Banner for a Civil War Hometown Hero
Dateline: Oct. 22, 2021
When the EDC was contacted a few months ago to produce a Hometown Hero Banner, it was an amazing surprise to learn that the town had a Civil War hero, Captain George W. Gordon. Sometime later, the sponsoring family, represented by Jane Gordon, was surprised to learn that they had relatives they never knew about.
During the initial contact, the EDC offered to sponsor the banner since the veteran was killed in action, but the family respectfully declined the offer.
After the banner vendor, Matt Wieczhalek-Seiler, head of Concord for Hometown Heroes Banners LLC, received the application materials, he visited the family member who had a photo that dated back to the 1860s. He carefully disassembled the antique picture frame and took several digital photos for processing
at the banner shop. The final image is shown to the right.
The family had also supplied some service records they found on a web site called www.fold3.com. George Gordon was born on February 2, 1834 in Rockingham County, New Hampshire and later resided in Allenstown. On April 22, 1861, at age 27, he enlisted in the Union Army as a Sergeant Major for three months and then reenlisted for three years on May 22, 1861.
He was wounded in the Battle of Bull Run in Aug. 1862, and wounded in the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863. By September 1862 he had advanced steadily to the rank of Captain. He was later killed in action, on June 3, 1864 in Cold Harbor, Virginia.
He was survived by his wife, Angeline Streeter Gordon, a daughter, Willetta (referred to as Etta), and a son, George. He is buried in Head's Cemetery, in Hooksett, New Hampshire along with other members of his family.
On the afternoon of Sunday, Oct 17, 2021, 157 years later, a beautiful banner in his honor was installed on the utility pole near Town Hall. This location was chosen to give the banner special prominence because Captain Gordon is the oldest known veteran from Allenstown. Several members of the Gordon and Hutchinson families gathered to watch the installation take place.
The one unexpected surprise that day was when Jane Gordon told us a remarkable story that started when her sister had mentioned the banner to coworkers. One of them surprised her by saying that Captain Gordon was their ancestor too! Thus the Gordon and Hutchinson families discovered that they were related but had never known of each other. One might consider that a surprise blessing to have found one's long lost relatives. That is why both family names appear on the banner.
The first task for Matt Wieczhalek-Seiler was to climb up his 12-foot step ladder and relocate the Town Welcome Banner to the street side of the pole.
The next task was to attach the upper and lower poles, brackets, and retaining clips at the top and bottom of the banner and then fasten the brackets to the utility pole using long stainless steel band clamps. The banner was purposely mounted on the safer, lawn side of the pole.
In between, Matt would stop and answer questions from the family members.
Once the banner was made taught and properly aligned top to bottom, Matt put the step ladder aside and posed with EDC Chairman, Michael Frascinella, under the banner, glad that the installation went well.
Notice that the banner includes two medals awarded to Capt. Gordon: the Purple Heart (wounded in action) and the Gold Star (killed in action).
The last thing to do was to round up all the family members and get them to pose under the banner for their great great grandfather, Captain George W. Gordon.
(L to R) Matt Seiler, Grace (Gordon) Forest, Jane Gordon, William (Billie) Hutchinson Jr., Walter Milano, April (Gordon) Carter
The banner now stood boldly in the afternoon sunlight for all to see and admire.
Let us take pride in the fact that the image of a Civil War veteran now greets all who come to visit Town Hall.
What You Can Do
Do you have a relative in your family whom you would like to honor with a Hometown Hero Banner? Contact the EDC for more information.