The Thompson Building - Ypsilanti's Depot Town Civil War-Era Treasure Destroyed by Fire

Ypsilanti, Michigan’s Thompson Building was built in 1861 and, in 1862, began serving as army barracks for the 14th and 27th Michigan Infantries during the Civil War. Company E of the 17th Michigan Infantry stayed in the building before going to Detroit to muster in with the rest of the regiment in August of 1862. They were known as The Normal School Company because over half of them were students at what is now Eastern Michigan University. Many Union soldiers called the Thompson Building "home" as they awaited transport on the nearby Michigan Central railroad to the battlefields in the south.

The Thompson Building in 1862. Courtesy of the Ypsilanti Historical Society.

The Thompson Building today.

After the Civil War, the O.E. Thompson & Sons Company purchased the building in 1869 to serve as a paint shop. Over the years, the company manufactured and sold nine lines of products, including wheelbarrow grass spreaders. In 1880, the Thompson Hardware Store was established here which, among other things, became the first place to sell bicycles in the Ypsilanti area. It then became the city's first fire station in 1895 before becoming the first Dodge Brothers car dealership in 1916.

The Thompson Building in 1862. Courtesy of the Ypsilanti Historical Society.


The Thompson Building today.

In the 1960s, the “Thompson Block” fell into neglect and became vacant soon after. That is all I remember of the building … a sad, empty, rapidly decaying reminder of its illustrious past.

In 2006, the Beal Group began a $3.5 million restoration project on the property for its use as condominiums and shops. On September 23, 2009, the property was destroyed by fire. Preliminary reports indicate that the cause of the fire has been deemed "suspicious".





The building is located at the northeast corner of River Avenue and East Cross Street in Ypsilanti, Michigan's historic Depot Town district.

Historic photos and historical data courtesy of the Ypsilanti Historical Society and Dave Tennies.

Abner Delos Austin's Civil War Memorial Re-dedication Ceremony ... a Wonderful Day to Remember!!

On Sunday, September 13, 2009, a memorial service took place at Clarenceville Cemetery in Livonia, Michigan at the gravesite of my Great Great Grandfather, Abner Delos Austin. The ceremony was coordinated by local Civil War reenactors and was attended by approximately 40 guests along with my father, Edward V. Austin of Wauseon, Ohio, and my husband Jason Scarcelli. It was a glorious afternoon that was warm in more ways than one; warm with the Indian summer sun and with the full hearts of everyone who attended.

The ceremony featured a musket volley and a bugler providing a flawless and moving performance of “Taps”. Also as part of the event, I sang “God Bless America” in honor of my ancestor and recited Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain’s famous “In great deeds something abides” address from 1889. The Livonia Police Department graciously provided us with security and members of the local press were on hand to cover the event.

One local gentleman, a World War II veteran and descendant of Civil War soldier Casey Krueger, read about the ceremony in the Canton Observer newspaper and decided to come out and show his respect. And a wonderful surprise was getting the chance to meet Sue Daniel, chairman of the Livonia Historical Commission, who attended so that she could share with me that Abner’s foster mother, Eliza Shaw Milroy, was part of a prominent 19th century Livonia family and that the Shaw family home is at Greenmead Historical Park in Livonia! She also mentioned that the historical commission is in the process of reading and documenting a Shaw family diary and that she would like to share with me the findings … particularly if there are any mentions of Abner! How exciting!!

But the highlights of the ceremony were the addresses given by two gentlemen who have become dear friends of mine and whom I am very blessed to know. Mike Gillett, Chaplain of the Fort Wayne Battalion, an umbrella group of Michigan Civil War reenactors, spoke and provided the prayer. Living historian Dave Tennies, portraying Michigan Senator Jacob Howard, was also a keynote speaker. Both Mike and Dave spoke about Abner as if they knew him personally. Their words were deeply touching.

In many ways, I couldn't help but sense Abner's presence while Mike and Dave spoke. It was a wonderful feeling! Surely, if he was watching and listening, he was pleased.

Words cannot express how honored I am that so many wonderful people would take time out of their busy schedules to memorialize my Great Great Grandfather. To everyone who attended: Mike and Karen Gillette, Dave Tennies, Jim Cary, Ken Collier, Mike Parr, Pam Setla, Rick Danes, Andy Assenmacher, Rebecca Assenmacher, Drew Assenmacher Jr., Sue Daniel, Celestine and Robert Hollings, Bennie Lattimer, Bill Bresler, my friends from the 17th, 21st, and 24th Michigan Infantry reenactors, the Michigan Soldiers Aid Society, Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War, Junior ROTC/Marines, Greenmead Historical Museum -- and especially my Dad and Jason -- thank you for sharing this wonderful day with me. I will never forget it!! I am so blessed!

Thank you Mike Gillett and Dave Tennies for coordinating this tremendous event in honor of my ancestor. To everyone who made this day possible ... THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart!!!

“Why we’re here today isn’t because Abner Austin was unique,” Mike said during the memorial ceremony. “Rather, he was pretty typical. His uniqueness comes from the fact that his story is being told. But for those soldiers whose stories have not been told, our goal should be, in the words of Hamlet, that each grave shall have a living monument.”

His name may not appear in most history books but Abner Delos Austin is an American hero who will never be forgotten. In all that I do, I strive to be that living monument!

You can click below to read the wonderful story written by reporter Karen Smith for the Livonia Observer newspaper, with beautiful photos by staff photographer Bill Bresler.

http://www.hometownlife.com/article/20090920/NEWS10/909200458/1027/40+attend+memorial+for+Civil+War+soldier

Photos courtesy of Bill Bresler and Jason Scarcelli.

Civil War Memorial Re-dedication Ceremony for Abner Delos Austin

Today, we will gather at Clarenceville Cemetery in Livonia, Michigan to pay tribute to my Great Great Grandfather Abner Delos Austin (and all Civil War veterans like him) for his service to his country.

Please click the link below for a story about Abner from today's Canton Observer newspaper.

http://www.hometownlife.com/article/20090913/NEWS27/909130515/1020/NEWS03/Civil%20War%20veteran%20to%20be%20remembered%20Sunday

Memorial Day 2009

Today, after singing the Star Spangled Banner and God Bless America at the at the Canton, Michigan Memorial Day ceremony, I made my annual trip to Clarenceville Cemetery in Livonia, Michigan to place a flag and memorial on the grave of my hero, my Great Great Grandfather Abner Delos Austin, in whose honor I created this blog.

God bless all of our American heroes.

"Faded Coat of Blue" Now Available!

At long last, the first song on my new CD, "Daughter of the 24th Michigan" has been released. The song is available for purchase now at iTunes, Amazon.com, CDFreedom.com, and NimbitMusic.com, and will be available soon at Rhapsody, Napster, Livewire, Groupie Tunes, and eMusic.

In the meantime, you can click below to listen in streaming audio.



I was inspired to record this song after visiting Gettysburg, Pennsylvania in the summer of 2008, during the 145th anniversary of the famous American Civil War battle that took place there on July 1 - 3, 1863. 51,000 Americans were casualties in three days of the bloodiest fighting in our nation's history. This was the place where, as teenage boys, my Great Great Grandfather and his brother fought bravely for the Union and tracing their footsteps across those killing fields had a tremendously profound impact on me. I was struck by the magnitude of their good fortune to have survived yet burned indelibly into my mind were the images of the thousands of those who were not so fortunate ... many of whom still lie in nameless graves.

"Faded Coat of Blue (The Nameless Grave)" was originally written by John Hugh McNaughton in the later days of the Civil War in 1864. The song relates the grief of a mother whose son, a Union solider, has been killed in battle and buried on the field by his comrades. The lyrics of this song will seem to some, at first glance, remarkably maudlin if not downright morbid. But one must understand that this song poignantly reflects an America in mourning and the utter despair that gripped our nation, both north and south, during and after the Civil War.

Walt Whitman said: "Future years will never know the seething hell and the black infernal background of (the Civil War); and it is best they should not — the real war will never get in the books." It is, however, through old songs such as this that we get at least a partial glimpse of what it was like to lose a loved one among the nearly 700,000 dead ... more than all other American wars combined. "Faded Coat of Blue" is not a modern-day songwriter's interpretation of the horrors our ancestors faced as the Civil War was winding to a close. This is THEIR experience in THEIR own words.

"Faded Coat of Blue" was first recorded on January 1, 1928 by Kentucky ballad singer Buell Kazee and was later popularized by The Carter Family, who recorded it for Victor in 1934. However, the Carter version is not the actual "Faded Coat of Blue" that appears in the original 1864 McNaughton composition. Instead, the Carter recording uses the melody from the "Darling Nelly Gray" folksong for the verse and another obscure folk-tune for the chorus.

Most recordings of "Faded Coat of Blue" after 1934 have followed in the tradition of the Carters' version. My version is based on the original composition, with the addition of the final "Long years have vanished" verse that appears in the 1928 Buell Kazee recording. I also added strains of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic", a Union rallying tune, in the intro and outro. With my arrangement, I felt it was important to stay true to Mr. McNaughton's postbellum sentiment by including all of the original lyrics but presented within a 21st century musicality that I hope might attract new listeners. Lest we forget: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." (George Santayana, 1905)

Words and Music by John Hugh McNaughton. Copyright 1864 / 1865 Penn and Remington (in the public domain).

Recorded, mixed, and mastered at Daystar Recording Studio, Starke, FL and Snowdog Studio, Canton, MI. Arranged, produced, and engineered by Alex Coleman and Kristina Austin Scarcelli.

Kristina Austin Scarcelli - Lead and Background Vocals, Flute
Alex Coleman - Piano, Guitars, Bass and Drums

(Verse 1)
My brave lad, he sleeps in his faded coat of blue
In a lonely grave unknown lies the heart that beat so true
He sank faint and hungry among the famish'd brave
And they laid him sad and lonely within his nameless grave

(Verse 2)
He cried, "Give me water and just one little crumb
And my mother she will bless you through all the years to come
Oh! tell my sweet sister, so gentle, good and true
That I'll meet her up in heaven, in my faded coat of blue"

(Chorus 1)
No more the bugle calls the weary one
Rest, noble spirit in thy grave unknown
I'll find you and know you among the good and true
When a robe of white is given for your faded coat of blue

(Verse 3)
He said, "My dear comrades, you cannot take me home,
But you'll mark my grave for mother, she'll find me if she come,
I fear she'll not know me among the good and true
When I meet her up in heaven in my faded coat of blue."

(Verse 4)
No dear one was nigh him to close his sweet blue eyes
And no gentle one was by him to give him sweet replies
No stone marks the lonely sod o'er my lad, so brave and true
In his lonely grave he sleeps in his faded coat of blue

(Chorus 2)
No more the bugle calls the weary one
Rest, noble spirit in thy grave unknown
I'll find you and know you among the good and true
When a robe of white is given for your faded coat of blue

(Verse 5)
Long years have vanished, and though he comes no more
Yet my anxious heart will start with each footfall at my door
I gaze at the hilltop where he waved his last adieu
But no gallant lad I see, in his faded coat of blue

(Chorus 3)
No more the bugle calls the weary one
Rest, noble spirit in thy grave unknown
I'll find you and know you among the good and true
When a robe of white is given for your faded coat of blue

Source: Lyle Lofgren, "Inside Bluegrass", August 1998

Happy Birthday, President Lincoln!

"This dust was once the Man,
Gentle, plain, just and resolute—under whose cautious hand,
Against the foulest crime in history known in any land or age,
Was saved the Union of These States."

-- Walt Whitman

This past weekend, we attended the 200th Birthday Party for President Abraham Lincoln at the Plymouth Historical Museum in Plymouth, Michigan. Also attending with President and Mrs. Lincoln were Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Michigan Senator Jacob Howard, Mr. Lincoln's Honor Guard of Union soldiers, and even a Rebel. Here are just a few of the pictures we took.

Fife and drum play for President Lincoln's birthday.

Taking a Rebel prisoner.

Marching the prisoner off to the stockade.

Johnny Reb and Billy Yank sharing a laugh.

President Lincoln chatting with some young fans.

President Lincoln giving his famous Gettysburg Address.

Chaplain Mike Gillett, Michigan Senator Jacob Howard, me, and President Abraham Lincoln. Happy Birthday, Mr. President!

24th Michigan Volunteer Infantry exhibit.

Photos of various soldiers from Company C, 24th Michigan Volunteer Infantry.

Austin Families Association of America Features Abner Delos Austin

Today I received word that the Austin Families Association of America has featured Abner Delos Austin's life story on the front page of its December 2008 newsletter. It is a tremendous honor and I am extremely grateful.

On behalf of all of Abner's descendants, my sincerest thanks to Alice Austin Martin, Jim Carlin, and the rest of the AFAOA directors for making this possible!