The corrected marker is located in Riverside Cemetery in Lindsay, near the Veterans area. It is a memorial marker, Pvt. Buckley having been buried in the US National Cemetery in Marietta GA.
Buckley was born in 1844 in Lindsay, Ontario, Canada. In 1862 he enlisted in the US Union Army, assigned to Company G, 136th New York Infantry. Buckley was based in Avon, NY.
He saw action soon after, and was taken prisoner. After repatriation, he rejoined his regiment.
During the Battle of Peachtree Creek GA in 1864, he was credited with capturing the flag of the 31st Mississippi Regiment, for which he was awarded the US Medal of Honor in 1865.
Buckley was killed in action in 1864 at the Battle of Atlanta. His remains were buried in the US National Cemetery Marietta, GA, under the name BURKLEY.
His Union Army service records contains these details of his actions that earned him a posthumous Medal of Honor:
"Rank and organization: Private, Company G, 136th New York Infantry.
Place and date of ac: At Peach Tree Creek, Ga., 20 July 1864.
Entered service at: Avon, N.Y.
Birth: Canada.
Date of issue: 7 April 1865.
Citation: Capture of flag of 31st Mississippi (C.S.A.)."
The marker text reads:
"DENNIS B BUCKLEY
MEDAL OF HONOR
PVT
US ARMY
JULY 20 1864
EX-POW KIA
GIVE IT TO THEM
EVERY SHOT IS WORTH A COW"
From the Washington Post: (
visit link)
"For One Civil War Soldier, the Correct Name Rights a Wrong
Published March 24, 2006
ATLANTA -- A misspelled letter kept a Canadian who died while fighting for Union forces in the Confederate South during the Civil War from getting a proper headstone.
After 142 years, that is about to change.
Officials at Marietta National Cemetery, outside Atlanta, will unveil a new marble headstone Saturday with Pvt. Dennis Buckley's name and the Medal of Honor inscription he earned for his war service.
Buckley, 21, of Lindsay, Ontario, was buried with his last name misspelled on the headstone as "Burkley" at the government-run cemetery after his death on July 20, 1864, in the Battle of Peachtree Creek.
The error, blamed on unclear handwriting in a cemetery register, also kept Buckley's headstone from getting the Medal of Honor inscription, which he was awarded a year after his death, cemetery director Sandra Beckley said.
The mistake was discovered about six months ago when John DuBois of Caledonia, N.Y., who was doing research on Buckley's unit, the 136th New York Infantry. He found records that listed Buckley as a member and a grave number that matched the grave at the cemetery with Buckley's name misspelled. The cemetery did its own research and confirmed the error.
"Obviously, he didn't have family, or they didn't come to the site to know that it was wrong," Beckley said. "All of our Civil War records are in handwritten script. When you look at all these records, you can see why. The 'c' looked like an 'r.' "
Officials attempted to remove the old headstone, but it crumbled, Beckley said, adding that a temporary marker has been placed at the site until the new headstone with gold lettering is unveiled. The ceremony will include Canadian officials and DuBois. Officials said they are not aware of any living relatives of Buckley.
DuBois said a lot of work went into confirming the mistake, including finding diaries and other documents linking Buckley. "I knew it was him, but I had to prove it," said DuBois, 64, whose grandfather, William E. DuBois, served in the same unit as Buckley.
Research by DuBois indicates Buckley was shot in the head after capturing a Confederate flag.
Misspellings are not confined to the past in this story. A press release from the Department of Veterans Affairs announcing the headstone change incorrectly spelled Lindsay, Ontario, and had the wrong style for DuBois's name, using a lowercase 'b.'
There are more than 18,000 plots at the 23.3-acre Marietta National Cemetery, located in downtown Marietta. Veterans and their spouses dating to the Revolutionary War are buried there.
-- Associated Press"