Category. Permanent award.
Authority for the Award.
Department Bylaws Chapter VII, Article III, Section F: This award is awarded as needed by the Department Encampment to municipalities, individuals, or organizations, which demonstrate extraordinary efforts to preserve Monuments, Records, G.A.R. Halls, and Civil War Historical Sites in Kansas. The various Camp Commanders may submit resolutions with recommendations for this award to the Department Encampment.
History of the Award.
This award was created as a permanent award by a resolution adopted from the floor at the Fourth Annual Department Encampment in 2000. The resolution by PDC Dean K. Speaks was “to create the ‘Joseph Walter Memorial Preservation Award’ to be awarded as needed by the Department to Municipalities, Individuals, or Organizations, which demonstrate extra-ordinary efforts to preserve Monuments, Records, G.A.R. Halls, and Civil War Historical Sites in Kansas.”
It was added to the Department Bylaws by the Twenty-Ninth Annual Department Encampment in 2025.
The following is compiled from the Kansas GenWeb website and from Findagrave.com, thanks to research efforts by Brother James D. Thornton.
Joseph Andrew Walter was born in France and came to the United States with his parents while he was still an infant. In August 1861, at fifteen years of age, Joseph Andrew Walter enlisted from Allegheny County Pennsylvania to serve three years in the Civil War, and was mustered in the United States service at Washington DC., Sept. 23, 1861 as private in Company I, and was later transferred to Co. G., 74th Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers. The regiment was mustered into U.S. service Sept. 14, 1861, as the 35th Pennsylvania. He fought at The Battle of Cross Keys, June 8, 1862, Freeman’s Ford and Grovetown, Virginia, which included fighting on the battle line at Gettysburg, for three days, at Chancellorsville and other places. He received a honorable discharge from the service at Grafton, West Virginia on October 17, 1864.
In 1878, Joseph Walter and his family moved from Pennsylvania to land ten miles south of Great Bend, Kansas. He and Edward W. Dewey organized the town of Seward and promoted the construction of the Denver, Memphis, and Atlantic Railway through Stafford County.
Although Joe Walter was a coal miner in Pennsylvania and a farmer in Kansas, he was also a politician, and his service for years as a Notary Public and Justice in his home township, and his work as a member of the legislature had made him a sort of an advisor and leader to many who preferred his judgement and advice, particularly a number who were unable to speak English well, and who used their old country speech as a rule. He served the public, his friends, and particularly the G.A.R. Many lawsuits were tried before him in his home, including jury trials.
In addition to his membership with the G.A.R. with Pap Thomas Post 52, Joseph A. Walter served as Department of Kansas Commander in 1920.
Sometime after the turn of the Century, he moved his wife and two youngest children to Great Bend Kansas, where he died on October 24, 1942. He and his wife are buried in the Great Bend Cemetery, at Great Bend Kansas.
The award was incorporated into the Department Bylaws by the Twenty-Ninth Annual Department Encampment in 2025.
Recipients.
| Year | Recipient | Awarded By |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 2000 2000 | City of Wellington, Kansas KS Div. of Facilities. Mgt American Legion Post, Emporia | Franklin C. Bergquist Franklin C. Bergquist Franklin C. Bergquist |
Department of Kansas SUVCW 