a lieutenant colonel in the Virginia infantry and as colonel in the Wisconsin militia, Greene accepted a captaincy in the fledgling Confederate States Marine Corps. As a major and Adjutant and Inspector of the Corps he served throughout the war at Confederate Marine headquarters in Richmond until his capture and parole at Farmville, Virginia, in April 1865. Returning to the west, Greene settled in Mitchell, Dakota Territory, now South Dakota, and was a pioneer civil engineer and surveyor. He died in Mitchell in 1909. From: http://www.scuttlebuttsmallchow.com/harferry.html and http://www.marine969.com/johnbrown.htm Date of birth: 01/01/1824 Date of death: 01/01/1909 Area of notoriety: Military Marker Type: Monument Setting: Outdoor Visiting Hours/Restrictions: Sunrise to sunset all year. Fee required?: No Web site: [Web Link]

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