Who We Were, Are & Will Be Our Family: Civil War

Showing posts with label Civil War. Show all posts

15 February 2023

How Far Would You Go? How Much Would You Pay? -- Obtaining a CDV of My G-grandfather in His Civil War Uniform

It seems to me how far someone will go and how much they would spend to obtain a family heirloom is subjective to the person. How valuable is the heirloom to you? We don't feel the same about all heirlooms. How much "work" is required? Just phone calls or a road trip? And how much money do I have to spend? Can I afford the cost?

I get "pats on the back" and accolades from many relatives on how hard I will work and how far I will go to obtain genealogical information, much less family heirlooms. But to me there is little question. I aim to do what is necessary. It might take me a day or a dozen years, but I at least aim to do what is necessary.

Some generous soul posted a picture on Findagrave.com of my g-grandfather Arthur Herrick Needham (1831-1921) in his Hospital Steward uniform during the Civil War.

At first, I was stunned and elated, but no genealogist is going to stop there! I had questions! (An axiom of genealogy: answers create questions). Who has this picture? Do they have more? Are they related? And on and on.

First off, there was no question it was him. I have lots of pictures of him as a senior; Change the color of his beard and hair to gray and it is definitely the same man. Second, he signed the CDV and his signature matches those I have collected.

First Step: Contact the person that uploaded the pic to FindaGrave. He knew nothing about it! He captured the image off a listing on eBay.

Second Step: Track down the listing on eBay. It had sold more than six months previously, so the listing was no longer publicly available, but I figured out a way to access older listings and got the seller's name.

Third Step: Track down and contact the Seller. He was an individual using a company name to sell items. This took some time-consuming detective work, but I succeeded. When I contacted him, he said he didn't keep meticulous records and would need to do some research himself to find the name of the Buyer. After a few days, all he found was an email address. That will work!

Fourth Step: Email the Buyer. Yes, he still owns it. No, he cannot make a high-resolution scan for me, because he no longer has it! He put it up for sale on consignment at an antique store in Gettysburg. He would sell it to me if I wanted, and because I am a descendent, he would even discount it from $250 to $200 for me. My heart sunk. That sounded like a rip-off?! But I did not give up.

Fifth Step: Contact the antique store in Gettysburg. Yes, they still had it. Yes, they ship, and they charge $35 to ship. "$35" to ship a photograph?!? The lady said to me, "This is our business." She emailed me a picture --

-- Ironic that the seller was trying to bolster the bona fides by claiming the same picture is used for the FindaGrave memorial. Not realizing that a complete stranger saw this very CDV for sale on eBay, captured the picture, and uploaded it to the memorial.

So now I had to wrestle with the price and the cost to ship. I asked around and every one of my genealogy friends said they would jump at the chance to pay $200 for a picture of their gg-grandfather. Most of them have no pictures at all! Then I researched the costs of civil war era pictures of soldiers, and actually the seller's price was quite reasonable! I had no idea there was a collector's market out there. So after negotiating the shipping price down, I bit the bullet (pardon the pun) and pulled the trigger (two is too much). And here it is.

A CDV of my g-grandfather, circa 1864, signed in pencil. The only picture I have of him as a young man. Now you know how far I will go, how much I will pay.

29 June 2021

Tombstone(less) Tuesday: Pvt. Henry M. Walker, Sr. (1829-1865) at Chalmette National Cemetery, New Orleans, LA.

I have made several big discoveries as a genealogist and family historian. But probably my proudest, most emotional, and most rewarding was finding the grave of my gg-grandfather Henry Walker, Sr. who died in a railroad accident during the Civil War. Another part of the circle closing the story has been fulfilled. My son Paul went to the grave and placed American flags over his burial spot, and the spots of those who died along his side and are buried with him.

He is buried at Chalmette National Cemetery outside New Orleans. In the second picture you can see that he and his fellow comrades who died in the railroad accident do not have grave markers. The cemetery did not even know they were buried there until I found records from the 1880s at the National Archives in Washington, DC. Now we negotiate getting them grave markers.

Step 1, he is found; Step 2, thanks to Paul, we have acknowledged him; Now it is time for step 3, for the government to give him his marker. By federal law, all veterans are entitled to one.

31 May 2021

Memorial Day 2021: Lt. Edward Woodbury Hall (1839-1963)

Less than two weeks after the fall of Vicksburg, my 2xg-granduncle died in the battle to retake Jackson, Mississippi. I report the story HERE. He was a member of Company B, 3rd Iowa Infantry Regiment.

Lieutenant Edward W. Hall was born in Danvers, McLean, Illinois on August 28, 1839. He died in battle outside Jackson, Rankin, Mississippi on July 13, 1863. He did not have a spouse or children. The family erected a cenotaph to him in the family plot in Stouts Grove Cemetery, Danvers, IL. Edward was my 2xg-uncle on my mother's maternal side. He was only 23 years old.

16 May 2021

Newspaper Anecdote About George Hall (1845-1908)

From The Walnut Valley Times (El Dorado, Kansas), October 28 1899, Saturday, Page 4 --

George Hall of Rosalia, (whose father, Hall says, was discreet and did not give "Washington" for his middle name) was among the Times visitors today. Hall was 15 years old when Sumpter was fired upon. He enlisted in the 26th Illinois Infantry and carries lead In his body at an evidence of his real service for his country.

I have had readers bemoan me publishing these little newspaper anecdotes. But look how rich this simple paragraph is for the genealogist! Residence, approximate age, military enlistment and regiment, and the fact he was wounded. And those are just the facts that jump out! I will examine every reference that my research and providence decide to reward me with. Even brief, short, little newspaper anecdotes.

26 April 2021

Obituary For Harvey Rowan Mack (1895-1969)

From the Springfield Leader and Press (Springfield, Missouri), 30 Sep 1969, Page 22 --

HARVEY ROWAN MACK

Harvey Rowan Mack, 74, of 2324 Mt Vernon, died at 1:15 p.m. Monday in Foster Nursing Home here.
A lifelong resident of Spring field, Mr. Mack had been in ill health for two years. He was veteran of World War I, and had retired after working for Frisco for 40 years,
Survivors include two daughters, Mrs. Mary Ann Witt,, 2324 Mt. Vernon, Mrs. Patricia Lee VeHorn, Rushville, Ind.; three brothers, Lester, 721 West High, Robert, Brighton, Earnest, 404 East Madison; a sister, Mrs. Edith Helfrecht, 827 West Whiteside; eight grandchildren and two step-grandchildren.
Funeral services will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday in the Klingner Chapel with the Rev. William Spindler officiating. Burial will be in Greenlawn Cemetery.

As I discovered here Harvey Rowan Mack was the blessed young man who inherited his grandfather Capt. Harvey J. Dutton's officer sword that he carried in the Civil War.

21 April 2021

Artifacts

I read with some excitement recently that very soon scientists will be able to affordably retrieve the DNA of our late ancestors off of family artifacts and test it for us. This is very exciting! Genetic genealogy has been a gift to my research, and it is easy to imagine what is on the other side of the horizon, in example identifying nameless faces in photographs of our ancestors.

I have always enjoyed that existential connection to my ancestors. It feels special to walk where they walked; to visit a building they lived in, and to handle something they touched and owned a hundred years ago. They were real people with lives, and artifacts make them more real to me.

About a year ago I set about locating the same regimental flags that my gg-uncle served under and my gg-grandfather died under in the Civil War. It took a couple months, but I finally tracked them down, there are two sets, one is stored away in the McClean County (IL) History Museum, the other is stored in the State Armory at the state (IL) capital Springfield.

The bug that bit me next was trying to track down my gg-uncle Capt. Harvey J. Dutton's (1836-1928) officer's sword from the Civil War. I talked about the prospects with my cousins. First I would need to research all his descendants, then try to locate and make contact with them, all without knowing if the search was going to be fruitless and all my time wasted. With most family artifacts it only takes a few generations of separation before families forget what made it special in the first place? Who did it belong to? Why did we keep it? So I asked in my mind, did the sword become a toy that people played with? Did it get sold in a garage sale?

No. I decided no, unless I had direction, I was not going to go down that road. And then this happened. I discovered a newspaper story, from The Springfield News-Leader (Springfield, Missouri), 25 Jan 1928, Wednesday, Page 3 --

DUTTON PROPERTY LEFT TO SEVERAL CHILDREN

Each of the five children of the late H. J. Dutton, Civil War veteran and for many years a resident of Springfield, is to share in the estate, according to the terms of the will filed yesterday. A property on East Harrison street is left to Florence E. Mack, property in Florida goes to Clarence A. Dutton, a son; Norma E. Mack receives a property on Lyon avenue, Bertha I. Dunlap will have the property on West Chestnut street, while a property on West Locust street goes to another daughter Gertrude L. Coover, and her husband Guy Coover.

A sword carried by the veteran in the war between the states is bequeathed to a grandson, Harvey R. Mack.

R. E. M. Mack and A. O. Mack are appointed executors of the will.

Uhh, yeah, where I am from? That counts as "direction." Besides, when that bug bites you, sometimes you have to wonder if it is an agent of providence?

Harvey Rowan Mack died in 1969, in Springfield, Missouri. He had two daughters. And so it begins.

19 August 2020

Lt. Col. Dr. Frank G. Porter (1821-1879)

One of the surprise discoveries of my listing my Civil War ancestors was that I have a Brigade Surgeon as a relative. Dr. Frank Gibson Porter was my 2xg-uncle, behind my Dad's mother. His history is rich and will require future fleshing out, but for now let us hear his Civil War record.

From Reavis, L. U. (1881). Saint Louis, the future great city of the world: And its impending triumph. St. Louis: G.A. Pierrot. --

Early in 1861, he joined the Union army as Brigade Surgeon. He remained in the army until the last days of 1865. He was with Generals Totten, Schofield, Herron, Fisk and Grant. He participated in thirteen hard-fought battles; quite a number of minor engagements; was "bushwhacked" three times, and captured once. At the battle of Prairie Grove, Arkansas, single-handed and alone, he turned back two six-gun batteries that were in full retreat, and thus saved the day for the Union. One of his most noted transactions during the war, was the planning and constructing of the most extensive field hospital of the Rebellion, at Hamburg, Tennessee, after the battle of Pittsburg Landing. Harper's Weekly reproduced it, and the New York Herald and Tribune noticed it in the highest terms of praise. The farthest east he was during the war, was Fort Donelson, Tennessee; south, New Orleans; west, Fort Gibson, Indian Territory, and north, Fort Laramie.

In the summer of 1865 he was ordered to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, as his headquarters, where he remained until the last days of the same year, when he was mustered out of the service, carrying with him a commission from the Governor of Missouri, and three from the President of the United States : the first, that of Assistant Surgeon ; the second, that of full Surgeon, and the third, that of Lieutenant-Colonel by brevet.

During the war, for a period of nine months he had charge of the United States Marine Hospital in St. Louis, and aside from this he always held the position of Medical Director while in the army, his appointment being that of General Staff Surgeon, United States Volunteers. Upon his leaving the service he returned to St. Louis, and resumed his profession.

03 August 2020

Civil War Relatives

For the last month I have been obsessed with the Civil War, from a family history perspective. I have been working on getting the National Park Service to give the grave of my gg-grandfather a marker; I have been researching the current location of the regimental flags for the 33rd Illinois, and I have been researching the oral history that one of my gg-grandfathers was a Union spy.

In the meantime, I did put together a list of all my grandfathers and granduncles who served. I have not done cousins yet. This list is complete as best as I can determine (the seven names of gg-grandfathers have been bolded; the five names of those who died in service have been italicized) --

RANK NAME REGIMENT STATE COMPANY

Henry M. Walker, Sr. 33rd Illinois A

Capt Harvey J. Dutton 33rd Illinois A

Horace S. Dutton 108th Illinois E

Charles H. Chesley 8th Cavalry Illinois K

John P. Chesley 13th Illinois G

Leonard Chesley 13th Illinois G

Sgt Luman F. Ward 98th New York D

David Ward 2nd Artillery Ohio C

Corp Arthur H. Needham 2nd Cavalry Iowa E

John H. Needham 155th Ohio A

Horatio E. Needham 29th Iowa E

Sgt George E. Needham 177th Ohio A

Benjamin E. Needham 41st Ohio D

Samuel R. Porter 17th Illinois I

Lt Col Dr. Frank G. Porter -- Surgeon --

Alexander W. Porter 39th Pennsylvania B

Sgt John W. Porter 39th Pennsylvania B

Corp Alfred Gibson 33rd Kentucky D

Sgt David Gibson 27th Kentucky E

Thomas R. Gibson 35th Kentucky B

William Gurwell 14th Ohio E

Jesse Jones 13th Kansas B

Lt Edward W. Hall 3rd Iowa B

George Hall 26th Illinois K

Corp Levi Hall 33rd Illinois C

Wilbur Hall 2nd Artillery Massachusetts M

Josiah McKee 33rd Illinois C

-- Twenty-seven names in total. All blue, no grey. My gg-grandfather James G. Gurwell is said to have served, but I can find no record, so he is not included. Six of these Illinoisans were at Vicksburg, and their names are cast in bronze inside the Illinois memorial there.

Expanding the list to include cousins will be quite a chore but is within my plans. I know that will expand my connection to the 33rd Illinois even further, at last count I had seven ancestral relatives in that regiment. And I am not sure, but I think I have one Gibson cousin who went to Texas and fought on the side the Confederacy, ruining my perfect record of all Union ancestral relatives.

02 July 2020

Ask and You Shall Receive: Civil War CDV

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True Story. A few days ago I was lamenting I did not have a Carte de visite of my 2xg-uncle Capt. Harvey J. Dutton (1836-1928) and two days later I stumbled across one on the Internet! I wasn't even looking for it! Could someone being looking down on me?

Copyright © 2020 by Kevin W. Walker

24 June 2020

Wordless Wednesday: Poster of Company C, 33rd Illinois Veteran Volunteer Regiment, U.S. Civil War, 1865

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Image provided by McLean County Museum of History, Bloomington, Illinois.

20 June 2020

At Least Five Civil War Ancestral Relatives Have Their Names in Bronze

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From a Vicksburg Mississippi website:

The Vicksburg National Military Park, established by Congress on February 21, 1899, commemorates the campaign, siege, and defense of Vicksburg during the Civil War. The 1,800 acres of the park are dotted with over 1,300 monuments, the most impressive being the Illinois Monument, which was dedicated on October 26, 1906 and modeled after the Roman Pantheon. On its walls are 60 bronze tablets which record the names of the 36,325 Illinois soldiers who participated in the Vicksburg campaign.

On those bronze tablets are the names of at least five of my ancestral relatives, most notably my gg-grandfather Pvt. George Hall (1845-1908) --

-- Three other more distant ancestral relatives 3xg-uncle Pvt. Josiah McKee (1844-1921), and First Cousin 4x removed Pvt. Levi W. Hall (1841-1923) and First Cousin 4x removed Pvt. William P. Lamphier (1839-1865) --

-- And finally we have the ancestral relative of whom I am the most proud, 2xg-uncle Capt. Harvey J. Dutton (1836-1928), who was only a Lieutenant at Vicksburg. He was also shot in the leg in the battle and kept fighting --

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-- The Battles of Gettysburg and Vicksburg were both completed on the same date -- July 4, 1863. The Battle of Gettysburg got most of the attention from the press at the time for a number of reasons, including that it involved the defeat of the great General Robert E. Lee, and happened closer to Washington D.C. But arguably, the Battle of Vicksburg was much more important to the ultimate Union victory. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's victory at Vicksburg gave the Union Army control of the entire Mississippi River, and cut off the Confederate deep south from the supplies of the commodity-rich southwestern states like Texas.

Copyright © 2020 by Kevin W. Walker

18 June 2020

Capt. Harvey Dutton Recommends Two Enlisted Men for Promotion (1864)

Tigerville, La
Nov 3rd, 1864

Col. I. H. Elliott,

In accordance with your instructions of yesterday I would recommend Sergeant Sylvester W. Durflinger and Corporal Rasselas P. Reynolds of Co. A 33rd Ills Vet Vol Infntry for the positions, spoken of, in Col. Bryant's Regt.

Sergeant Durflinger has never been examined except by the Regim't'l Board. Corporal Reynolds passed examination before Col. Currie's board in the city last spring and was recommended for 1st Lieut.

Very Respectively,
Your obedient servant,

H.J. Dutton
Capt. Co. A 33rd Ills Inft.

If anything more than this is necessary please inform me.
H.J. Dutton capt.

24 March 2016

CDV of Josiah McKee (1844-1920)

Professionally cleaned up CDV of my 3xg-uncle Josiah McKee. Brother of my 3xg-grandmother Mariam (McKee) Hall, on my mother's maternal side.

Josiah served as a private in Co. C, of the 33rd Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment, mustering in 1861 and mustering out in 1865. He is part of my strange relationship with the 33rd Illinois, where I had two ancestral relatives of my mother serving in Co. C, and two ancestors of my father serving in Co. A. A hundred years later my mother from Arizona and my father from Nebraska would meet in California, marry and conceive me. No way they could have known.

Anyway, I have a lot more reporting to come on this interesting individual.

Thank you to my friend Christopher Evey who inherited from his ancestor this picture and still more of others of boys from Co. C. He shared this with me and gave me permission to share it with you. He is researching his ancestor John Leys who also served in Co. C. If you want to contact him you can find him on Facebook or drop me a note and I will pass it along.

Copyright © 2016 by Kevin W. Walker

21 March 2016

Amanuensis Monday: Transcription of the Chesley Family Civil War Letter

Side one. Click to enlarge.

Side two. Click to enlarge.

Apologies, but this is sort of a reprint of a previous entry into this blog. The chief difference is I now have photo-copies of the letter to share with my readers. As of two weeks ago, this letter now resides in the manuscripts collection at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library, in Springfield, Illinois.

The letter is from my great-great-grandfather Charles H. Chesley to his wife Phoebe.

Here is the letter by letter transcription, all mistakes in spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc. belong to my g-g-grandfather:

K Co. 8th Ill. Cav
Benton Barracks St. Louis Mo
June 28th, 1865

Dear Phebe,
I received your letter of the 18th last night while in bed and was truly glad to hear from home once more. We left Fairfax Station on the morning of the 19th. I was taken quite ill at Fairfax Courthouse but after remaining a short time I went on to Washington where I overtook the regiment. That evening we got on the cars of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, laid over one day at Cumberland and then came to Parkersburgh, West Virginia. There we took Steam Boat and landed at Lawrenceburgh, Indiana on the 25th where we again got on the cars, passed through the States of Indiana and Illinois and landed here yesterday evening and here we are in Missouri. How long we will stay or where we will go next I do not know, we hear a great many yarns in reference to our destination. Some tell us we are going to Texas, some say we go to Kansas. I think we will go to Illinois, but how soon I do not know. I cannot believe we will remain here any great length of time. I see nothing fixing up here to remain, another thing we are not getting any soft bread, no cooking utensils or other conveniences for staying any length of time. I ought to have told you that my sickness was only temporary. I had a friend who stayed with me and I soon recovered, and had quite a pleasant trip considering the inconveniences we had to contend with, having no opportunity to cook. Only at Cumberland where we did a little cooking, and the Sanitary Commission gave us coffee. When we landed at Lawrenceburgh the citizens very kindly invited us to dinner at there houses & had they known we were coming they would have given us a jublie dinner. It is the first, last and only town we passed through where we were treated like white folks or where the people seemed to appreciate the services of the soldiers. We are encamped on the most beautiful place I have been in since I enlisted. Very level, all the Barracks painted white. I think the grounds contain about 40 acres, probably more. There are a great many troops here, and as far as I can learn they are all homeward bound, except the Missouri troops and the Regulars, this makes me believe we will not remain here any length of time. We have very beautiful weather, not very hot, yesterday was quite cool with a little rain. I am at present in very good health but somewhat tired after our long trip of twelve hundred miles. Yesterday evening after we got into our Barracks one of Co. D was shot by the accidental discharge of a Carbine through the carelessness of another of the same Co. He lived about 15 minutes but never spoke or showed any indication of being conscious of what was passing around him. If you write soon direct your letters to me at Benton Barracks St. Louis Missouri instead of Washington. When we leave here I will write to you immediately on stopping at the next place. Having nothing more of importance to write, and hoping you are in good health, accept the love of your devoted Husband.

C. H. Chesley
K Co. 8th Ill Cav

19 March 2016

Coincidence?

I was researching the soldier named Luke Dickerman, Co. A, 33rd Illinois Infantry Regiment, Civil War, mentioned in the previous article on this blog. He lied about his age and mustered in at only sixteen years of age. He mustered in as a Private and mustered out as a Sergeant.

He served under my 2xg-uncle Harvey James Dutton, who mustered in as a Sergeant and was promoted all the way to Captain before mustering out.

I just discovered Luke Dickerman named his first born male child "Harvey James Dickerman."

Coincidence?

Copyright © 2016 by Kevin W. Walker

One Good (Genealogy) Deed Deserves Another

Regimental History of the 33rd Illinois Infantry, published 1902.

I have said it a thousand times and I will say it a thousand more, this blog pays me back. Distant cousins or even complete strangers, for one reason or another Googling an ancestor's name find me, and out of the selfless generosity of their hearts they offer to share original documents, photographs, research, and heirlooms with me. It just makes sense when the opportunity arrives that I make an effort to pay it forward.

As regular readers here know I have deep ties to the 33rd Illinois Infantry Regiment from the Civil War. My 2xg-grandfather died under its banner, his brother in law, my 2xg-uncle rose from sergeant to Captain in its service, both these men behind my father. Yet ironically, I also had two 2xg-uncles behind my mother also serving in the 33rd Illinois! Who would have known?! My mom from Arizona and my dad from Nebraska, met in California to marry and conceive me. But they each had ancestors serving at the same time under these same Illinois regimental colors. But I digress.

So it just made sense if I could get my hands on a copy of the published regimental history I should do so. For the 33rd Illinois that book is History of the Thirty-Third Regiment Illinois Veteran Volunteer Infantry in the Civil War, 22nd August, 1861, to 7th December, 1865, by Virgil Way and Isaac Elliott, published 1902 in Gibson City, Ill by The [Regimental] Association. I was truly blessed. This book is over 290 pages, loaded with pictures, rosters, personal accounts of regimental actions, and official accounts of the regiment. My ancestors are cited repeatedly, and one, the Captain, even contributed a chapter on the history of the company under his command.

Title page. Remember to click to enlarge.

With the book being out of copyright, digital copies were easy to come by online, Internet Archive had one, Google Books, Hahti Trust, and even the State of Illinois website. But this was important enough to me I wanted to buy a hard copy. The problem is the darn hard copies are apparently in demand, and the lowest price I could find anywhere was $175. I had nothing but time so settled in and waited for a good deal to appear. Finally a copy appeared on eBay and the seller was asking the going price of $175. So I decided to low ball him an offer and surprisingly, he took it! I was elated!

When the book arrived it had an envelope glued to the inside:

And inside the envelope was a card:

Luke Dickerman served in Company A of the 33rd Illinois alongside both my 2xg-grandfather and his brother in law, my 2xg-uncle the Captain. But the uniqueness of this does not stop there. First off, the guy lied about his age to get in and was only sixteen years old. Second, he rose to the rank of sergeant! Third he was a primary source for the regimental history, an a few of his personal exploits are recorded.

And now I have one of his presentation copies of the book?? Hmm.

I want the book, okay? If not this copy, then a different one. I made the decision I would try to track down a descendant of Luke Diskerman or J.H. Dickerman, preferably direct, to give the card and envelope to, and offer to sell the whole book to them at the replacement value (or for a replacement if they could do better).

I Googled for someone qualifying, but I had little luck. I sent private messages to individuals on Ancestry.Com weeks ago, and still have not heard a reply. If after some time I strike out, I always have the option of making the offer to an indirect descendant.

In the meantime with this article I set the wheels in motion by asking my blog to lure a Dickerman descendant to me. So go to work my little blog, do your job. But instead of giving to me, it is time for me to give away. I have nothing but time.

Copyright © 2016 by Kevin W. Walker

14 March 2016

Amanuensis Monday: Another Eyewitness Account of Civil War Railroad Accident that Killed Henry M. Walker, Sr.

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The following is my transcription of a copy of a transcription of a letter appearing in the folder -- Edward H. and Duncan G. Ingraham letters, 1856-1865 (bulk 1861-1865) by Ingraham, Edward H. (Edward Henry), b. 1832 -- at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library in Springfield, Illinois.

Algiers March 3, 1865

Dear Anna,
I received your last kind letter yesterday just after the occurrence of our railroad accident. I may as well give you an account of it. It was as fatal to our regiment as a sharp battle might have been. We had received orders to report to Gen. A.J. Smith at the "Battle Ground" eight miles below new Orleans, and the morning train from Brashear City had gathered up all the companies of the regiment along the railroad except one. Some are inclined to blame the engineer, but the officers have looked into the matter and think it to have been purely accidental. A horse and a mule were on the track before the engine. The engineer slackened speed, we came to a dry place in the swamp and the two animals left the track, whereat he put on steam again but just as we were fairly started the horse suddenly returned to the track and was run over. The engine and the first car remained on the track; the next eight cars were thrown into a pile, five of them broken up. It was a long train and about half a dozen cars in the rear were uninjured. Eight men of the regiment were killed instantly, two of them ground to pieces. Five more have since died and several I fear are mortally injured. About 60 are disabled, most of them only temporarily. I think our regiment will be delayed and probably we cannot go on the expedition at all. I went over to New Orleans last night to see the wounded put away in the hospital. The box car in which most of Co. B was riding was swung around off the track and partly capsized. All were jarred and more or less sprained but only hurt serious enough to be sent to the hospital. The statistics I have given you are not quite certain. You will see the most correct account of it in the Chicago Tribune, Springfield Journal, and Bloomington Pantagraph.
I hope Philander will not be compelled to leave home. He is one of the sort most needed at home, I wish I could have some of those cowardly fugitives drafted. If he should enlist, do you think he will come to the 33rd? He could find better opening probably but we should like to see him here very much. I will write again in a week or two. Excuse such hasting writing. We are in the Algiers depot expecting momentarily an order to move.

Love to all from brother, Ned

Direct New Orleans, La.
Our Col. (Lippincott) has been promoted this morning to Brig. Gen.

We continue to see some agreement and disagreement between the accounts of this event. Almost always the numbers agree. But there are differences if it was a mule and a horse or just a horse, and there are differences about which cars flipped. Because this is a next day account and it is an eyewitness not newspaper reporter, I am inclined to give this the greatest weight as a source. Other eyewitness accounts we have found were done from memory.

One new thing this account gives us is that it happened at a dry place in the swamp. This could aid in identifying the actual location.

Copyright © 2016 by Kevin W. Walker

08 March 2016

No Love Left for Libraries?

My son and I just returned from a trip to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library in Springfield, Illinois. We drove down there to donate the Chesley family Civil War letter to their archives, and to spend some time doing family history research.

The ALPL is arguably the preeminent research library for subjects relating to the history of the state of Illinois, the Civil War, and of course President Lincoln. It's specialties are the hard to find publications and unique one of a kind manuscripts. They are considered the official archive of Illinois Civil War letters, diaries, and correspondence.

The first thing I noticed is how empty it was. In this big beautiful library with all it has to offer the researcher, there was my son, me, and another couple. That was all. You might say, "But Kevin, this was during the day on a weekday! Surely it is busier nights and weekends?" They are CLOSED nights and weekends. Your only chance to patronize this library is Monday through Friday, 9am to 4:30pm.

Granted, because of state government budget problems, it is currently being operated by a skeleton staff, almost all pulling double duty. I am told that there are tens of thousands of items that are still on paper index cards that need to be added to the digital catalog. And as far as in the future scanning and digitizing the collection? The staff snickers. They love this place as much as we do and would love to see it happen. But right now it is so unrealistic it doesn't even register on the scale as a dream.

Then one has to contemplate, even if the ALPL did have the money and the staff to do the library right, where are the patrons?

By contrast, right next door to the ALPL is of course the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum. On this Monday morning it is fully staffed, and busy with patrons. I suppose we might take solace that there is still a segment of our society that wants to frequent museums. Then again, this is Lincoln's museum, and the official one. I am not sure this is a fair barometer of how loved are museums in this society.

"Love." Interesting choice of adjectives. Appreciated. Wanted. Cared for. What about libraries? Libraries with extra special unique things to offer?

At the ALPL my son and I scoured hundreds of Civil War letters and diaries written by the men who served with our ancestors, hoping to discover something new. One folder contained what seemed to be a hundred letters by a soldier to and from his parents, sister, and brother. As I read these letters I got to know this family intimately. I got to understand the individuals, and feel what they feel. Then suddenly the soldier enters a hospital for an illness and dies. I paused. It hit me. I was stunned. I was sad. I was hurt. In the next letter the brother, who was also serving, writes his parents he is coming home. A few years pass and the family begins writing letters trying to locate where their son is buried? Those letters and the letters in reply, are also included in the folder. No answers. No discoveries. No solutions. I wanted to cry. I mourned. I felt it.

Society loves the movies, especially loves its television, and some even love good books. There are still reasons to love libraries too.

Copyright © 2016 by Kevin W. Walker

20 September 2015

Death of Edward W. Hall (1839-1863)

The old adage is that "the winner gets to write the history." But there are winners on a multitude of levels, winners of arguments, winners of skirmishes, winners of battles, and winners of wars. The Union Army won the war, but they lost a lot of battles. One of those catastrophic, unnecessary battles claimed the life of my 2xg-granduncle Edward W. Hall, 1st Lieutenant Co. B, 3rd Iowa Infantry.

General Grant was involved in a chess match in Mississippi in the summer on 1863, trying to take Vicksburg. To draw Confederate defenses away from Vicksburg he attacked the state capital of Jackson. After defeating Vicksburg he had to turn around reclaim Jackson. On the 13th of July, Brigadier General Jacob Laumann ordered Col. Isaac Pugh to line up and march his brigade of over three thousand soldiers, passed an abatis of downed trees, through a cornfield and up a hill directly into an enemy firing artillery the entire time. The lined up Union soldiers were mowed down by rebel artillery. Whole slashes of men were wiped away with each cannon ball or canister of grape shot.

I now pass it over to Lt. S.D. Thompson and his self-published book from 1864, Recollections with the Third Iowa regiment --

Click to enlarge.

Each regiment was literally torn in pieces. In proportion
to their numbers the 53d Illinois suffered most, to say
nothing of losing their gallant Colonel Earle, who was
struck by a volley of canister while riding in advance
of his men. Our own regiment lost one hundred and
thirteen, sixteen being killed, fifty-seven wounded, and
forty missing and taken prisoners. A number of the
wounds were mortal. Among those who lost their lives
were some of our best names. The Ruckman brothers,
the one Captain, the other 2d Lieutenant of Company B;
1st Lieutenant Hall, of the same company; and 1st
Lieutenant McMurtrie of Company D; 1st Sergeants
Woodruff of Company B, and McClure of Company I;
Sergeants Gilmore and Dent of Company E, Follett of
Company F, and many other gallant names were among
the sacrifices of this needless blunder.

-- The soldiers knew this was a bad idea. The field officers knew this was a bad idea, everyone all the way up to and including Col. Pugh knew this was a bad idea. But General Laumann was to be trusted and obeyed. Laumann was recalled to HQ in Vicksburg and never allowed to command again.

Such was the death of my 2xg-granduncle Lt. Edward W. Hall, July 13th, 1863.

Copyright © 2015 by Kevin W. Walker

19 September 2015

SUVCW Grave Marker Dedication

Today my son Ralph and I attended a grave marker dedication at the Oak Hill and Oak Crest Memorial Cemeteries in Downer's Grove, Illinois. The event was sponsored by the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War and the Oak Hill/Oak Crest Cemeteries Foundation. Wonderful turnout! Well over a hundred people. There were several dignitaries -- township trustees, a mayor, local state congresswoman, and a representative from the Governor's office.

The new grave markers were for Pvt. Jacob T. Escher (Co. E, 8th Ill Cavalry), Pvt. Judson Farrar (Co. E, 8th Ill Cavalry), Pvt. Herman Pilz (Co. I, 52nd Ohio Infantry) and Pvt. Martin E. Stanger (Co. A, 82nd Ill Infantry). I keep calling them grave markers, but in fact they are headstones paid for with your tax dollars and provided through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Our country has, rightfully, decided this is one of the least things we can do to show our appreciation for their service.

There were remarks from two representatives of the S.U.V.C.W., the politicians spoke, also a local Eagle Scout who was instrumental in the project. Everyone kept it to just two minutes until the head speaker who was the local historian and cemetery curator who gave us the detailed biographies of these four soldiers. The S.U.V.C.W. also provided a presentation of colors, professional singer (for the National Anthem and "Battle Hymn of the Republic"), and an artillery salute with a period canon, salute with period rifles, and a professional bugler ("Amazing Grace" and "Taps"). And of course the S.U.V.C.W. provided a chaplain for the Invocation and the Benediction.

At last count I have six direct ancestors who served in the Civil War --

Pvt. Charles H. Chesley -- Co. K, 8th Illinois Cavalry
Pvt. Alfred Gibson -- Co. D, 33rd Kentucky Infantry
Pvt. George Hall -- Co. K, 26th Illinois Infantry
Corp. Arthur H. Needham -- Hosp. Steward, 2nd Iowa Cavalry
Pvt. Samuel R. Porter -- Co I, 17th Illinois Infantry (transfer from 8th Ill)
Pvt. Henry Martin Walker -- Co. A, 33rd Illinois Infantry

-- and several more indirect relatives. I have been completely engrossed in Civil War studies for the last several months. Reading, researching, listening to podcasts, and watching lectures on YouTube.com. It would be impossible for me to recount all I have learned. So two months ago my son Ralph and I decided to join the S.U.V.C.W. Needing to show our ancestral connection, we chose to use my 2xg-grandfather Henry Martin Walker, Sr. as our ticket in. After all, we share his surname and his y-chromosome. Today's dedication was our first event as members of the S.U.V.C.W.

Following the Civil War many, many of the Union Veterans formed the Grand Army of the Republic as a fraternal organization supporting the soldiers. According to Wikipedia --

Linking men through their experience of the war, the G.A.R. became among the first organized advocacy groups in American politics, supporting voting rights for black veterans, promoting patriotic education, help to make Memorial Day a national holiday, lobbying the United States Congress to establish regular veterans' pensions, and supporting Republican political candidates. Its peak membership, at more than 490,000 was in 1890.

-- As the Civil War veterans began passing away, the job of looking after our soldiers and their memory was passed down to their sons, and then their sons' sons, and so on. That is where Ralph and I are currently, descended not just from Civil War veterans but G.A.R. members too. Doing good work. Doing the right thing.

Copyright © 2015 by Kevin W. Walker