Historical marker on W&J campus commemorates Washington Civil War veteran
Though the process has taken a while, Civil War veteran Andrew Gardner Happer will be recognized with a Pennsylvania Historical Marker at Washington & Jefferson College during a dedication ceremony Saturday.
The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) announced the marker had been approved in December 2022. In addition to being a major in the Civil War, Happer sold insurance and real estate in the Washington area. He was also a founding investor in Citizens National Bank.
The marker was erected Tuesday near the W&J Admission House at 130 E. Wheeling St., which was originally built as a home for Happer. The dedication ceremony is scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday.
The marker may never have made it to the college’s campus if it were not for Jim Douglas, who in 2015 published a book titled, “Born to Serve: The Major A.G. Happer Story.”
He described a lengthy process with getting the application approved by PHMC. After it was approved in 2022, it took even longer to iron out the specific details.
“We argued for four months over the text on the marker,” Douglas said.
Douglas collects and colorizes Civil War images. He grew an interest in Happer after finding a picture of him at an antiques store.
“I research these people. I started researching him. I went down a rabbit hole and couldn’t stop. I kept finding more interesting things,” Douglas said. “Nobody in Washington ever heard of this guy.”
According to Douglas, Saturday’s dedication will be “short and sweet.” He expects Civil War reenactors to provide a rifle salute.
Douglas hopes the marker will go even a small way toward helping people learn about Happer.
“I wanted him to be remembered,” Douglas said. “He did so much, and he never put his name on anything.”