It is a little short of miraculous the amount of Kansas history that has been preserved in the archives of the Kansas State Historical Society at Topeka. Arthur Rose Jr., administrative assistant to the Kansas Veterans Commission, has been doing some extensive research on the past histories of the two old soldiers who are buried in unmarked graves west of Lincoln, and much of his information has been secured from the State Historical Society’s files.
Recently, while going through the records of the Historical Society, he came upon a copy of an issue of the Lincoln County Democrat, and found the following item concerning one of the old soldiers:
"Died at the home of Mrs. Damker, near Vesper, Lincoln county, Kansas, on the 15th day of March, 1889, Charles G. Minnick, aged 90 years, nine months and 22 days. The deceased was a soldier of the war of 1812, and assisted in the defense of Baltimore in September 1814. He lived to see his country prosper through all the years since then. He saw the old flag when it had the 13 stars with its 13 stripes, and he saw it as each star was added to its field of blue, making in all the bright constellation we now see upon its folds. At the reunion of the survivors of the battle of Baltimore, in 1878, 64 years after there were only 13 that could be found to join the procession, and in 1887, only two, and they were conveyed in carriages on that anniversary. The deceased was also a consistent Christian Soldier of the Cross. He died with the armor on. Funeral services conducted at the house. – B.F. McMillen
