Robert M. Johnson
Among the graves decorated yesterday was that of Robert M. Johnson, a soldier of the Mexican War, whose burial was the first interment in the present Mansfield Cemetery. Robert M. Johnson was a son of the Rev. James Johnson, who was the pastor of the U.P. church of this city from 1821 to 1852. When but 18 years old, Robert Johnson enlisted to fight under his country's flag in Mexico, and died at Santillo, May 11, 1847, one month before the expiration of his term of enlistment. With loving hands his comrades brought his remains home with them, and they were buried in the (then) newly opened cemetery. A marble monument stands on the burial lot, on which is this inscription: "Robert M. Johnson, May 11, 1847. A volunteer to the Mexican War. Died at Saltillo. His remains were borne home by his beloved fellow soldiers to his grief-stricken parents. The first burial in this cemetery. This lot was donated to him by the directors." The text inscription on the Johnson monument is: "Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord." In the same lot lie the remains of the minister-father and the soldier-son. And following the text might be added: "Honor to the dead, who in life defended their country's flag." In that spirit, the graves of American soldiers were decorated with flowers yesterday.
From The Bellville Messenger: June 6, 1902, Vol. X, No. 24