Weekly journal-miner., 1911-09-13
FORD IS
 CLAIMED BY DEATH
Comrades in Arms Bear Grand Army Veteran and Hero of Civil War To
 Grave in Washington, DC.

The following account of the death of Patrick Ford. s former resident of Prescott. taken from a Washing ton. D. (. exchange, will be read with regret by many pioneer res.- dents.
 Patrick Ford Is Dead
 The funeral of Sergt Patrick Ford, seventy. nine years old, founder of three posts of the Grand Army of the Republic. a guard of President Lincoln during the civil war, and one of the prominent veterans in the Soldiers Home. who died yesterday at the Soldiers Home, where he had been gateman for twenty years, will be held at the Park road gate lodge tomorrow morning al l0' clock. In. terment will be in the Home Gene tery. The services will be under the direction of the Henry Wilson Post, q. A. R.. and the pallbearers will be old comrades. His long service gain ed for him the title of "Old War. rior. '
 Sergeant Ford's first enlistment was in 1852, when he went with the Third United States Infantry across the sands of the old santa Fe trail to post in New Mexico, where num- erous battles with the Apache In. dians were fought In one of these conflict. he was seriously wounded; on another occasion during forced march his command had only rice and few beans for seven days.
 Re-enlisted for War.
 Rc.enlisting in Washington in an. other company at the outbreak of the civil war. he was in command of squad of eighteen men who patrolled the headquarters of Gen. Winfield Scott, his command later being de. tailed 10 maintain the strict guard at the front of the White House, chal. lenging all visitors to the grounds. He was again transferred. and with the Army of the Potomac, under Gen. erals Mcdowell, Mcclellan, Burnside, Pope. and Hooker, saw many hard battles. At Antetam he was wound. ed again, later being captured and sent to the Belle Isle Confederate prison. In a journal which be kept he tells of what he saw in Belle Isle. and in Libby prisons. where he also was incarccrated. After being ex. changed he was made sergeant. and saw service until the close of the war. at which time he was trans. ferred to California. From there he was sent to Alaska, in 1867, and was one of the command that took form. al possession of that territory for the United States. At the Soldiers Home it was said he was the ser. geant who lowered the Russian flag and raised the United States flag at the ceremonies. His family was with him in Alaska, and one of his chil. dren, born there in 1867, is said to have been the first white child born Tn Alaska under the American flag.
 Organized Three posts.
 Receiving his discharge, he return. ed to the states, and soon thereafter was admitted to the Home. He or. ganized G. A. R. post in Vaneou. yer, Wash, and organized Barrett post, in Prescott, Ariz. At the Sol. diers' Home he organized Henry wilson post, and wss its commander many terms. Since 1891 he has been Keeper of the Park road gate to the Home grounds, and his figure was a Familiar one about the Home and to thousands of visitorA
 Sergeant Ford met the woman he afterward married, while she wa, serving as army nurse for the sani. tary commission, and he was Iving wounded in New York hospital.
 They were married soon after the close of the civil war. Beside hi, widow, Mrs. Aclestine Ford. he isl survived by a daughter, Mrs. Rather. me Perkins of Nash;n..n. -