J. R. Kealoha

J. R. Kealoha was an American Union Army soldier of Native Hawaiian descent. He enlisted in 1864 as a private and was assigned to the 41st Regiment United States Colored Troops. He fought in the Richmond–Petersburg Campaign, better known as the Siege of Petersburg. He died on March 5, 1877, and was buried in an unmarked grave in Honolulu’s Oʻahu Cemetery.

About J. R. Kealoha in brief

J. R. Kealoha was an American Union Army soldier of Native Hawaiian descent. He enlisted in 1864 as a private and was assigned to the 41st Regiment United States Colored Troops. He fought in the Richmond–Petersburg Campaign, better known as the Siege of Petersburg. He was present at the surrender of Confederate General Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865. He died on March 5, 1877, and was buried in an unmarked grave in Honolulu’s Oʻahu Cemetery. In 2010, a bronze plaque erected along the memorial pathway at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu commemorated these “Hawaiʻi Sons of the Civil War” A grave marker was dedicated over J. R. Kealinga’s burial site, which had remained unmarked for 137 years.

The plaque is on display at the Honolulu Museum of Art, which is also home to a collection of photos of Native Hawaiians from the American Civil War and the Pacific War of the 19th and 20th centuries. The museum is open to the public and offers a wide range of exhibits on Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander history and culture. For more information, visit www.honolulu museum.org or go to www.hulu.com/honolulu/civil-war/index.html. For confidential support, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or visit http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/. For support on suicide matters call the Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90 or visit a local Samaritans branch or click here. For support in the U.S., go to: www.samaritans.org.

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