Honoring Pvt. George W. Gould … For Wreaths Across America 2025, I made the long drive again to Paxton MA to lay a wreath on the grave of my adopted Civil War soldier, Pvt. George W. Gould of the 25th Mass. Vol. Infantry, who sacrificed his life at Cold Harbor in 1864 to save the Union & end human chattel slavery. At the same time, I seek to honor all those who died for our country. There’s a tag on the wreath that tells his story & a QR code link to this website that I created to honor him
I was honored to be invited to present at the event “Our Roots, Our Voices,” a celebration of American History, on Saturday November 8th at 9:30AM in South Hadley MA. Fittingly for the theme of the event, my topic was Resurrecting Lost Voices, the George W. Gould story.
This is an in-progress excerpt from my presentation:
This is the flyer describing the event:
This is the handout I created and distributed at the event:
Resurrecting Lost Voices Handout
As part of their “We the People” series celebrating the 250th birthday of the United States, news anchor Chris Pisano of Western Mass News TV interviewed Stan Prager about the George W. Gould project and the creation of this website honoring him. The segment aired on WMN on September 26, 2025. This is an enhanced version of the video, with corrections to minor errors from the original broadcast:
This video is the original as it was first broadcast:
A link to the story at Western Mass News is here: How One Western Mass Man Honors the Legacy of a Civil War Soldier
Special thanks to Patrick McKeon, a local historian and member of the Leicester Historical Commission, who contributed to this story. I remain extremely grateful to Patrick for his ongoing help and support with this project.
On my Memorial Day visit to Paxton today to honor my adopted Civil War soldier, Pvt. George W. Gould, killed at Cold Harbor in 1864 to save the Union and end human chattel slavery, we first observed the Memorial Day parade and dedication, and George W. Gould’s name was read aloud among the honored dead. Afterwards, I placed a flag on Pvt. Gould’s grave just as the American Legion paid respects with a gun salute and taps. It was very moving. Watch the video for more.
Memorial Day 2025
“Resurrecting Lost Voices” Presentation to the Cape Cod Civil War Roundtable, March 24, 2025
I was honored to be invited to present Resurrecting Lost Voices:The George W. Gould Story via zoom to the Cape Cod Civil War Roundtable. It was a great group, and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. A video version of the presentation is included below:
For Wreaths Across America 2024, I made the long drive again today to Paxton MA to lay a wreath on the grave of my adopted Civil War soldier, Pvt. George W. Gould of the 25th Mass. Vol. Infantry, who sacrificed his life at Cold Harbor in 1864 to save the Union & end human chattel slavery. At the same time, I seek to honor all those who died for our country. As I placed the wreath, the church adjacent to the graveyard began broadcasting Christmas music from the steeple. Very fitting. There’s a tag on the wreath that tells his story & a link to this website that I created to honor him
For Memorial Day, I made the drive again today to Paxton MA to lay a wreath on the grave of my adopted Civil War soldier, Pvt. George W. Gould of the 25th Mass. Vol. Infantry, who sacrificed his life at Cold Harbor in 1864 to save the Union & end human chattel slavery. There’s a tag on the wreath that tells his story & a link to this website that I created to honor him, which hosts his transcribed letters home.
For Wreaths Across America 2023, I made the drive again today to Paxton MA to lay a wreath on the grave of my adopted Civil War soldier, Pvt. George W. Gould of the 25th Mass. Vol. Infantry, who sacrificed his life at Cold Harbor in 1864 to save the Union & end human chattel slavery. At the same time, I seek to honor all those who died for our country. There’s a tag on the wreath that tells his story & a link to this website that I created to honor him
Memorial Day trip to Paxton MA to put a flag on the grave of my adopted Civil War soldier Pvt. George W. Gould who was killed at Cold Harbor in 1864 to save the Union & end human chattel slavery. My visit coincided with the American Legion gun salute & taps, which was very moving. This website, created to host his transcribed wartime letters & to honor his sacrifice, remains a labor of love!
Resurrecting Lost Voices 