Confederate Soldier to be Honored in Wyoming

Former Reb soldier’s plot will get new Confederate grave marker

John C. Hunton, the first president of the Wyoming Pioneer Association, will be honored with the unveiling of a new confederate grave marker September 10 in Cheyenne.

Before arriving in Wyoming, Hunton served in the Virginia Infantry for the Confederate Army. He served at Harper’s Ferry and Gettysburg, and was in service when General Lee surrendered at Appomattox. Also, for a time, Hunton was a prisoner of war.

Hunton then traveled to Wyoming Territory where he became a freighter, road house owner, cattleman, community leader and fort sutler.

The Wyoming Pioneer Association originally met in 1884 but wasn’t officially organized until December 1925. The first annual meeting was held September 15, 1926, and Hunton was elected president. However, over the years, Hunton’s grave site was not marked correctly.

Festivities begin at 10 A.M., at the Wyoming National Guard Museum, 624 East Pershing Boulevard. Sharon Field, genealogist and Hunton researcher, will provide a historical background of his life. Also, retired U.S. Army Colonel, Bob Bezek, will share Hunton’s military history.

Following those presentations, the group will travel two blocks to Lakeview Cemetery, 2501 Seymour Avenue for the unveiling of the Hunton grave marker.

Part of the purpose of the Wyoming Pioneer Association includes: to establish a museum (the Wyoming Pioneer Museum in Douglas), to gather and preserve the state history, to perpetuate the names of its early settlers and to locate and mark historical sites.

Read more: Little Chicago Review - Former Reb soldier’s plot will get new Confederate grave marker

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