For the first time this Veterans Day, there’ll be a flag and a headstone marking the grave of Civil War veteran Charles W. Goddard.

Goddard, who died in 1927 at the age of 83 and served in the 1st Regiment of the Maine Cavalry, was buried in Portland’s Evergreen Cemetery along with members of his prominent Maine family.

But for unknown reasons, his burial spot was never formally marked. The omission was discovered by Goddard’s great-great-granddaughter, retired nurse Mary Foley of Portland. And, on Nov. 1, a headstone was finally placed on his grave.

“I think it’s wonderful,” Foley said. “I’ll put a flag on it on Veterans Day and Memorial Day.”

Foley began researching her lineage after retiring from Maine Medical Center. She knew there was a family connection to the Goddard Mansion in Fort Williams Park in Cape Elizabeth. Her research eventually showed that her great-great-great grandfather was Col. John Goddard, a Civil War veteran and businessman who hired architect Charles A. Alexander to build the mansion using local stone.

The Goddard Mansion, completed in 1859, was later acquired by the federal government and converted to housing for officers. Today the mansion is in ruins, but the facade and some walls still stand. It is now fenced off because it’s not safe for visitors to get close. The mansion is on a “Places in Peril” list, and is recommended to be stabilized so that visitors can walk through.

While researching her family history 10 years ago, Foley applied for membership in the Daughters of American Revolution. She also took a history course from the Maine Historical Society and became a docent at Portland’s Evergreen Cemetery. She learned about Charles Goddard, who was John’s son and her great-great-grandfather.

One day giving a tour at Evergreen, a man told Foley he was looking for the grave of Col. John Goddard. “I said, ‘I can show you where he is, he’s my third great-grandfather.'”

As it turned out, the man was also a descendant and had been doing his own research. He sent Foley 1860’s-era portraits of the family, and of the father and two sons in their Civil War uniforms.

The life of her great-great-grandfather emerged in those pictures. She further discovered that Charles Goddard, who was educated in Portland area schools, enlisted to fight in 1862 when he was 18 years old, joining his father and brother in service.

With his unit, Charles Goddard marched from Maine to New York, then to Maryland. He fought in battles in Frederick County in Maryland. “He did see action,” Foley said. Goddard contracted malaria, which sickened and killed thousands of Union soldiers. Goddard was discharged with a disability in 1863. Despite contracting malaria, he lived a long life and stayed in the Portland area. He worked as a government keeper at Fort Williams and at Diamond Island.

But in his later years he suffered poor health. When he died, he was honored during a military funeral at the former Bosworth Post Hall, which used to be in downtown Portland. A burial followed at Evergreen.

Spending time in the cemetery, Foley noticed there were headstones for Col. Goddard, his wife, their daughters and son, John, but not for Charles. Reviewing plot records for the cemetery, “it’s documented that Charles is buried next to his brother, but there’s nothing there. It almost looks like part of the path,” Foley said. “That’s really sad. He fought in the Civil War.”

That didn’t seem right, she and her daughter agreed. “As a veteran, we feel he should be honored as all veterans should,” Kathryn Foley said.

Kathryn Foley said they don’t know why the grave was not marked the way the other family members’ were.

Kathryn contacted the Veterans Administration asking for a headstone. After providing documentation, the VA provided one.

On Nov. 1, Evergreen Cemetery staff placed the headstone where Charles is buried. The stone reads: Charles W. Goddard, Co. E., 1st Maine Cav., Dec. 10, 1844-Aug. 28, 1927.

Foley found many other military connections in her family history.

Charles W. Goddard’s ancestors were colonial-era patriots. His great-great grandfather, and his great-great-great grandfather were in the Revolutionary War. Both of their names were John Goddard, Foley said. Foley’s father served in World War II, she said.

Leading tours in the Evergreen Cemetery allows her to honor and share the lives who have passed, including those who have served in the military. One of the tours that Foley and others are planning in 2024 is a Civil War tour, showing the Civil War Memorial Circle and veterans’ graves.

“There’s a lot of Civil War veterans buried at Evergreen Cemetery,” Foley said. “They number in the hundreds.”

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