Civil War veteran to get a new headstone over his grave

Just over 100 years after an American Civil War veteran died a new headstone will be unveiled at a west Auckland cemetery.

Andrew St John was a corporal in the 141st Pennsylvania Infantry and after surviving the war, including the second Battle of Bull Run, he had a distinguished career as a diplomat before retiring to New Zealand in 1894. He died in 1902 and was buried at Waikumete Cemetery near Henderson.

Today United States Consul-General John Desrocher, US war veterans and members of the Auckland RSA were to dedicate a new tombstone just arrived from America, over his grave.

The move brought his granddaughter Winifred Chappell, 97 and living in California, to tears, said Phil McKenna from the US-Consulate in Auckland.

Mr St John was one of only a handful of Civil War veterans buried in New Zealand and his headstone was provided by the American Department of Veterans Affairs.

- NZPA