J. R. Kealoha (died March 5, 1877) was an American Union Army soldier of Native Hawaiian descent. Considered one of the "Hawaiʻi Sons of the Civil War", he was among a group of more than one hundred documented Native Hawaiian and Hawaiʻi-born combatants who fought in the American Civil War while the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi was still an independent nation.
Kealoha enlisted in the 41st United States Colored Infantry, a USC regiment formed in Pennsylvania. Participating in the Siege of Petersburg, he and another Hawaiian soldier met the Hawaiʻi-born Colonel Samuel Chapman Armstrong, who recorded their encounter in a letter home. With the 41st USCT, Kealoha was present at the surrender of Confederate General Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865. After the war, Kealoha returned to Hawaiʻi. He died on March 5, 1877, and was buried in an unmarked grave in Honolulu's Oʻahu Cemetery.
The legacy and contributions of Kealoha and other Hawaiian participants in the American Civil War were largely forgotten except in the private circles of descendants and historians, but in later years there was a revival of interest in the Hawaiian community. In 2010, these "Hawaiʻi Sons of the Civil War" were commemorated with a bronze plaque erected along the memorial pathway at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu. In 2014, through another local effort, a grave marker was dedicated over J. R. Kealoha's burial site, which had remained unmarked for 137 years.
The marker was formally dedicated and unveiled on October 25, 2014. Dressed in period costumes, members of the Hawaiʻi Civil War Round Table and others took part in the dedication ceremony at Oʻahu Cemetery. The ceremony was marked by military honors and a gun salute by a unit of Civil War re-enactors. Hawaiian minister Kahu Silva presided over the dedication ceremony, and in accordance with traditional Hawaiian customs, the consecrated marker was adorned with a sacred maile lei and a koa branch, representing "Kealoha's noble qualities of bravery, courage and valor." The marker is inscribed with his name, regiment, death date, and the Hawaiian and English text: "He Koa Hanohano, a brave and honorable soldier".
Other Hawaiian veterans of the Civil War are honored in Honolulu's National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific with a bronze memorial plaque that was erected in 2010 in recognition of the "Hawaiʻi Sons of the Civil War", the more than one hundred documented Hawaiians who served with the Union and the Confederacy. As of 2014, researchers have identified 119 documented Hawaiian and Hawaiʻi-born combatants from historical records. The exact number remains unclear because of the lack of records.Of the 48 identified Native Hawaiian combatants, including James Wood Bush and Henry Hoʻolulu Pitman, Kealoha is the only one buried in Hawaii whose gravesite is known. According to Hawaiian news reporter Chelsea Davis, Kealoha has come to "represents all the men of Hawaii who took up arms in America's Civil War but who have been forgotten."
Kealoha enlisted in the 41st United States Colored Infantry, a USC regiment formed in Pennsylvania. Participating in the Siege of Petersburg, he and another Hawaiian soldier met the Hawaiʻi-born Colonel Samuel Chapman Armstrong, who recorded their encounter in a letter home. With the 41st USCT, Kealoha was present at the surrender of Confederate General Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865. After the war, Kealoha returned to Hawaiʻi. He died on March 5, 1877, and was buried in an unmarked grave in Honolulu's Oʻahu Cemetery.
The legacy and contributions of Kealoha and other Hawaiian participants in the American Civil War were largely forgotten except in the private circles of descendants and historians, but in later years there was a revival of interest in the Hawaiian community. In 2010, these "Hawaiʻi Sons of the Civil War" were commemorated with a bronze plaque erected along the memorial pathway at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu. In 2014, through another local effort, a grave marker was dedicated over J. R. Kealoha's burial site, which had remained unmarked for 137 years.
The marker was formally dedicated and unveiled on October 25, 2014. Dressed in period costumes, members of the Hawaiʻi Civil War Round Table and others took part in the dedication ceremony at Oʻahu Cemetery. The ceremony was marked by military honors and a gun salute by a unit of Civil War re-enactors. Hawaiian minister Kahu Silva presided over the dedication ceremony, and in accordance with traditional Hawaiian customs, the consecrated marker was adorned with a sacred maile lei and a koa branch, representing "Kealoha's noble qualities of bravery, courage and valor." The marker is inscribed with his name, regiment, death date, and the Hawaiian and English text: "He Koa Hanohano, a brave and honorable soldier".
Other Hawaiian veterans of the Civil War are honored in Honolulu's National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific with a bronze memorial plaque that was erected in 2010 in recognition of the "Hawaiʻi Sons of the Civil War", the more than one hundred documented Hawaiians who served with the Union and the Confederacy. As of 2014, researchers have identified 119 documented Hawaiian and Hawaiʻi-born combatants from historical records. The exact number remains unclear because of the lack of records.Of the 48 identified Native Hawaiian combatants, including James Wood Bush and Henry Hoʻolulu Pitman, Kealoha is the only one buried in Hawaii whose gravesite is known. According to Hawaiian news reporter Chelsea Davis, Kealoha has come to "represents all the men of Hawaii who took up arms in America's Civil War but who have been forgotten."
J. R. Kealoha (died March 5, 1877) was an American Union Army soldier of Native Hawaiian descent. Considered one of the "Hawaiʻi Sons of the Civil War", he was among a group of more than one hundred documented Native Hawaiian and Hawaiʻi-born combatants who fought in the American Civil War while the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi was still an independent nation.
Kealoha enlisted in the 41st United States Colored Infantry, a USC regiment formed in Pennsylvania. Participating in the Siege of Petersburg, he and another Hawaiian soldier met the Hawaiʻi-born Colonel Samuel Chapman Armstrong, who recorded their encounter in a letter home. With the 41st USCT, Kealoha was present at the surrender of Confederate General Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865. After the war, Kealoha returned to Hawaiʻi. He died on March 5, 1877, and was buried in an unmarked grave in Honolulu's Oʻahu Cemetery.
The legacy and contributions of Kealoha and other Hawaiian participants in the American Civil War were largely forgotten except in the private circles of descendants and historians, but in later years there was a revival of interest in the Hawaiian community. In 2010, these "Hawaiʻi Sons of the Civil War" were commemorated with a bronze plaque erected along the memorial pathway at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu. In 2014, through another local effort, a grave marker was dedicated over J. R. Kealoha's burial site, which had remained unmarked for 137 years.
The marker was formally dedicated and unveiled on October 25, 2014. Dressed in period costumes, members of the Hawaiʻi Civil War Round Table and others took part in the dedication ceremony at Oʻahu Cemetery. The ceremony was marked by military honors and a gun salute by a unit of Civil War re-enactors. Hawaiian minister Kahu Silva presided over the dedication ceremony, and in accordance with traditional Hawaiian customs, the consecrated marker was adorned with a sacred maile lei and a koa branch, representing "Kealoha's noble qualities of bravery, courage and valor." The marker is inscribed with his name, regiment, death date, and the Hawaiian and English text: "He Koa Hanohano, a brave and honorable soldier".
Other Hawaiian veterans of the Civil War are honored in Honolulu's National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific with a bronze memorial plaque that was erected in 2010 in recognition of the "Hawaiʻi Sons of the Civil War", the more than one hundred documented Hawaiians who served with the Union and the Confederacy. As of 2014, researchers have identified 119 documented Hawaiian and Hawaiʻi-born combatants from historical records. The exact number remains unclear because of the lack of records.Of the 48 identified Native Hawaiian combatants, including James Wood Bush and Henry Hoʻolulu Pitman, Kealoha is the only one buried in Hawaii whose gravesite is known. According to Hawaiian news reporter Chelsea Davis, Kealoha has come to "represents all the men of Hawaii who took up arms in America's Civil War but who have been forgotten."
Kealoha enlisted in the 41st United States Colored Infantry, a USC regiment formed in Pennsylvania. Participating in the Siege of Petersburg, he and another Hawaiian soldier met the Hawaiʻi-born Colonel Samuel Chapman Armstrong, who recorded their encounter in a letter home. With the 41st USCT, Kealoha was present at the surrender of Confederate General Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865. After the war, Kealoha returned to Hawaiʻi. He died on March 5, 1877, and was buried in an unmarked grave in Honolulu's Oʻahu Cemetery.
The legacy and contributions of Kealoha and other Hawaiian participants in the American Civil War were largely forgotten except in the private circles of descendants and historians, but in later years there was a revival of interest in the Hawaiian community. In 2010, these "Hawaiʻi Sons of the Civil War" were commemorated with a bronze plaque erected along the memorial pathway at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu. In 2014, through another local effort, a grave marker was dedicated over J. R. Kealoha's burial site, which had remained unmarked for 137 years.
The marker was formally dedicated and unveiled on October 25, 2014. Dressed in period costumes, members of the Hawaiʻi Civil War Round Table and others took part in the dedication ceremony at Oʻahu Cemetery. The ceremony was marked by military honors and a gun salute by a unit of Civil War re-enactors. Hawaiian minister Kahu Silva presided over the dedication ceremony, and in accordance with traditional Hawaiian customs, the consecrated marker was adorned with a sacred maile lei and a koa branch, representing "Kealoha's noble qualities of bravery, courage and valor." The marker is inscribed with his name, regiment, death date, and the Hawaiian and English text: "He Koa Hanohano, a brave and honorable soldier".
Other Hawaiian veterans of the Civil War are honored in Honolulu's National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific with a bronze memorial plaque that was erected in 2010 in recognition of the "Hawaiʻi Sons of the Civil War", the more than one hundred documented Hawaiians who served with the Union and the Confederacy. As of 2014, researchers have identified 119 documented Hawaiian and Hawaiʻi-born combatants from historical records. The exact number remains unclear because of the lack of records.Of the 48 identified Native Hawaiian combatants, including James Wood Bush and Henry Hoʻolulu Pitman, Kealoha is the only one buried in Hawaii whose gravesite is known. According to Hawaiian news reporter Chelsea Davis, Kealoha has come to "represents all the men of Hawaii who took up arms in America's Civil War but who have been forgotten."
Inscription
He Koa Hanohano
