Eva Gray Tent No. 2 Grand Rapids, Michigan

2nd great-grandfather of Norma Overton

Farrier and Blacksmith    Co. H    6th MI Cavalry
Dates of Service:  11 Oct 1862 - 26 May 1863 

Gilbert G. Bailey was born in 1827 to Joseph and Sophia Denison Bailey of Somerset, Niagara County , New York . Gilbert was the third oldest of the seven living children (5 boys and 2 girls).  
 
The oldest brother, Sluman, along with their Uncle John Shafer came to Michigan Territory in 1845 to purchase approximately 500 acres of land for the Bailey family; this was back when Grand Rapids was knows as “The Rapids.” Most of the acreage purchased was on East Paris Road which is now located in the city of Kentwood .  
 
The Baileys were a very close-knit family. After Sluman purchased the land, one by one all of the Bailey children including their parents moved into the Grand Rapids area settling in and around East Paris , Michigan . By 1855 Gilbert had purchased 80 of the 500 acres, south of Sluman’s property just west of his brother Freeborn’s property. He and his new bride Mary Starbuck Bailey built their farm and raised four children (a son James and three daughters, Harriet, Susan, and Delia).  
 
On his farm, Gilbert bred and sold draft horses, processed sugar cane, and maintained a blacksmith and woodworking shop. His skill as a blacksmith proved beneficial to the Union Army after the Civil War broke out. Four generations moved in and out of the Bailey homestead before it was sold. Today only the house remains.
 
At age 35 Gilbert enlisted in the 6th Michigan Cavalry unit in October of 1862. In the spring of 1863 he was promoted to blacksmith/ferrier for the Union officers. He was stationed at Meridian Hill encampment which was close to Washington DC . As blacksmith/ferrier he traveled back and forth from the encampments caring for the Cavalry horses. Life living in the encampment brought plenty of sickness to many of the soldiers. Gilbert himself was overcome with chronic dysentery. Letters back home to his wife states he enlisted in the Cavalry weighing 180 pounds and by the spring of 1863 he had dropped to 130 pounds. Gilbert had to be mustered out in May 1863 because of ill health.
 
Besides his farm, my great-great-grandfather was an excellent cabinet maker/woodworker. He and his son James owned a small woodworking business called “Bailey & Son,” which was located near James Street in downtown Grand Rapids , Michigan . In later years he lost his right eye from some type of inflammation. He died in 1922 at the age of 95 at the home of his daughter Susan who lived in Ypsilanti , Michigan . His body was brought back to Grand Rapids and buried at Oak Grove Cemetery .  At one time East Paris was going to be named Baileyville.  Today part of the acreage owned by my Bailey family is known as Bailey’s Grove.
 
I am proud to say that I have in my possession my great-great-grandfather’s pocket watch, a handkerchief box he made for his daughter-in-law, his original mustering in papers, the original promotion papers to Blacksmith/Ferrier, and numerous letters written to and from Gilbert G. Bailey during the Civil War.

GRAVESITE: Oak Grove Cemetery, Grand Rapids, Kent Co., MI
Written by Norma Overton, July 2003

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great-grandfather of Jacalyn Vohlken

Private      Co. B     8th IL Infantry
Dates of Service: 15 Oct 1864  - 14 Oct 1865

John F. Baker was born in 1842, either in Norway, as family records state, or in Indiana, as his military records show, and worked as a farmer in Indiana.

On September 29, 1864, a man by the name of Joseph Hall was drafted into military service, but hired John Baker as a substitute to go in his place.

Private Baker served with the 8th Illinois Infantry and was at the battle of Fort Blakely, Alabama, in April of 1865, but was mustered out at the end of his term of service in New Orleans, Louisiana in October of that same year, owing 20 cents for a "wiper", something used to clean gun barrels.

At some point, he traveled to Michigan, where he married Josephine Barker, and they had several children, including my grandmother, Florence.

They resided in Douglas, Michigan, where John worked as a farmer until his death January 29, 1918. He is buried in the Fennville Cemetery, Fennville, Michigan.

John F. Baker had blue eyes, light hair and complexion, and was 5 feet 5 3/4 inches tall.

GRAVESITE: Fennville Cemetery, Fennville, Michigan
Written by Jacalyn Vohlken, February 2003

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2nd great-granduncle of Jacalyn Vohlken

Sergeant    Co. E    15th U.S. Infantry
Dates of Service:   -  9 Oct 1861 - 9 Oct 1864

George Barker was born May 6, 1833 in Grant, Connecticut.  He stood 6'2" with dark complexion, gray eyes, and black hair.  He was an engineer before the war.  George Barker married Fidelia (Delia) Finn (or Fenn) on November 3, 1855.  They had two children, Allie, born January 16, 1865 and Claude, born February 3, 1884.

George Barker entered military service on October 9, 1861 as a private, then a sergeant, in Company E, 15th U.S. Infantry.  During the battle of Stones River (Murphreesboro), Tennessee, George was wounded in the left thigh by a Minnie ball.  He was then transferred to several different hospitals, where his wound never properly healed.  In June of 1864, he was reported to be on detached service with the Invalid Corps at Regimental Headquarters, where he stayed until he was mustered out of service on October 9, 1864.

George returned to Michigan where he lived mostly in Fennville and Pearl, but spent some time in Muskegon.  He also lived for awhile at the Old Soldiers Home, which we now know as the Veterans Home, in Grand Rapids.  George died on April 8, 1916.  He is buried in the Pearl Cemetery, Pearl, Michigan.

GRAVESITE: Pearl Cemetery, Pearl, Allegan Co., Michigan
Written by  Jacalyn Vohlken, July 2003

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great-grandfather of Judith Corrigan

Private    Co. D     67th NY Infantry
Dates of Service:  16 Sep 1862 - 13 Sep 1863


GRAVESITE:
Written by

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great-grandfather of Marlene Hansen

Private    Co. K     1st IA Cavalry
Dates of Service:  Apr 1861 - Mar 1866


GRAVESITE:
Written by

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2nd great-grandfather of Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
3rd great-grandfather of Kara Boorsma

Private     Co. E      13th KS Infantry
Dates of Service:  08 Sep 1862 - 16 Jun 1865

Charles Ditton Burch comes from a long history of patriots. His father, Zebulon Burch fought in the War of 1812 and his grandfather, Admiral Burch, served as a lieutenant in the American Revolution.

Charles Burch was born December 11, 1835 probably in Richmond Township, Indiana, where his father was a pioneer settler. According to history books, Zebulon admired his son-in-law Charles Ditton and named his last son after him. Charles' mother and father would die when he was a boy and he would be sent to live with relatives in Kansas.
 
At the age of 26, Charles joined the 13th Kansas Infantry, Company E, which was the third Kansas regiment raised under the president's call of July 2, 1862 for 300,000 volunteers to serve for three years or the duration of the war. Charles mustered in September 8, 1862. At the time, he lived in Nemaha County, one of the counties where recruiting was taking place. Most of the men recruited were farmers and Charles was no different, being a farmer in the community of Seneca.

The group marched to Old Fort Wayne in the Indiana Territory and became part
of Gen. Blunt's command, hence part of the the Army of the Frontier. Charles' company saw fighting quickly as it was engaged in the battle of Cane Hill Arkansas (November 1862) and Prairie Grove, Arkansas and Van Buren, Arkansas (December 1862.)

In December 1862, the infantry left Cane Hill for Van Buren. The march was made in extremely cold weather and the group was forced to cross a a rapid mountain stream several times resulting in numerous deaths from exposure.
 
During most of 1863, the entire infantry stayed at Springfield, Missouri until August when they marched to Fort Blunt and became part of the Third Brigade with Colonel Thomas Meed Bowen commanding. They pursued the forces of Cooper, Cabell, Steel, and Stand Watie driving them back thirty miles to the  Red River and capturing Fort Smith. At the end of August, after marching more than 400 miles in pursuit of the enemy, the command was ordered to abandon its march and return to Webber's Fall on the Arkansas River. They remained there two weeks, moving to Scullyville, Indiana Territory to perform outpost and scout duty until October 6. The command then moved to Van Buren, Arkansas, where the men stayed for the winter.

In March of 1864, the infantry was split up with companies B, E, and F remaining as garrison in Van Buren and the rest of the infantry sent to Fort Smith, Arkansas. The infantry would serve as garrison for the rest of its tour, encountering some guerrilla bands during that period. Its last officials duty would be in Little Rock, Arkansas (March 1865), where it performed guard and provost duty until the men were mustered out on June 16, 1865. Total deaths were three officers and 20 men who were killed or died of wounds during service and one officer and 104 men who died from disease, accident, and other causes.

While Charles survived the war, his first wife, Dinah Adamson did not, dying in 1863. On August 22, 1866, he married Mary Magdalena Eberly, who had immigrant to the United States with her family from Wurtenburg, Germany. The
couple had six children: James R. , George Frank, Ivy M., Clarence, Charles H., and Amy.

Sometime before the 1880s, Charles and Mary Burch swapped their land in Kansas for land in Michigan, according to family legend. The family was living in Michigan by the 1880 census and had a son, Charles, who was almost a year old and was listed as having been born in Michigan. Amy Burch, the couple's last child, also would be born in Michigan. The family settled on a farm of about 25 acres near Capac, Michigan.

In 1887, the wounds from the Civil War began to have an impact on Charles Burch's abilities with him being admitted to the Michigan Soldiers' Home (now the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans). By the time he entered, he was almost blind. He would stay for five years, being discharged at his own request in 1891. From 1891 to 1898, Charles would be readmitted various times. He died April 17, 1899 at his Capac home.

Charles Burch is buried at Capac Cemetery with his wife Mary.

GRAVESITE: Capac Cemetery, Capac, Michigan
Written by Joanne Bailey-Boorsma, October 2003

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 2nd great-granduncle of  Jerry Piechocki

Farrier     Co. E    8th MI Cavalry
Dates of Service: 27 Dec 1862 - 20 Jan 1863 

Corporal     Co. K, 19th Reg Vets Reserve Corps
Dates of Service:      10 Aug 1864 - 12 Jul 1865

Merrick Harding Burlingame was from Wayland, Michigan.  He enlisted in the 8th Michigan Cavalry, Co. E, in January of 1863, at the age of 29.  After only four month’s training, the regiment was sent to Kentucky in pursuit of General John Hunt Morgan of "Morgan’s Raiders". They chased Morgan through Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio doing great damage to his force along the way.  After sixteen days of pursuit, the 8th caught the Raiders at Buffington Island Ford.  After a very heated battle the 8th had captured 573 of the Raiders, killing and wounding a large but unknown number, while losing only three of their own men.
 
The Regiment was them moved to Tennessee where it participated in the Eastern Tennessee Campaign against the famous General Bedford Forrest and General Joseph Wheeler (who would one day be a Union General during the Spanish American War and lead Theodore Roosevelt and the Rough Riders).  During the campaign the Regiment captured 574 prisoners, 652 horses and large amounts of stores and equipment, but never really had success against Forrest.
 
In November of 1863, the 8th was moved to Tennessee and was involved in protecting the army from General Longstreet’s advance after the battle of Chickamauga and, in December, participated in the siege of Knoxville and the pursuit of the retreating rebel army.
 
In February of 1864, the 8th was sent to join General William Tecumseh Sherman in the invasion of Georgia.  Merrick was at Kenesaw Mountain, where another relative, James Richmond, also was taking part.  The 8th was involved in many reconnaissance patrols and raids, well in advance of the main body of Sherman’s army.  At Macon, Georgia, the 8th was able to capture and burn three entire trains loaded with supplies before being forced off by superior numbers.  Because the 8th was in advance, it was in constant fighting with Confederate forces, and Merrick, along with the Regiment, was in a continuous state of high emotion and action.
 
At Clifton, Georgia, the 8th, along with General Stoneman’s infantry, became cut off and surrounded.  Rather than surrender with the infantry and be taken prisoner (news about Andersonville was now spreading throughout the Union Army), Col. Mix ,of the 8th,decided to fight their way out instead.  The troopers used sabers to slash their way out of the trap.  During the fight, Col. Mix was captured when his horse was killed.
 
For the next eight days the 8th fought a constant running battle as they made their way back to the main army.  By the time they reached the safety of the Union lines, the 8th had lost 215 officers and men.  Many of the troopers were exhausted and broken, including Merrick.  He had been involved in 34 battles and engagements, been part of several charges into the enemy, and suffered much physical hardship.  In 1864 alone, he had ridden 2800 miles through hostile territory.  Unable to continue in such active duty, he was transferred to the Veteran’s Reserve Corps on August 10, 1864, where he served as a farrier until the end of the war, being discharged as a Corporal.
 
Merrick’s health was poor the rest of his life, and family records indicate that he was restless and edgy as well as sickly.  He died of consumption on July 26, 1876, at the age of 42.  It is believed he contracted the illness during his campaigning.  Merrick was proud of his service and kept his uniform and other pieces of memorabilia as keepsakes.  Unfortunately, these were later disposed of  by family members who did not know nor appreciate what he had handed down to them.
~~~
Merrick Harding Burlingame, Co. E, 8th Mich Cav, b 16 Sept 1823, Cranston, Providence Co., RI; d 26 Jul 1876, Attica, Lapeer Co., MI; buried Attica Cem; son of Hardin Burlingame and Lavina Heath Burlingame.  Merrick was married to Cordelia Jane Richardson and was the father of five children.  [no known photo exists]

GRAVESITE:  Attica Cemetery, Attica, Lapeer Co., MI
Written by Jerry Piechocki, March 2004

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2nd great-granduncle of Jacalyn Vohlken

Private     Co. K     2nd Conn. Heavy Artillery
Dates of Service: 11 Aug 1862  - 20 Jul 1865 

Charles Amasa Campbell was born July 16, 1844 in Norfolk, Connecticut to Amasa and Lucy White Campbell, and was the brother of my great grandmother Moina S. Campbell Fosdick.  Charles was 18 years old when he mustered into service, had gray eyes and brown hair, stood 5 feet 7 inches tall, and was a farmer before the war.  Charles was at Cold Harbor when his brother, Leander Campbell, 11th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry, was killed there on June 3, 1864.
 
 Private Campbell's regiment was organized at Washington D.C. from the 19th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry.  They saw duty in the defense of Washington D.C., but joined the Army of the Potomac in May of 1864.  They saw action at Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, as well as many other battles, and were at Appomattox in April of 1865.
 
Charles spent many weeks in hospitals during his time in the 2nd Connecticut HA, and was also charged with "straggling" in July of 1864, not returning to his regiment until September of that year.  After mustering out of service, Charles moved to Fennville, Michigan to be with his family, who had moved here from Connecticut.  He married his sweetheart, Lavisa, who died in 1875.  Moving to Mears, Michigan, he married a woman named Effie Wood and became postmaster of that town.
 
After living in Detroit for a time, the Campbell family moved to Denver, Colorado and on May 3, 1924, Charles A. Campbell died, while sitting on his front porch swing, at the age of 80 years.

GRAVESITE: Fairmount Cemetery, Denver, Colorado
Written by Jacalyn Vohlken, April 2004

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2nd great-granduncle of Jacalyn Vohlken

Leander Campbell was born August 19, 1837 to Amassa and Lucy White Campbell, and was the brother of my great grandmother, Moina Campbell Fosdick.  Leander worked as a farmer, and was never married.  
 
He went into the service of his country, along with his brother Charles, and served in many battles, including Newbern, Antietam, South Mountain, Fredericksburg, and others, but was killed on the morning of June 3, 1864, during the Union attack on Confederate positions at Cold Harbor, Va.  
 
The whereabouts of his body is not known to the family, but it is possible that he is buried with the unknowns at the cemetery at Cold Harbor.  A memorial to Leander is now in place at the cemetery in Fennville, Michigan, next to the grave of his sister, Moina Fosdick.
 
See the Memorial Service for Leander Campbell, held on June 1, 2002.

GRAVESITE: Memorial at Fennville Cemetery, Fennville, Michigan
Written by Jacalyn Vohlken, February 2003

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3rd great granduncle of Nancy Starr

Private    Co. G     14th OH Infantry
Dates of Service:  22 Apr 1861 - 13 Aug 1861

Private    Co. G     54th OH Infantry
Dates of Service:  29 Feb 1864 - 26 Aug 1865

 Freeman Horis Dart was born May 17, 1838 in Chautauqua Co., New York. One of seven children of James Dart and Anna Covell. At the age of 22 he was living in Berrien Co. Michigan employed as a well digger.
 
On Christmas day of 1862, Freeman married Sarah Elizabeth Porter in Putnam Co., Ohio.
 
He entered the Civil War out of Lima, Ohio February 29, 1864 and was listed as present for the skirmishes at Larkinsville and Huntsville, Alabama. Evidently, he contracted a lung disease that kept him hospitalized much of the time.
 
After the Civil War, he and Sarah moved to Vegennes Twp. in Kent County, Michigan. By the 1880 census he and his family lived in Berrien Co., Michigan. His occupation was listed as a sawyer (carpenter).
 
Freeman died August 6, 1896 in Cedar Springs, Michigan of complications from the lung disease he acquired during the Civil War. He is buried in Elmwood Cemetery in Cedar Springs, Michigan.

GRAVESITE: Elmwood Cemetery, Cedar Springs, Kent Co., MI
Written by Mary Dart, June 2004

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2nd great-grandfather of Beverly Summers
Private     Co. E      67th Ohio Volunteers
Dates of Service:  10 Dec 1861 - 07 Feb 1863

John Delong was born in 1811 in Berks County, Pennsylvania. He was the second of thirteen  children of Jacob Delong and Catherine Mowery.    
 
Elizabeth 1809-1888, John 1811-1895, Lydia 1812-?, Sarah 1814-1893, Mary Jane 1815- ?, Catherine 1816-1893, Elijah 1818-1871, Jacob 1819-1871, George 1821-1899, Caroline 1827-1885, Daniel David 1828-1895, Peter 1830-1878 and Mary, 1839-? (Mary was a child of a domestic and was adopted).
 
When John was 25, his entire family, consisting of26 people moved to Little Hog Creek, Allen County, Ohio and became the first permanent settlers of that area.. There he met Sylvina Bowsher, daughter of Daniel Bowsher and Catherine Weaver. They were married December 1, 1840 in Shawnee Twp, Allen Co, Ohio. Three children were born of this marriage, Catherine 1842-1904, Malinda 1844-1907 and Daniel 1845-1872. They divorced in 1846.
 
On December 10, 1861, he enlisted in the 67th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Company E, in Logan Twp, Auglaize Co, Ohio. His younger brother Peter had enlisted in the same regiment on November 26, 1861. His enlistment papers states he was 44, actually he was 50. 
From: History of the City of Toledo and Lucas County, Ohio by Clark Waggoner, 1888, Munsell & Co New York, pgs 174-177.
 
"This Regiment was constituted of the fractional Regiments-the 45th and 67th and left Camp Chase January 19, 1862, for West Virginia, where it passed under command of General F. W. Lander. The month of February was chiefly spent at Paw Paw Tunnel, the only movement outside began a march to Bloomery Gap. March 5th it moved to Winchester, joining the Division of General Shields, where it had frequent skirmishes on the picket-line with Ashby's Cavalry command at Winchester and was soon engaged with the Rebels, driving them into the night and as far South as Kernstown. The men lay on their arms all night and the next morning were the first to engage the enemy. The infantry fighting having fairly opened, the Regiment was ordered to re-enforce General Tyler's Brigade. To do so it was necessary to pass an open field, exposed to the enemy's fire for three-fourths of a mile, which was done in double-quick, the command coming into action in fine order. In that action the Regiment lost 15 killed and 32 wounded. From that time until the last of June following, it rendered severe service in the marches to and from in the Shenandoah Valley, over the mountains and back, from the Potomac to Harrisonburg, from Front Royal to Fredericksburg, Fredericksburg to Manassas, Manassas to Port Republic, and thence to Alexandria.
 
June 29th, the Regiment took passage by water for the James, to reinforce McClellen. On the night of the 30th, when near the mouth of Chesapeake Bay, the troops were subject to great peril and distress, in consequence of the parting of the Steamer and Barge, from a severe storm. Men, horses, arms and other equipage were swept overboard and it was nearly an hour before the two crafts could be re-attached. The Regiment at Harrison's Landing campaigned with the Potomac Army until the evacuation of the Peninsula, when, with only 300 men for duty out of 850, it went to Suffolk, Virginia. While there it was permitted the first opportunity for rest and drill."
 
John Delong was wounded at the Battle of Winchester, March 23, 1862. Pieces of a bomb shell entered his leg and thigh, rendering them almost useless. After this wound, he developed chronic diarrhea, rheumatism and a hernia on his left side. He continued with the Company and did not lose any time until about August 1862, when the Regiment arrived at Suffolk, Virginia. During this time, he had suffered a great deal from chronic diarrhea, at times very severe, attack of rheumatism in his left leg and knee.
 
Then on December 20, 1862, he entered Hampton Hospital at Ft Monroe, Virginia. He was discharged Feb 10, 1863 with a Surgeon's certificate of disability. He returned home where he attempted to work for several farmers. His disability would bother him the rest of his life.
 
On March 24,1864, he married a widow, Eliza Ann (Sunderland) Bice with 5 children. Franklin 11, Martha A. 9, William C. 7, Susan A. 5 and Daniel 3. She died January 1, 1904 and is buried with her first husband, Zedick Bice in the Ft Amanda Cemetery, Allen Co, Ohio.
 
In 1878, he was a patient in the National Soldiers Home in Montgomery Co, Ohio. I believe he was in and out of this Hospital several times, but he did not die there, nor is he buried there. Eliza Bice Delong was living with her son in the 1880 Census.
 
John Delong applied for a pension in 1886, but was rejected several times. Many of his neighbors and friends attested to his condition. Finally in 1890, he began receiving a pension of $4.00 a month, later increased to $8.00.
 
He passed away June 17, 1895 in Spencerville, Allen Co, Ohio. He was living with Anna & Robert Stoneburner. Mrs. Stoneburner cared for him in his last illness from April 6, 1895 to June 17, 1895, the time of his death. His estate was probated and the $40.00 went to Mrs. Stoneburner. 
 
His parents, and seven of his siblings are buried in St Matthews Cemetery, Cridersville, Allen Co, Ohio.  Have not been unable to locate his final resting, place, yet.
 
The log cabin that his former wife, Sylvinia Bowsher lived in with her parents is still standing in Cridersville, Ohio. It is now a museum and is open to the public.

Beverly Summers at the home of Daniel Bowsher, 3rd great-grandfather
and father-in-law of John Delong, 2nd great-grandfather.

GRAVESITE: unknown
Written by Beverly Summers, June 2004

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2nd great-granduncle of Beverly Summers

Private    Co. E    67th Ohio Volunteers
Dates of Service:  16 Nov 1861 - 01 May 1863

Peter Delong, the younger brother of John Delong, was born December 15, 1830 in Ross Co., Ohio. He married Ellen Elizabeth Imler, who was born on August 30, 1836 in Allen Co., Ohio.
Secondly, he married Malinda Alder and had a daughter, Sarah Elizabeth in 1859.

Peter enlisted November 16, 1861, soon followed by his older brother, John Delong. They enlisted in the 67th Ohio Volunteers, Company E. He was discharged May 1, 1863 at Suffolk, Virginia on a Surgeon's Certificate of Disability.

He died June 15, 1878 at the age of 47 and is buried in St. Matthews Cemetery in Cridersville, Ohio.

His daughter, Sarah, is buried next to him but the stone is too worn to read. She probably died in childhood. His sister, Sarah Delong Fetherolf Baker erected a stone for his burial.

GRAVESITE: St. Matthews Cemetery, Cridersville, OH
Written by Beverly Summers, January 2006

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3rd great grandfather of Sheri Szymczyk

Private    Co. E    48th WI Infantry
Dates of Service:  24 Feb 1865 - 30 Dec 1865

Andreas Dressen was born January 25, 1830 in Germany, the third of thirteen children born to Theodor Dressen and Anna Catharina Schach.  In 1854, at the age of 24, Andreas came to America and settled in Milwaukee, WI.  Theodor Dressen (Andreas' father) was a tailor and Andreas followed in his father's footsteps, working as a tailor in Milwaukee.  It is through this work Andreas was introduced to Eva Rosenthal.  Andreas and Eva married on February 4, 1856.  The couple had nine children over the next 18 years.

On February 24, 1865 Andreas enlisted and was mustered into service in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  He was 35 years old.  One month later, on March 22, eight companies of the 48th Wisconsin were mustered into service and left for Benton Barracks in St. Louis, Missouri.  We can only speculate at Andreas' motives for enlisting at this time.  At the time Andreas enlisted in February, the couple had four children all under the age of ten.  Their fifth child was born March 8, 1865, little more than a week after Andreas joined up.

Andreas had no way of knowing that surrender by General Lee would come less than two weeks after his regiment left Wisconsin headed for Kansas.  Throughout the months of May, June, and July 1865 detachments of the regiment were employed in cutting wood and preparing timber and other material for strengthening the fortifications, and erecting new buildings at Fort Scott.  In August, the 48th regiment was ordered to proceed to Lawrence, Kansas where they expected they would be mustered out.  Instead, they were ordered to escort the trains and mail through the hostile Indian country.  In September, the regiment received its first pay.  The regiment then commenced its march to Fort Zarah, Kansas (250 miles west of Lawrence, Kansas).  Finally, in December, Company E returned to Leavenworth and was mustered out of service on the 30th.  They arrived in Madison, Wisconsin on January 3, 1866 where they were paid and disbanded.

Although Andreas only spent a year soldiering, it is a year that had a tremendous affect on his life thereafter.  The weather and conditions the men faced out west were some of the worst they had ever seen.  Considering these men were from Wisconsin and were used to bad weather, one can only imagine what these men dealt with.  Additionally, they dealt with these conditions knowing the war was over and that their families were waiting for them at home.  As a result of the poor weather, Andreas became ill and suffered from the effects of this illness until his death, January 26, 1877 (one day after his 47th birthday).

GRAVESITE:
Written by Sheri Szymczyk, March 2009

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great-grandfather of Jane Larson

2nd Lt.    Co. F    16th MO Cavalry
Dates of Service:  01 Nov 1863 - 01 Jul 1865

William Iley Duncan was born in Wright Co., MO, May 19, 1841.  We know almost nothing of his life before the Civil War.  At 21 years, he enlisted in Enrolled Missouri Militia at Springfield, MO, later converted to 16th MO Cavalry.  Mustering date for 16th MO Cavalry was November 1, 1863 - previous time served in E.M.M. unknown.  The 16th spent their service time in Missouri except for brief times in Arkansas, Kansas and Indian Territory.  The 16th was involved in pursuit of General Sterling "Pap" Price during his 2nd invasion of Missouri.  The remainder of the 16th's time was spent suppressing lawlessness of the bushwhackers.
 
William Iley enlisted as a private on November 1, 1863, promoted to corporal the same day!  Promoted to 1st Sergeant, February 19, 1864, served as 1st Sergeant until August 7, 1864.  That day he was commissioned and mustered as 2nd Lt. in Co F.  He was never discharged as an enlisted man, nor did he receive pay as an enlisted man.  It took a letter to the Adjt. General Department of Missouri to finally straighten out his pay!
 
William had said his father was a "Scotchman who married an Irish lass".  And after the war, on January 20, 1867, he married Lucinda Kazar Taggart in Webster Co., MO.  Her mother was reputed to be a full-blooded Cherokee.
 
He had a general store following the war and was first postmaster of Duncanville, MO (listed as a village until 1920; now off the map).  William and Lucinda had seven children. Jane's grandfather, Thomas Hugh, was second to the youngest.
 
No pictures remain, but his muster roll states he was 6 feet tall, with hazel eyes, dark hair and a fair complexion.  One of the muster rolls shows him at Sand Springs, Missouri, May 26, 1865.  He had been thrown from a horse, suffered a fractured collar bone, right shoulder blade.
 
Although we haven't found records of a land claim, Jane's grandfather, Thomas, remembered as a child, riding in the wagon driven by his oldest sister, Laura Jane.  It was probably in the Oklahoma land run of 1898, as Aunt Laura was 21 then, and you had to be 21 years old to participate in the run.  She was also an able horsewoman, so she drove the wagon, while her father, William Iley rode his horse.  Jane's great-aunt at a family gathering, related her mother (Laura Jane) telling of them being accosted by "robbers" while on the land run.  The robbers took all her father's money, but not the $2,000 she had in a pouch under her skirt!  The story handed down through the family is they staked a claim in what is now downtown Oklahoma City, and later traded it for a milk cow!
 
In any event, they settled in Pottawatomie Co, south of Oklahoma City on a farm and raised their children there until his death of pneumonia on January 26, 1894.  Both Lucinda and William are buried in the white cemetery outside the hamlet of Earlsboro, Oklahoma.
 
Lucinda did draw a government pension for herself and the two minor boys until her death on Nov. 30, 1933.  She lived her last years with her oldest daughter, Laura Jane (Duncan) Earles.

GRAVESITE: Earlsboro Cemetery, Earlsboro, Pottawatomie, Oklahoma
Written by Connie Larson, July 2001

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grandfather of Jean Sowa
great grandfather of Claudia Sowa

Musician    Co. K    27th IN Volunteers
Dates of Service:  01 Sep 1861 - 06 Oct 1862

Dubois County, 18, 5-7, Miller

Promoted from Private. Wounded at Cedar Mountain--gunshot to right calf. 2nd Corps Piedmont Hotel temporary United States Army Hospital, Culpeper Virginia. 2nd Division United States Army General Hospital, Alexandria Virginia, Mthodist Church Branch. Discharged at Convalescent Camp, Alexandria 10-6-62 for wounds. Last member Company K to die. Died at Jasper, Indiana 3-16-1932. Buried Jasper, Fairview (New St Joseph's) Cemetery

Corporal Conrad Eckert, Private Jospeh Schrader, Private Mathias Schmidt (Smith),
First Sergeant Joseph P. Mehringer, First Sergeant Joseph Roelle, Private Anton Berger
( Photo taken at a post-war reunion )

GRAVESITE: Fairview Cemetery, Jasper, Dubois, Indiana
Submitted by Susan Norder, June 2009

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3rd great-grandfather of Norma Overton

Private    Co. I     1st MI Sharpshooters
Dates of Service:  Mar 1862 - Apr 1862

William Edlin was born on March 17, 1822, in Nottinghamshire County, England. He met his wife Hannah Marie “Anna” Mayfield also from England; they were married in 1844 in Southwell, Nottinghamshire, England. A beautiful little girl named Sarah Ann was born to William and Anna in 1845. In England William made his living as a “Malter” which means he made that delicious brew and sold it to the pubs. By 1847 in the mist of the Irish Potato Famine, William made a decision to pack up his little family, leave his homeland, and come to the United States. He boarded an immigrant ship in Liverpool, England, bound for the United States along with his wife, Anna, and little daughter Sarah Ann. They arrived into the port of New York City and settled in a small town in upstate New York. William worked hard to support his family as a farm laborer. His second daughter, Mary Jane, was born in New York around 1850. By 1854 he packed up his family once again and moved by covered wagon to Michigan where he purchased 80 acres of prime farm land in Crystal Township, Montcalm County, MI. In the spring of 1856 his first son, S. William Edlin, was born. Another son followed in 1860 by the name of George H., but he died of pneumonia as a young toddler.

Although William had never become a naturalized citizen of the United States, he answered the patriotic call along with hundreds of fellow Americans. On February 22, 1862, at the age of 37, he enlisted at Matherton, Michigan, and qualified for the 1st Michigan Sharpshooters, Company I, under General Berdan. He stood 5’ 7” tall with blue eyes and light brown hair.

At the beginning of the Civil War sniping or sharp shooting was a recognized psychological weapon to be used in the war. Champion marksman, Hiram C. Berdan, of New York was authorized by President Lincoln to raise a regiment of sharpshooters for Federal service. Qualified recruits had to place 10 shots in a 10-inch circle at 200 yards, firing any rifle they chose from any position they preferred. The sharpshooters would be attached to regular regiments for special deployment at a Field General's order.

Shortly after my Great Great Great grandfather William enlisted into Company I, he contracted Typhoid Fever at their encampment near Detroit, MI. He was sent to Carver Hospital in Washington D.C. to recuperate. In May of 1862, by command of General Wadsworth, he was discharged from the army on disability.

William returned to his farm in Bloomer Township and by 1864, another son Charles was born. On December 22, 1879, William suffered yet another loss when his daughter Sarah Ann died of inflammation of the womb. After their daughter’s death, William and Anna chose to raise their 12 year old grand daughter Caroline Irene.

September 28, 1882, tragedy struck the Edlin home once again when his wife of 39 years passed away suddenly. William continued to work his farm in Bloomer Township with the help of his two sons until May of 1883 when failing health forced him to sell his farm. He moved in with his son Charles who lived on a farm in the rural town of Palo, Ionia County, MI. Here he remained until his death on March 17, 1899. William applied for his military pension at the sale of his farm based on disability from heart disease as a result of typhoid fever which he contracted while serving in Company I, 1st Michigan Sharpshooters. After several applications and rejections he finally was awarded $12.00 a month pension in 1888 for “disease of nervous system caused by the typhoid fever”. William Edlin died on his 77th birthday. According to his obituary in the Carson City Gazette…..“He was highly respected by all who knew him.” William was buried along side his wife and two children in Bloomer Cemetery, Carson City, MI. He was a member of the GAR, Julius T. Barrett Post 173 of Carson City, MI, which facilitated his funeral.

GRAVESITE: Bloomer Cemetery, Carson City, MI
Written by Norma Overton, November 2004

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2nd great-grandfather of Ginger Bish

2nd Corporal    Co. A    1st MI Engineers and Mechanics
Dates of Service:  19 Aug 1864 - 6 Jun 1865

Second Great Grandfather Andrew Everhart , the son of William Everhart and Mary, married Sarah Elizabeth Heydenberk who, sadly, died very young giving birth to my Great Grandmother Viola Estella Everhart. They were Methodist-Episcopal prior to the division. He did not remarry until many years later to the widow Polly Mudget who had one child from her previous union: Harriet? Polly applied for a widow's pension.

GRAVESITE:
Written by Ginger Bish, September 2008

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2nd great-granduncle of Ginger Bish

Private     Co. D     17th MI Infantry
Dates of Service:  24 Aug 1862 - 13 Sep 1862

Levi Everhart - b. 1838 d. 1914 Enlisted 24 Aug 1862 MI 17th Infantry Regiment Company D.

Received a disability discharge from Company D, 17th Infantry Regiment Michigan on 13 Sep 1862 at Detroit, MI.

GRAVESITE: Wayland Cemetery, Wayland, Allegan, Michigan
Written by Ginger Bish, September 2008

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2nd great-granduncle of Ginger Bish

Full Artificer      Co. D       1st MI Engineers and Mechanics
Dates of Service:  28 Aug 1862 - 28 Mar 1863

William Everhart, Jr. b. 1833 d. 28 Mar 1863 of disease in Nashville, TN and is buried in the Nashville National Cemetery. Enlisted 28 Aug 1862 First Regiment Michigan Engineers, Company D.

GRAVESITE: Nashville National Cemetery, Nashville,
Written by Ginger Bish, September 2008

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great-grandfather of Jacalyn Vohlken

Private     Co H      49th MA Vol. Inf
Dates of Service:  22 Sept 1863 - 1 Sept 1864

James Hubbell Fosdick was born November 16, 1827 in Sandisfield, Massachusetts where he was raised and educated.  In 1856, he married Moina S. Campbell of Connecticut.  In the dark days of the Rebellion, James, moved by patriotic enthusiasm and a desire to defend the Union, enlisted in Company H, 49th Massachusetts, with which he served faithfully at the siege of Port Hudson, La., until he was mustered out in September of 1864.  

In the year of 1866, James and Moina, along with four children, moved to Manilius Township, outside of Fennville, Michigan, where they lived in a log cabin while working on a farm house which was completed in 1884.  Eventually, the farm included hundreds of fruit trees, as well as pasture for livestock, and was considered a model farm for the community.  

James was active in community affairs and served as chaplain in the A. H. Fenn Post #271 Grand Army of the Republic.  While not actively engaged in politics, he served in other capacities, such as the position of path master.  James stood 5 feet 4 1/2 inches tall, with light complexion, blue eyes and brown hair, and when mustered out of the Union army, he was ill due to chronic kidney affliction, among other problems.  He died in 1912 at his home in Manlius Township.  

GRAVESITE: Fennville Cemetery, Fennville, Michigan
Written by Jacalyn Vohlken, November 2002

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2nd great-grandfather of Patricia Galloway

Private     Co. A      24th NY Cavalry
Dates of Service:  28 Dec 1863 - 17 Jun 1865

Private     Co. A      1st NY Prov'l Cavalry
Dates of Service:  17 Jun 1865 - 19 Jul 1865

Born in 1806 in New York. Married Catharine Larmon. They had one daughter and four sons, who all fought in the Civil War. William Henry Galaway was born December 28, 1830, Almira Galaway was born in 1836, Alexander Galloway was born 1840, Andrew J Galloway was born in May 1844 and Larmon Washington Galaway was born April 10, 1846.

Andrew was a farmer and Catherine was a housekeeper.

Andrew Galoway was in the 1st Provisional Cavalry, which became the 24th New York Cavalry along with his sons, Andrew J. and Alexander.

After the war, they all migrated to Grandville, Michigan in 1866.

GRAVESITE:
Written by Patricia Galloway, 2007

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great-grandfather of Patricia Galloway

Private     Co. C    184th NY Vol. Inf
Dates of Service:  26 Aug 1864 - 29 June 1865

William Henry Galloway was born in New York, December 28, 1830.  He married Olive Ann Fox in 1858.

William was enrolled into the Army August 26, 1864 and mustered out in June 29 1865 at the end of the war.

Prior to entering the army, William went to law school, was teaching, and was married to Olive Ann Galloway and they had a daughter, Olive Cathrine Galloway.

During his time in the service, William was taken ill and had to be hospitalized.  Soon after he was released from the hospital, William was on guard duty, when he was captured with four other men.  The Rebs were taking the men to Camp Libby. While en route the Rebs spotted an old abandoned farm house, and so they decided to camp there for the night and continue their journey the next day.  Later that night, William and the other men were rescued by the Yankee Cavalry.

After the Civil War, William and his family pioneered to Grandville, Michigan, where he settled. William farmed and served two terms as Justice of the Peace.

William and Olive had seven children, only three of their children survived.  Their second child William D. Galloway was my grandfather.

In 1906 William wrote his recollections of the Civil War.  At this time he and Olive lived in Grand Rapids, Michigan. William and Olive attended the Methodist church.  His political views were for abolition.

William died October 30 1909 and he and Olive are both buried in the Grandville cemetery.

Olive and William Galloway

GRAVESITE: Grandville Cemetery, Grandville, Michigan
Written by Patricia Galloway, May 2005

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great-grandfather of Judy Wiers

Private     Co. I        14th NY Infantry
Dates of Service: 18 May 1861 - May 1863

• French Canadian
• Born in Alexandria, NY,  April 25, 1839
• Mustered in at Utica, NY, May 18, 1861
• Wounded June 1862 in Gaines Mill, VA
• Mustered out Utica, NY, May 1863
• Married Hannah Taylor, Jefferson County, NY, July 1863
• Moved to Caro, MI in 1870
• Was a farmer
• Fathered 7 children
• In later years, move to Traverse, MI
• Died on November 3, 1909, at the age of 70 and was buried in Traverse City, MI

GRAVESITE: Traverse City, Michigan
Written by Judith Ann (Wolbert) Wiers, December 2007

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2nd great-grandfather of Dawn Robinson

Private      11th IN Lt. Artillery and 18th IN Lt. Artillery
Dates of Service: 17 Dec 1861 - 05 Mar 1864
Killed while on duty at Chattanooga, TN

GRAVESITE:
Written by

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great-grandfather of Lucille Read

Private     Co. D     41st WI Infantry
Dates of Service: 5 May 1864 - 23 Sep 1864

Private     Co. D      49th WI Infantry
Dates of Service: 10 Feb 1865 - 01 Nov 1865

Joseph Gothiea was born in Repentigny, Quebec, Canada on 6 May 1845 to Joseph Gothiea and Lucy Juneau.  I have not been able to verify when he immigrated to Wisconsin, but he served two enlistments in the Civil War.  The first was apparently without incident according to the records which I have found.  During the enlistment of 1865, he was sent to Benton Barracks, Missouri.  On 15 September 1865, he was taken ill with bronchitis and weakness of his legs and arms which rendered him unconscious for several days.  He recovered and returned to active duty, only to be disabled again  and honorably discharged on 11 November 1865 at Benton Barracks, Missouri.

Joseph married Adelaide Tasse on 25 December 1871 in Menasha, Wisconsin.  Their marriage produced 9 children, only 4 living to adulthood.  Their eldest, Lucy Margaret, was my grandmother.  She joined Eva Gray Tent, No. 2 on 27 October 1919 and again on 3 June 1930.   

Joseph & Adelaide moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan in approximately 1884.  Joseph worked as a “tubber”, making wooden wash tubs.  He continued to be plagued with ill health throughout the rest of his life.  He eventually was able to receive a small pension through the efforts of many.  Joseph died on 28 March 1926 at the age of 80 years, 10 months, 23 days.  He is buried in the cemetery of the Michigan Home of Veterans.  Adelaide died 1 November 1928 and is buried at the side of her husband.

GRAVESITE: Soldiers' Home Cemetery, Grand Rapids, MI
Written by Lucille A Read, May 2004

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1st cousins four times removed of John Norder
SIDNEY:
Full Corpl      Co. E       1st MI Sharpshooters
Dates of Service:  23 Oct 1863 - 28 Jul 1865

JAMES:
Private          Co. E       1st MI Sharpshooters
Dates of Service:  23 Feb 1864 - 23 Feb 1865

New Recruits – February 1864
Nineteen-year-old James B. Haight of Camden signed the Company E roster on 23 February 1864. His younger brother Sidney had been in the regiment since the previous October. The two boys visited a photographer a few weeks later, had their likenesses taken, and sent a copy home to their parents. They stared into the camera and posterity as they were about to embark on the great adventure of their lives.
 
Murder Most Glorious – Spotsylvania, Virginia – May 1864
After lying about without being able to punish the rebels, the Second Brigade was ready to swing into action. The three regiments, with remnants of whatever companies of the First Brigade cared to join them, charged to within 50 yards of the Confederate works. 'With no cover the men were exposed to the enemy, to a murderous cross fire, and the loss bid fair to be a fearful record," wrote Colonel DeLand in his official report. I ordered the men forward to the first line of the enemy's works."
 
As the rebels retreated, the Sharpshooters occupied the deserted trenches. For a few moments the men rested, then they were ordered again to advance. The Sharpshooters worked their way into the scrubby woods in front of them. James and Sidney Haight of Company E, one of the many brother combinations, kept an eye on each other as they entered the timber. Jim was ahead with Sid close behind.
 
Suddenly, a rebel rose from behind a log with his musket leveled at Jim. Pulling up his own weapon, Jim reacted immediately. Both men fired at the same moment, but to those who saw the action, it sounded as if only one shot were discharged. Jim's weapon fell from his hands, and he twisted in pain, holding his left arm. "Sid," he called out, "I've been hit." Giving a quick look at his brother's wounded arm, Sid told Jim to go to the rear. Reluctantly, Sid left his brother, turned, and joined in the attack. As Sid stepped over the log behind which the rebel had hidden, he saw the man lying there, dead. The Confederate had been shot in the forehead, while his own bullet had hit the side of Jim's rifle and been deflected into the Sharpshooter's arm.
 
The Dead and Wounded – May 1864
James Haight, whose lucky shot had killed his assailant, made his way to the division hospital, but nothing was done for him there. His wound was painful, the doctors were busy with dozens of other cases, and he was lost in the shuffle. Receiving no help for his injured left arm, Haight did manage to get a drink of whiskey and milk, his only sustenance or anesthesia. Not until he reached Lincoln Hospital in Washington, DC, did he receive any medical assistance. He adamantly refused to have his arm amputated; the surgeon could do little more than probe the blackened limb for the bullet and pieces of bone. The arm healed, but the severe damage crippled it. Very reticent about his military career for the rest of his life, the 19-year-old farmer had to restart his civilian occupation with quite a handicap.
 
James Haight’s grandson, who recalled the incident, wrote, "I well remember that my grandfather, when questioned about the Confederate soldier found dead behind the log, would walk away to avoid having to admit he had ever shot a man. He was a staunch admirer of Lincoln and the ideas for which he stood, but the war to him was sad experience".
 
The Mine Disaster – Petersburg, Virginia – July 1864
It was about 3:00 in the afternoon. Colonel Byron M. Cutcheon could see the flags of the three Michigan regiments of the Second Brigade still standing on the edge of the Crater, 150 yards away. The Sharpshooters' banner--the state colors given by Mrs. Austin Blair, which had been retrieved from the sand of the 17 June fight--flew in the face of the onrushing rebels; Sergeant Urie kept it afloat till the very end. It and the standards of the two other Michigan regiments were captured with the men who were unable or unwilling to run back to their lines.
 
A brigade of Virginians finally took the Crater and all those in it. During this last charge, the Sharpshooters held back and showed their character, giving the rebels a fight while allowing their comrades time to escape. Sergeant DePuy, the artilleryman, stuck by his guns to the last; the rebels captured him in the redoubt [stronghold].
 
Some of the Sharpshooters, among them Pvts. Sidney Haight, Antoine Scott, and Charles Thatcher, covered the retreat as best they could before they pulled out. Scott (Co. K) was one of the last to leave the fort. Both Haight and Scott were conspicuous in their bravery and seemed to have charmed lives. During the fight both men were in front of the breastworks, ceaselessly firing at the enemy. When the last charge came they stood in the open and kept a brisk fire going. Only at the end, when all was falling apart, did they leave the fort, running the "gauntlet of shot and shell" to their own lines. Thatcher, Haight, Scott, and DePuy all were cited for the Medal of Honor for their exploits that day.
 
Thatcher did not make it out of the Crater in time; he "continued to return the enemy's fire until he was captured." The 18-year-old Haight was probably the very last Sharpshooter to leave the redoubt. As he fired his final shot, a rebel officer with sword upraised came at him, demanding his surrender. Haight lunged and rammed his bayonet into the Confederate. Not stopping to retrieve his weapon, Haight turned and bolted for the Union lines as fast as his legs could carry him. On his way across the shell-torn expanse of open ground he lost his cap and felt lead balls tear through the ends of his jacket. A bullet hit the heel of his shoe, ripping the sole back to within an inch of the toe; that sole flapped with every running step. The bullets spat around Haight until he dived into the Union trench out of breath, hatless, with a sole mostly pulled from his shoe, but safe and sound.
 
The Last Charge – July 1864
Because of the ferocity and partial success of the engagement, the names of five men were submitted to Ninth Corps Headquarters. Recommended for Medals of Honor in the "demonstration" were Color Sgt. Richard Campbell and Sgt. William Wick (Co. D), both of whom "engaged in hand to hand conflict with the enemy." The other three were Cpls. Sidney Haight and Charles Thatcher (Co. E) and Pvt. Antoine Scott (Co. K), the last for "repeated gallantry."
 
The last three had previously received medal citations for their conduct in the Crater. Unfortunately, no action took place with these later recommendations, and none of the five received any governmental congratulations or medals for their heroism in the "demonstration".
 
NOTE:  Antoine Scott, the only Indian in the regiment who was ever nominated for the award, never received a medal for any of his heroism during the war. He died at Pentwater, Michigan, in December 1878. Sidney Haight received his medal in 1896, Scott probably never even knew be qualified for the honor.
 

The Last Reveille – Hillsdale, Michigan – 1918/19
Sidney Haight returned to Hillsdale after the war. He didn't receive the Medal of Honor for his heroic behavior in the Crater until the 1890s. He died in 1918 at 71 years of age. His brother James, whose arm had been permanently crippled at Spotsylvania, followed him to the grand reveille in 1919.
 
Source: Raymond J. Herek, THESE MEN HAVE SEEN HARD SERVICE--The First Michigan Sharpshooters in the Civil War (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1998), 88, 144, 156, 227, 321, 349, 373

GRAVESITE:  West Reading Cemetery, Reading, Hillsdale Co., MI
Compiled by Susan Norder, June 2001

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great-grandfather of Jane Hall
great-grandfather of Susan Norder
2nd great-grandfather of Beth Orletsky

Private    Co. B    15th NH Infantry
Dates of Service:  03 Oct 1862 - 13 Aug 1863

Horatio Nelson Hall, Jr. was born to Horatio Nelson Hall, a farmer and Deacon of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and Mahala Hinds in North Groton, N. H., Sept. 29, 1839. He was the eighth child of eleven.

At the age of 22, Horatio volunteered to serve his country for a period of 9 months. He received a clothing allowance of $31.63 in April 1863.

During the Civil War, Horatio ended up serving for 18 months in Co. B, 15th New Hampshire infantry. He received a pension for his claim of Chronic Diarrhea or Dysentery which he contracted in the service during the War of the Rebellion. Horatio was a member of G.A.R. Post 395, Amasa B. Watson, of Grand Rapids, MI.

Horatio came to Michigan in 1868 and was ordained as a Methodist Episcopal minister the following year. He had been in charge of pastorates at Whitehall, Lakeview and Reed City and retired from the ministry in 1907 while pastor of Baldwin M. E. church.

On 29 August 1871, he married Nancy Agnes Turner at the M. E. Church of Ingersoll, Ontario, Canada. The couple were blessed with four children, Hale Pliny Hall, born May 3, 1875;  Floyd Alexander Hall (my grandfather), born May 6, 1877; Truman Roy Hall, born March 24, 1883; and Blanche Irene Hall, born August 6, 1888.

Nancy Hall died at Hersey, MI, on October 11, 1922.

 Source: Grand Rapids Herald, August 1928

The 15th New Hampshire was in the organization of troops in the Department of the Gulf - Sherman's Division, Brig. General Thomas W. Sherman commanding.  The following is a report from the commanding officer to his superior regarding operations in the Louisiana area which took place from May 12, 1862 to May 14, 1863 (during the time of my great-grandfather's service in the Civil War).
                      HDQRS. Dept. of the Gulf, Insp. Gen.'s Office,
                                      New Orleans, January 15, 1863
 
Maj. Gen. N. P. Banks, Commanding Department of the Gulf, New Orleans:
      GENERAL:  In reply to your communication requiring a statement as to the condition of the inspector-general's department I have the honor to report as follows:
      The office of inspector-general was not created in the Department of the Gulf until November 10, 1962, when Colonel Dudley, Thirtieth Massachusetts Volunteers, was detailed for the position.  He gave his personal attention to the important duties of this position, and from reports made by him I find that the old regiments in the department have been much reduced by the diseases incident to the climate [possibly diseases such as dysentery] and the efficiency of regiments much impaired by detailing officers to fill civil position.  This last cause of inefficiency is particularly noticeable in the Twelfth Regiment Connecticut Volunteers.

      The forts for the protection of the city have been sadly neglected.

      Reports of inspection made of Forts Macomb and Pike, on the 2d and 3d of December, 1862, by Colonel Dudley, exhibit a criminal neglect of those important posts.  They are poorly supplied with implements for working the guns and very deficient in ammunition.

      I relieved Colonel Dudley on the 19th of December, 1862, and commenced a thorough inspection of the new regiments.  I have not seen one fit to take the field.  The ignorance of officers is lamentable.  In one instance the lieutenant-colonel commanding Fifteenth New Hampshire Volunteers admitted that he could not give the commands to pass his regiment in review.  The colonel of another regiment (Forty-seventh Massachusetts) executed the same movement in such a style that it was humiliating to witness it.

      The efficiency of several regiments is destroyed by their miserable arms.  The Fifteenth New Hampshire had the old flint-lock musket altered to percussion.  The arms had been much used; many could not be cocked.  Quite a number had the hammers off, and the bayonets did not fit the pieces.

      The Forty-seventh Massachusetts have the Austrian rifle, made of poor material and badly constructed.  I examined eight hundred of these rifles and I do not consider one hundred serviceable.

      The Sixteenth New Hampshire have the Vincennes rifle.  Twenty per cent are defective.  In one company seventeen were found that would not snap a cap.  Even if the drill of such regiments was perfect they could not be relied on.

      I am, general, respectfully, your obedient servant                       WM. S. ABERT
                      Lieutenant-Colonel, Assistant Inspector-General

GRAVESITE: Oakdale Cemetery, Hersey, Osceola Co., MI
Written by Susan Norder, October 2003

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2nd great-grandfather of Jennifer Yarbrough
2nd great-grandfather of Joanne Yarbrough
great-grandfather of Patricia Yarbrough

Sergeant     Co. K      3rd MI Infantry
Dates of Service:  13 May 1861 - 23 Dec 1863


GRAVESITE:
Written by

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great-grandfather of Marie Velting

Full Sergt     Co. L    5th MI Cavalry
Dates of Service: 22 Aug 1862 - 23 Jun 1865

According to War Department Records, my great-grandfather, Alonzo Haskins, enlisted in Co. L of the 5th Michigan Cavalry August 22, 1862, in Kalamazoo County, Michigan. He was mustered in September 2, 1862, at Detroit, where he was made Corporal. He was promoted to Sergeant February 4, 1864.

Alonzo had his own horse shot from under him June 11, 1864. He was never reimbursed for his loss as records prove. Sergeant Haskins was shot in the right hand at a battle near Salem, West Virginia, also known as the battle of Hawes' Shop. His bones were set and he returned to duty.

The Civil War "Brown Book" at the Grand Rapids Public Library, tells of all the horrible battles the 5th Michigan Cavalry were involved in, from the first attempt at Petersburg to Appomattox. Most of them were horrendous!

Imagine fighting in the Wilderness surrounded by fire and not knowing if the men near you were friend or foe or fighting off Jeb Stuart's Cavalry at Gettysburg. Our Cavalry kept the South from attacking our troops from the rear.

The Michigan History Civil War Edition claims the 5th Michigan Cavalry was involved in the only battle in the Civil War that had 20,000 horsemen fighting each other without aid from other units. It happened near Brandy Station, VA. June 9th, 1863.

Sergeant Haskins was among the unlucky cavalry units under General Custer that were sent directly to Fort Leavenworth to fight the Indians immediately after the Civil War without being allowed to come home first. I find that disgusting!

After seven letters to the President from the governor of Michigan, those of the 5th, 6th and 7th Michigan Cavalry, who had served more than their three years, were allowed to come home (without their horses.) SOURCE: Michigan History Civil War ed.

Family history indicates that Alonzo was born in Woodstock, Ontario, Canada in 1837. The family moved to Michigan that same year. His mother's name was Louisa Wyman. His father's name was Ebenezer.

My great-grandfather married Evia Overacker on October 29, 1865. They had two sons, Edward and Alonzo Jr.  Edward married twice, but had no children. Alonzo had four children: Ethel, Roy (my father), Russell and Donald, from whom came a very large extended family.

Our Civil War Veteran died one month after his last son was born February 24th, 1868. He is buried in Grand Prairie Cemetery in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

GRAVESITE: Grand Prairie Cemetery, Kalamazoo, Michigan
Written by Marie Velting, June 2005

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2nd great-half-granduncle of Ginger Bish

Private     Co. A     4th Michigan Cavalry
Dates of Service:  21 Oct 1863 - 4 Feb 1864

b. 01 Mar 1831    d. 04 Feb 1864 Nashville, TN - disease
Lived in Wayland, MI
Father: Joseph Heydenberk   Mother: Lydia

GRAVESITE: Nashville National Cemetery, Madison, Tennessee
Written by Ginger Bish, January 2009

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2nd great-granduncle of Ginger Bish

Private      Co. A      14th MI Infantry
Dates of Service:  4 Oct 1864 - 2 Aug 1865

His parents were Joseph Heydenberk/Heydenberg and second wife, Elizabeth Plass. He was born 23 May 1836 in NY. He first married Marie Perry b. 1840 NY. They had one son, Franklin b. 1858 MI. I believe his wife Marie and child Franklin died as in the following census he is married to Laura. Her maiden name is unknown but she apparently would have had a "first" married name of Worden as there is a stepson of that last name in the household. By 1890 Marquis is in the soldier's home in Grand Rapids and listed as a "Widower."  

I have some lines with some tragic stories, but this is about the saddest. Out of seven known children of Joseph and my Grandmother Elizabeth, Marquis was the only one to survive to a reasonable age: The only to outlive his parents. My Grandmother Sarah died giving birth to her first and only child when she was 25. Out of the fourteen known of Joseph and first wife Lydia and second wife Elizabeth only Marquis and William survived.

GRAVESITE: Grand Rapids Home for Veterans, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Written by Ginger Bish, January 2009

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2nd great-half-granduncle of Ginger Bish

Private     Co. L      1st MI Engineers and Mechanics
Dates of Service:  19 Dec 1863 - 22 Sep 1865

b. 11 Dec 1828  NY d. 30 May 1905 MI
m. 28 Aug 1853 Amanda Chambers b. Dec 1831 NY
Lived in Wayland, MI
Father: Joseph Heydenberk    Mother: Lydia

GRAVESITE: Elmwood Cemetery, Wayland, Michigan
Written by Ginger Bish, January 2009

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2nd great-grandfather of Bethany Hoover

Private     Co. F      152nd OH Nat'l Guard
Dates of Service:  01 May 1864 - 02 Sep 1864

John Bartlett Hole was born in Versaille, Darke County , Ohio on 2-25-1842 .  He was the son of Daniel Hole and Hannah Bartlett Hole.  His father Daniel was born in Miamisburg , Montgomery County , Ohio and at some point bought a farm in Darke County .  I have heard that at one time Miamisburg was called Hole Station, but I haven’t verified this.  He farmed with his father and married his first wife Christine Lehman on 2-11-1864 and they had a daughter, Orpah Lavina.

At the age of 22, he volunteered to serve his country in the 152nd National Guard Infantry.  His brother Jay Hole also served in the 152nd in another company.  The 152nd Ohio National Guard Infantry was formed for 120 days and formed at Camp Dennison , Ohio on May 11, 1864 .  They left for New Creek , West Virginia on May 15 then to Martinsburg and Beverly.  On June 12 they witnessed the burning of the Virginia Military Institute along with adjoining buildings, several factories, foundries, mills and the private residence of Governor Lector.  On June 19 they destroyed the Grace Iron Works owned by Jeff Davis and Company.  They saw action at Greenbrier Gap on June 22 and Sweet White Sulphur on June 23.  They then moved to Cumberland , Maryland on June 29 and did duty along the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.  Along the way, they destroyed bridges, mills and anything of use to the Confederacy.  They had many long forced marches and went without rations several times.  A “good dinner” was hard tack and coffee.  In Cumberland , they were attached to Reserve Division, Department of West Virginia.  They were ordered back to Camp Dennison , Ohio on August 25, 1864 and mustered out September 2.  Much of this information was taken from a letter I found on the Darke County website written by a soldier in the 152nd named Charles Viets.

After about a month of service, John contracted what they called typhoid pneumonia and was near death.  He was in the hospital a good portion of his enlistment.  He was never in good health again.  He suffered from chronic intestinal problems and hearing loss from the guns.

His wife Christine died on 3-10-1865 of unknown causes, possibly childbirth.  Orpah stayed with her grandparents and was raised by them.  John then moved to Celina, Mercer County , where he lived most of his adult life doing farming and other labor.  He married Mary Eletta Palmer on 11-10-1867 and had ten children—Eleanora, David Parkham (my great-grandfather), Sarah Ann, Elizabeth Jane, Edwin, Maggie Ollie, Laura, William, Violetta and Robert.  John and Mary also had three children who died in infancy.

John applied for a disability pension in 1885 at the age of 43 due to the chronic intestinal problems.  His pension was awarded and he received a whopping $4.  John died on 3-17-1922 in West Cairo , Allen County, Ohio where his daughter Maggie lived and is buried in Swamp College Cemetery near Celina, Mercer County , Ohio .  Mary died in 1929 and is buried beside him.  I visited his gravesite  and “152nd ONGI is engraved on his tombstone.  I like that on one of the forms in his pension file where he lists his family members he says he has “a happy peaceful life”.

GRAVESITE: Swamp College Cemetery, Celina, Mercer, Ohio
Written by Bethany Hoover, March 2009

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great-grandfather of Jane Hall
great-grandfather of Susan Norder
2nd great-grandfather of Beth Orletsky

Sergeant    Co. H    6th MI Cavalry
Dates of Service:  12 Sep 1862 - 03 Oct 1863

John Bogart Huff was born in 1831 in New Jersey to Peter Huff and Maria Stryker, the third of five children. He moved with his family to Sparta Twp, Kent Co., Michigan in 1842 and married Emily around 1857. To that union was born a daughter, Harriet.
 
At the age of 29 years, John enlisted as a Soldier at the town of Caledonia, Kent Co., MI. He was injured March 1, 1863, by a fall from his horse, the horse falling upon him afterwards. Huff was a member of G.A.R. Post 97, John J. Bagley of Hersey, MI.
 
Emily died in 1865 and John remarried to Samantha Cole on September 13, 1866, at Greenville, Michigan. By 1870, the family of four (including 12-year-old Hattie and two-year-old son Jesse) had moved to Hersey Township, Osceola Co., MI.
 
Nine children were born to the couple: Jesse, in 1868; Charles, 1870; Daniel, 1872; Cora, 1873; Nellie, 1876, Blanche (my grandmother), 1879; Flora, 1882; Ora, 1886; and Forest, 1890.  
 
John B. Huff of Hersey township, died at his home June 16, 1894, from the effects of an abscess in the head. The deceased was an early settler in this township, having located his present farm and homestead twenty-four years ago. He served during the Civil War in a Michigan cavalry regiment and was considered an exemplary citizen.
Source: Evart Review, Friday, June 22, 1894

Samantha survived her husband by 20 years when she passed away in 1914.

The following is a report from the commanding officer to his superior regarding operations in Northern Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania that took place from Jan. 26 - June 3, 1863.  It is most likely that John Huff was injured during this scouting mission.

       FEBRUARY 27-28, 1863.--Scout from Centreville to Falmouth, Va.

                        Report of Col. George Gray, Sixth Michigan Cavalry.
                                                            Meridan Hill, D. C., March 4, 1863
      LIEUTENANT:  I have the honor to report that on the morning of the 26th ultimo, in obedience to orders from your headquarters, dated February 25, 1863, I reported with six companies of this regiment to Col. R. Butler Price, at Fort Scott, where we were soon after joined by the Fifth Regiment Michigan Cavalry, under command of Colonel Norvell.  I was there ordered by Colonel Price to take command of both regiments, and proceed to Fairfax Court-House, there to report to Col. Percy Wyndham.  We left Colonel Price's headquarters a little before 9 a. m., and arrived at Fairfax Court-House at 3 p. m., when Colonel Wyndham, by one of his aides, ordered us to proceed to Centreville, where we halted for the night.
      Next morning, about 7 o'clock, with a detachment of the Eighteenth Pennsylvania Cavalry, we left Centreville by the Warrenton road, and, having crossed Bull Run, the command was formed into a column of squadrons, in mass, to the right of the road, and in that order awaited the arrival of detachments of the First Virginia and the Fifth New York Cavalry.  On the arrival of the troops last mentioned, the Virginia, New York, and Pennsylvania cavalry were formed into one brigade, designated the First, the Fifth and Sixth Michigan Cavalry constituting another, and designated the Second Brigade.

      At 10 o'clock the march was resumed, we being in the rear.  We arrived at Warrenton about 3.30 in the afternoon, and rapidly left the town by the road leading to Falmouth and Fredericksburg, from which we deviated to our right, coming upon the Orange and Alexandria Railroad about 4 miles southeast of Warrenton Junction.  We followed the course of this railroad to the southeast about 1 mile, where we camped for the night.

      Saturday, the 28th of February, at 6 o'clock in the morning, the march was resumed; the brigade of which I was in command being again ordered to take the rear.  We proceeded to Falmouth Station, where the head of the column arrived at about 2 p. m.  Here we remained until Monday.

      During the march from Centreville to Falmouth Station, we made frequent deviations from the direct road.  The distance thus marched was said to be 96 miles.  The time occupied was less than thirty hours, allowing for the halt at Bull Run Friday morning, and including about twelve hours' halt on the Orange and Alexandria Railroad Friday night.

      The road, after leaving Warrenton, was in the worst possible condition.  A very heavy snow, which had fallen previous to our march, was disappearing, saturating the ground.  Frequent rains contributed to make the roads bad and the march laborious, notwithstanding which, the march from Warrenton to Falmouth Station was made with as great rapidity as over any other portion of the route.  On Saturday morning we marched 25 miles without any halt.

      Soon after our arrival at Falmouth Station, the command of the entire force was turned over to me temporarily by Colonel Wyndham, but not until he had arranged to supply the command with rations and forage.

      On Sunday, I received a written communication from Colonel Wyndham, dated "Headquarters Army of the Potomac, March 1, 1863," informing me that his resignation having been accepted, I was in command of the force.  At midnight, I received another note from Colonel Wyndham, stating that the order accepting his resignation was revoked, and then he resumed command, ordering me to be in readiness to march at 6.30 next morning.  This note was accompanied by an official copy of the order of Major-General Heintzelman, revoking the acceptance of Colonel Wyndham's resignation.

      On Monday morning, about 7.30, the march was resumed, under command of colonel Wyndham, we again in the rear.  We proceeded to Stafford Court-House, and there halted and fed our horses.  Thence we marched by a circuitous route to a point about 4 miles south of Wolf Run Shoals, where we encamped.  The route traveled this day was exceedingly bad and difficult, and in may places for miles together almost impassable.

      Next morning we marched leisurely to Fairfax Court-House, where Colonel Wyndham remained, and the First Brigade left us.  After a halt of somewhat more than three hours, we (the Fifth and Sixth Michigan Cavalry) resumed the march for Washington, crossing Long Bridge about 9 o'clock in the evening, where the command separated for their respective camps.

      I regret to have further to report that, in consequence of the extraordinary condition of the roads and the rapidity of the march from Bull Run to the camp near the Wolf Run Shoals, the brigade has sustained great loss.  Not only were many of the men and horses compelled to be left behind, to come up when they hereafter can, but also many horses were left dead by the way.  It will be many days before large numbers of the horses which reached camp can be used, and several, I fear, are rendered wholly unfit for future service.

      Not having any knowledge of the object of the expedition, I am, of course, unable to say whether or not it was accomplished.

      We did not see the enemy, and our march from his supposed direction was generally at least as rapid as toward him.  A few stragglers were captured, and some horses taken, but what disposition was made of either I have not learned.
            Your obedient servant,          
                                  GEO. GRAY,
                                  Colonel Sixth Michigan Cavalry.

GRAVESITE: Oakdale Cemetery, Hersey, Osceola Co., MI
Written by Susan Norder, October 2003

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2nd great-grandfather of Jane Hall
2nd great-grandfather of Joyce Hulbert
2nd great-grandfather of Susan Norder
3rd great-grandfather of Beth Orletsky

Private    1 Indpt. Co. Sharp Shooters    27th MI Infantry
Dates of Service:  29 Feb 1864 - 08 Jun 1865

Nehemiah L. Hurlbutt enlisted in the First Company Sharpshooters on February 29, 1864 at Ovid, Clinton County, Michigan. He was a 43-year-old farmer at the time of his enlistment, living with his wife, Amanda, and their five children, Augusta Mary, aged 17; Ellen, aged 15; George, aged 11; Oscar, aged 10 and Willie who was only one year old. One wonders why a 43-year-old man with a young family would enlist in the army during wartime. Perhaps it was for the $60 bounty plus one month’s pay that he received in advance. We may never know for sure.

However, we do know much about the time that Nehemiah served in the army from reports and records kept at the time. For instance, he mustered for roll call with his regiment while on active duty, so we can conclude that where his regiment was, so was he. Also, the official records of the Union and Confederate Armies were compiled and published by the Secretary of War in 1891. Such documents, written long-hand by the generals and commanding officers of the conflicting armies, detail troop movements and the battles that they were engaged in. For Nehemiah, who fought in some of the bloodiest and most noteworthy conflicts of the Civil War, we can trace his journey from his enlistment at Ovid, Michigan to "the Crater" at Petersburg, Virginia. It was there that he suffered severe leg wounds on July 30, 1864, five months after he began active duty. His injuries were so debilitating as to render him disabled for the remainder of his life.

N.L. Hurlbutt mustered for active duty on March 1, 1864 to begin his 3-year commitment to the Union Army in the First Company Sharpshooters, which served as part of the Twenty-seventh Regiment until the close of the war in 1865. Back in April of the previous year, the Twenty-seventh Regiment was mustered for active service, leaving Ypsilanti, Michigan in April 1863 to join the Civil War already in progress. The Twenty-seventh was sent to Annapolis, Maryland the first part of April 1864 where two companies of sharpshooters under Captains Porter Perrin and Richard Vosper joined it. These two companies were designated as the First and Second Company Sharpshooters.

The term "Sharpshooters" referred to the rifles used by the newly formed companies, not to the skill level they might have obtained during training. As a matter of fact, most recruits only had about two weeks of basic training and introduction to camp life. Because of the need to preserve weapons and ammunition for combat, Nehemiah and his contemporaries seldom were able to shoot live rounds in their weapons prior to the battles in which they fought. And, throughout the Civil War, most combatants used muskets, usually the .577 caliber Springfield rifle-musket.

Nevertheless the advent of these "sharpshooters", with their seven shot .52 caliber magazine Spencer rifles, the then new and most destructive infantry arm known, was hailed with delight by officers and men. For not only was the regimental front made respectable in point of numbers, but the guns were the only ones of their kind in the 9th Corps. A petition was made and granted to arm the whole regiment with Spencers and designate them all as sharpshooters. It might have been a source of pride initially, having a weapon capable of firing 7 shots in 12 seconds, but the down side of the issue became apparent very quickly as the Twenty-seventh Regiment was often placed in advanced positions in battles, sustaining heavy losses throughout its history.

With the addition of two companies of sharpshooters, the Twenty-seventh Regiment now was composed of twelve companies, 864 strong, in command of Major Moody. They joined the Army of the Potomac April 29, 1864 in Warrenton, Virginia where General Grant had headquartered his army for the winter. The regiment was attached to the 3rd Division, 9th Corps. The order of command was as follows:

Union Forces Commander    General Ulysses S. Grant
Army of the Potomac    Major Gen’l George Meade
9th Corps    Major Gen’l Ambrose Burnside
3rd Division     Gen’l O.B. Willcox
Twenty-seventh Regiment    Capt. Samuel Moody
First Co. Michigan Sharpshooters    Capt. Porter Perrin
Nehemiah Hurlbutt, Private

From this point in time, the war officially began for Nehemiah L. Hurlbutt.

The Twenty-seventh crossed the Rapidan River with the 9th Corps on the 6th of May 1864 and was immediately engaged in the terrific struggle of the Wilderness losing eighty-nine in killed and wounded. The regiment was engaged in this battle for two days before marching to their next battle on May 9th at the Ny River.

The regiment scarcely emerged from the Wilderness and Ny River when, on May 10, 11 and 12, it was involved in the bloody encounter of Spotsylvania where its losses were 27 killed, 148 wounded, and 12 missing. And, during the month of May, the Twenty-seventh was constantly marching and fighting, sustaining frightful losses. On June 3rd, the regiment fought at the battle of Bethesda Church where 16 were killed, 60 wounded among them a large number of officers.

From the Battle of Cold Harbor, June 7, 1864, the Twenty-seventh crossed the James River, and during the 17th and 18th of June charged the enemy’s works before Petersburg, meeting with severe loss from the fire of musketry and artillery.

During the months of June and July the regiment was constantly under fire, and on July 30 took part in the disastrous charge at "the Crater" when a mine was exploded immediately in its front. The Twenty-seventh was in the advance of its brigade in this charge and suffered severely from enemy crossfire, meeting with heavy loss.

For Nehemiah, who had been in almost continuous combat for 3 months, the war ended on July 30 with the assault on "the Crater". Like many from the Twenty-seventh Regiment, he was wounded after being ordered into "the Crater" in a charge on Confederate lines. Unfortunately, for several reasons, soldiers became backed up in this large sunken hole and became confused, unable to move forward or retreat. The Confederates lobbed mortar and artillery shells into "the Crater" as well as a blistering "rain" of musket fire. Nehemiah was severely wounded in both of his calves.

During the Civil War, the dead and wounded were collected when the battle was over. Until that time, the wounded lay on the field of battle untended or comforted by medics. Being taken to a field hospital of the time, generally one to two miles behind the front, was a trip into a primitive environment beyond belief. Field surgeons performed three basic tasks only. They probed for imbedded missiles (usually with their fingers), and they employed unsophisticated ligatures in an effort to control hemorrhaging. However, three-fourths of a surgeon’s time was spent in amputating mangled arms and legs. Little was known at the time of the principle of setting broken bones; of greater impact was the rationale that the wounded were too many and the doctors too few to allow prolonged treatment of a serious injury to an extremity. It was quicker, and the prognosis seemed just as favorable, to remove the limb in question.

How Nehemiah survived his wounds and did not suffer amputation remains a mystery. In fact, it was initially recorded that he had died of wounds received in action at Petersburg. Nevertheless, he was moved from this scene of battle to a hospital in Washington, D.C. to convalesce until mustering out of service June 8, 1865, almost 11 months after the "Crater". His injuries were described as gun shot wounds through both calves with considerable loss of tissue. At one point gangrene set in and "ate the flesh off to the bone, destroying the cord of the right leg rendering the leg most wholly useless."

At the time of his release from the hospital and discharge from the army, Nehemiah was considered disabled and was approved for a pension of $6.00 a month. It can be stated with certainty, given Civil War Records of pension claims, that the wounds that he sustained indeed disabled him and caused him considerable difficulty in pursuing a normal life.

Nehemiah served in the army for a total of one year 3 months. In that time he was in combat during the months of May, June and July of 1864. This brief period found him engaged in these infamous battles in Central and Southern Virginia:

THE BATTLE         IN 1864
The Wilderness     May 6 - 7
Spotsylvania         May 9 - 12
North Anna           May 23 - 25
Bethesda Church   June 2 and 3
Cold Harbor          June 7
Petersburg            June 17 and 18
the Crater             July 30

The Twenty-seventh Regiment was one of the "Three Hundred Fighting Regiments" of the Union Army receiving special mention by the War Department and Congress in 1866. To be designated as one of these "fighting regiments," casualty lists of over thirty percent of total enrollment had to be demonstrated. The battles that Nehemiah Hurlbutt fought in were decisive in ending the war one year later at Appomatox Court House, Virginia.

GRAVESITE:  Oak Grove Cemetery, St. Louis, Gratiot County, Michigan
Written by John and Susan Norder, August 1998

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2nd great-grandfather of Norma Overton

Private     Co. H    55th OH Infantry
Dates of Service:  3 Dec 1861 - 11 Jul 1865

Johann Leonard Koenig was born on January 2, 1828 , in the small town of Winterbach, located in Wurtenburg-Badan Germany.  At the age of 25 he applied for emigration to the United States.  He came into this country and settled in Bloomville, Seneca County, Ohio.  He met and married his wife, Caroline Shock (Schaak), on March 31, 1857.  He purchased 40 acres of farm land just across the county line in Lykens Township, Crawford County, OH.
 
Johann like most immigrants came over to this country in search of a better life.  Many of the German and Irish immigrants were persecuted after they got here, maybe that is why Johann changed his name legally to John Leonard King.
 
What I admire about my great great grandfather is he was only in this country five (5) years when the war broke out between the North and the South.  He came for freedom and ended up enlisting on December 3, 1861 in the 55th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, probably for a cause he couldn’t have felt a strong passion for. Records state he could speak the English language but couldn’t read or write it.  This must have been interesting not being able to write letters home to his wife unless they both wrote in German.  When he enlisted, John left behind a young wife and three small children.  He stood 5’ 7” tall, light brown hair and blue eyes.  Records state that in January of 1863 he incurred severe exposure during inclement weather when he was on picket duty resulting in frost bite to both feet which he never fully recovered.  On May 15, 1864 , during the battle of Resaca, GA, he was hit in the left knee from a spent bullet.  He was first treated at hospital in Savannah, GA and later sent to military hospital in Nashville, TN, where he stayed for four months.  After treatment he was sent back to his regiment but assigned to cooking and other light-duties until he was mustered out on July 11, 1865 and came back home to Lykens Township.  My grandfather also fought with the 55th Ohio in the battles at Chancellorsville.  Records show he went back 3 separate times to fight for the cause.   
 
My great grandmother, Samantha Almenia, wasn’t born until 1868.  Children born to this union between John and Caroline were:  Eliza, William, Mary, John W., Samantha, Charles, James, and Mirtie.   His wife died in 1876, at the young age of 36, leaving him with 8 small children to raise.  It wasn’t until November 26, 1891, that he remarried a widow woman by the name of Margaret Woods.  Some time between 1877 and 1891 John moved to Continental, Ohio in Putnam County.
 
In 1900 he applied for and was granted a disability pension from the war department. John Leonard King died on December 18, 1905, and is buried in Mount Zion Cemetery.
 
I had visited his grave site several years ago and at the time his headstone had a Spanish American War Dept. flag holder and he was listed as serving in the Spanish American War.  I thought at the time that he was a little old but there was really no age requirement at that time.  It wasn’t until a distant cousin emailed me doing genealogy research that I discovered that my great great grandfather served with the 55th Ohio Volunteers.  
 
John L. King’s daughter, Samantha Almenia, married Charles Kunzi in Ohio and eventually moved to North Plains Township, Hubbardston, Ionia County, MI in early 1900s. They had 13 children, one of whom, Myrtle Pearl, was my grandmother and the rest is history.
 
GRAVESITE: Mount Zion Cemetery, Putnam Co., OH
Written by Norma Overton, May 2007

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2nd great-grandfather of  Dorotha Piechocki

Private    Co. K    1st NY Light Artillery
Dates of Service:  06 Sep 1864 - 20 Jun 1865

Peter Lutz was born circa 1830 in Switzerland.  He emigrated about 1854 to New York, arriving in Herkimer in May, 1855.  Within that same year, the German-speaking Peter met and married an immigrant Irish girl, Elizabeth Fagan.  Peter filed his naturalization intent in 1859 in Herkimer and was naturalized a citizen in 1861.  Somewhere along the way, he began to be called Peter "Lewis".

Peter worked as a day laborer until he enlisted in the 1st NY Light Artillery, Co. K, on September 1, 1864, as a "mechanic".  The 1st NYLA did not serve as a unit, but was "detached" or split up to serve in many different armies and in many engagements.  Peter appears to have been most fortunate in that he was posted to Co. K in defense of Washington, D.C.  It is quite possible that Co. K was a replacement for one of the many "Heavy Artillery" units that General Grant pressed into service during the last year of the War.  These units suffered greatly in killed and wounded soldiers, mostly at Cold Harbor and Spotsylvania, leading the attacks in their first ever battles.  What fort Peter was stationed to is unknown; however, many of these forts were attacked by Jubal Early in 1864.  Peter was mustered out on June 20, 1865, at Elmira, NY.

About 1868, Peter moved with his wife and six children to rural Kent County, Michigan, where he labored variously as a farmer, a sawyer, and on the railroad.  When his wife Eliza died in 1880, he moved to Grand Rapids, where he remarried, fathering two more children.  He outlived his second wife and married a third time.  Peter died in Grand Rapids in 1899 at the age of 69.  He is buried in Mt. Calvary Cemetery in Grand Rapids.

GRAVESITE:  Mt. Calvary Cemetery, Grand Rapids, Kent Co., MI
Written by Dorotha Simmons Piechocki, February 2001

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2nd great-grandfather of Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
3rd great-grandfather of Kara Boorsma

Corporal       Co. D    107th NY Infantry
Dates of Service:  04 Aug 1862 - 05 Jun 1865

GRAVESITE:
Written by

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3rd great-granduncle of Ginger Bish
3rd great-granduncle of Theresa Netherton

Private     Co. E     21st MI Infantry
Dates of Service:  5 Aug 1862 - 1 Aug 1863

Private     Co. G     15th U.S. Veteran Reserve Corps
Dates of Service:  1 Aug 1863 - 12 Nov 1865

Parents: Almon Lovejoy (War of 1812) and wife, Hannah Ames.
Benjamin T. Lovejoy was the brother of my Third Great Grandfather John Lovejoy. Benjamin was born in 16 Jan 1830 NY. and married 25 Dec 1857 in Paris Twp., Kent Co., MI to Charlotte A. Van Amburgh. They had four children: Almon M., Abner, James and Benjamin. During the Civil War, Benjamin engaged in the battles of Perrysville, KY and Murfreesboro, TN. He was a Republican and belonged to the United Brethren Church in Mecosta Co., MI. Benjamin d. 24 Dec 1879 and is buried in Lake City Cemetery, Lake City, Missaukee Co., MI.

GRAVESITE: Lake City Cemetery, Lake City, Missaukee, Michigan
Written by Ginger Bish, September 2008

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3rd great-granduncle of Ginger Bish
2nd great-grandfather of Theresa Netherton

Private    Co. I    3rd MI Infantry
Dates of Service:  13 May 1861 - ??

Lewis Thorp Lovejoy was born 8 May 1835 in Lodi, Cattaraugus County, New York. He was one of fourteen children born to Almon Lovejoy and his wife Hannah Ames Lovejoy.

The Lovejoy family migrated to Michigan, where Lewis married Lydia Spotts on 19 August 1852. They had two children: Sarah E. and Amanda M. Nothing further is known of them.

On 13 May 1861 Lewis enlisted in Company I of the Third Regiment of Michigan Volunteers. He enlisted at Grand Rapids. His military papers give his description as six feet two inches tall, light complexion, grey eyes, and brown hair. His occupation was butcher.

On 1 January 1862, while his unit was in the vicinity of Alexandria, Virginia, Lewis accidentally cut himself in the leg with a broadaxe. The regimental surgeon examined Lewis and prepared his instruments for amputating the leg. His non-commissioned officers and comrades persuaded the surgeon to try to save the leg, and soon after, Lewis was taken to the hospital in Alexandria.  He was eventually judged to be incapable of performing the duties of a soldier because of chronic ulceration of the leg, and he was discharged for disability. His injury plagued him for the rest of his life.

When Lewis returned from the war he went to Wisconsin. There he met and married Anna Louisa Rist. Their two sons were born in Wisconsin: Almon H. in 1866, and James Edward in 1868.

Lewis lived in several states before settling in DeKalb County, Missouri where he died on 12 February 1912 at the age of seventy-seven. He is buried in DeKalb County, Missouri in the Riggs Cemetery, also known as Walnut Grove.

GRAVESITE: Walnut Grove Cemetery, Weatherby, DeKalb, Missouri
Written by Theresa Netherton, September 2008

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great-grandfather of Charlotte Dumont

Private      Co. D      124th NY
Dates of Service:  16 Sep 1864 - 03 Jun 1865


GRAVESITE:
Written by

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2nd great-granduncle of Dorotha Piechocki

Private    Co. E and Co. M    1st MI Light Artillery
Dates of Service:  07 Mar 1864 - 01 Aug 1865

Peter Stillman Meabon, known as “Still”, the son of James Meabon and Amanda Foster Meabon, enlisted on March 7th 1864 in Grand Rapids , Michigan , into Company E 1st Regiment Michigan Light Artillery at age 28.  It did not take long for Company E to see action. In May of 1864 the 1st MLA was detailed to General William Tecumseh Sherman's Army of the Tennessee , which was pushing its way toward Atlanta , Georgia . Shortly after their arrival Company E, armed with its six ten-pound Parrot guns, was selected to serve as artillery support for the 8th Indiana Cavalry, the 5th Ohio Cavalry, the 2nd Kentucky Cavalry, the 8th Ohio Cavalry, and the 4th Tennessee Cavalry -- some 2,500 men -- for a raid into Alabama ( yes Alabama).
 
The raid, known as "Rousseau's Raid" for its commander Major General Lovell H. Rousseau, was to move deep into Alabama and cut the one remaining rail link into Atlanta , Georgia . If the West Point and Montgomery Railroad line could be cut, a vital supply line for munitions and food stored in Selma and Montgomery , Alabama , as well as troop reinforcements might bring Atlanta that much closer to capitulation.
 
The raiders rode out of Decatur, Alabama in the early morning hours of July 10, 1864, and headed south through Somersville, Blountsville, and Asheville, creating quite a stir throughout the region and drawing to them any Confederate troops in the area like bugs to a flame. During the night of July 13th the force had reached the Coosa River where the troopers found the best crossing --Ten Islands Ford -- blocked by 200 Confederate cavalrymen of the 6th and the 8th Alabama under General James H. Clanton. Under heavy enemy fire the Union raiders crossed the ford and successfully drove the rebels from the far side and chased them down the road to Greensport , Alabama . While at Ten Islands Ford, the Union forces made good use of their delay by destroying the Janney Furnace Iron works, which produced cannon balls and sheet metal.
 
On July 15th the Rousseau Raiders reached the town of Talladega where they destroyed the railroad depot, gun factory, and many railroad cars loaded with Confederate supplies of food on the side tracks, destined for Atlanta . As the Union raid moved out of Talladega , Rousseau headed the column toward Montgomery as a deception. While Confederate troops moved vigorously to the defense of Montgomery , the Union force suddenly turned east instead and destroyed the Tallessee Arsenal where the new Confederate carbine was being put into production.
 
On July 17th the raiding force reached its main objective and began the business of destroying as much of the West Point and Montgomery Railroad as time would allow. This was done by burning the torn-out railroad cross-ties, which were made of pine, and melting the tracks until they could be bent beyond re-use. This was done in several key locations along the rail line where it could have the most devastating effect. In all, about 30 miles of track was destroyed. During the fun, a fully-loaded Confederate train happened upon the troopers and was captured and destroyed as well. A small force from a nearby hospital in Auburn tried to harass the work but was no match for the force and was sent running.    
   
With their mission accomplished, the force turned north for the safety of the Union lines but were surprised to find their way blocked near the town of Chehaw Station in Macon County. A force of about 500 Confederate soldiers had been shipped in by train from Montgomery to cut off their escape. The soldiers blocking the route were not a cohesive unit but rather cadets and men on leave thrown together hastily and were no match for the hardened Union troopers. Although they put up a very good defense, they were no match for the artillery of Company E and during the cannon barrage, were soon flanked and routed leaving behind 40 brave dead and an unknown number of wounded. With no real resistance to impede them the force made good time returning to the Federal lines.
       
The raid achieved its purpose of destroying nearly 30 miles of the West Point and Montgomery Railroad and halting the flow of men and supplies into Atlanta by rail line. It took over a month for the Confederates to repair the line and until then the defense of Atlanta suffered by the loss if its use. In addition, tons of supplies and raw materials were denied use by the enemy. The Confederate army was never to get enough carbines due to the destruction of the Tallessee arsenal.  
 
On August 11, 1864, Pvt. Meabon transferred to Battery M, 1st Brigade, 4th Division, of the 23rd Army Corps and was posted to Cumberland Gap, Tennessee, where they spent the rest of the summer building fortifications defending the road to Knoxville, seventy miles to the south. On December 12, 1864, Company M, which was now without its artillery, accompanied General Stoneman into southwestern Virginia. The raid was intended to destroy the lead mines at Marion, VA, and salt works at Saltville, VA. On December 17th the force was met by a force of Confederates hurriedly assembled to defend the lead mines. The engagement was short but sharp costing a total of 274 casualties on both sides. The Confederates were sent packing and the mines were blown up.  
 
On December 20th the Confederates once again tried to halt the Federal advance, this time personally led by Confederate General John C. Breckinridge, but the Rebels were again outnumbered and outflanked causing them to fall back and leaving the saltworks to the Federals.
   
The regimental history makes mention of several other small raids and forays into southwestern Virginia during the spring of 1865 but no details are given. It can be assumed that during this time there were few if any Confederate troops in the area as most of the historical events were occurring on the other side of Virginia . Yet current events in history are seldom seen as preeminent and there was one more, possibly life-altering, experience in store for Pvt. Meabon and his compatriots.  On April 1st 1865 , Company/Battery M was transferred to the 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, Army of the Cumberland , which was positioned on the north end of the Cumberland Gap , with the purpose of cutting off any retreat General Lee and the Army of Virginia might have in mind if they could outmarch the Army of the Potomac .  It can only be imagined the anticipation of the men as they received the daily telegram news of the approaching Confederate Army as it was retreating from General Grant but heading right toward them. Would they perhaps die in the last major battle of the Civil War? Would they be the force that would defeat and capture the Army of Northern Virginia or perhaps be defeated by it? Neither was to be the case, as the Confederate forces were forced to surrender some 150 miles short of the Gap at Appomatox Court House on April 7th 1865 .
 
On July 7th 1865 Company/Battery M began a train journey from Nashville , TN , to Louisville , KY , to Indianapolis , IN , to Jackson , MI , on July 12th. There it camped until August 1, 1865 . The Company was then paid off and disbanded, ending Peter Meabon's adventure to "see the elephant".
 
“Still” returned to Grand Rapids , Michigan , for awhile and then moved to Eau Claire , Wisconsin , where he and his wife Mary Patterson Meabon made a living growing popcorn. They had no children.  “Still” died in 1897 after a long battle with tuberculosis.
 
GRAVESITE:  Eau Claire, WI (probably)
Written by Jerry Piechocki, March 2004

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great-grandfather of Dian Thomas

Private       Co. D       3rd MI Infantry
Dates of Service:  1 Sep 1864 - 25 May 1866


GRAVESITE:
Written by

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2nd great-grandfather of Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
3rd great-grandfather of Kara Boorsma

Private      Co. F      73rd OH Infantry
Dates of Service:  18 Oct 1861 - 10 Mar 1865

GRAVESITE:
Written by 

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great-grandfather of Patricia Galloway

Private       Co. E       21st MI Infantry
Dates of Service:  11 Aug 1862 - 8 Jun 1865


GRAVESITE:
Written by

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2nd great-grandfather of Patricia Galloway

Private       Co. E      21st MI Infantry
Dates of Service:  12 Aug 1862 - 21 Jan 1863


GRAVESITE:
Written by

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3rd great-granduncle of Bernadette Butgereit

Full Lt Col    Co. D     43rd IN Infantry Reg.
Dates of Service:  13 Sept 1861 - 14 June 1865

b. November 24, 1829 in Brown County, Ohio near Cincinnati
d. July 15, 1904 in Rock Rapids, Iowa

Parents: James and Sarah Norris

Siblings: Hannah, Elizabeth, James, Delilah, Francis Sears, Margaret, Parmelia, and Gashum

The James (Sr.) Norris family moved into the southwestern part of Indiana and lived in the towns of Bowling Green and Terre Haute shortly after Wesley’s birth.

Wesley and his older brother, Francis Sears, volunteered and enlisted for duty in 1847 in Captain Cochrane’s, Company H of the 4th Indiana Regiment Volunteers in the Mexican War.

Wesley married Harriet Coppock in 1852 but found her carrying his brother’s child and divorced her and then married her sister Adeline in 1858. It was also in 1857-58 that Wesley attended the Medical College of Ohio (Cincinnati Medical School) for one semester. From this, Wesley became a physician and doctor – his poor patients! Wesley and Adeline eventually had twelve children – with Wesley, Jr. being born in 1864 (Wesley had received a medical furlough of one-month in 1863 [nine months earlier] to "save his life" due to severe stress).

At the outbreak of the Civil War, it appears that Wesley had seen enough horrors in the Mexican War that he chose to not enlist with the 11th Indiana Regiment who mustered in from Terre Haute. By September of 1861, Wesley decided that his country again needed his services and on September 18, 1861 Wesley marched a group of men from Terre Haute up to Indianapolis and became the Captain of Co. D of the 43rd Indiana Infantry Regiment. On October 18, 1862, Wesley was transferred from Co. D to Field and Staff and became Major of the 43rd and retroactive to May 20, 1865 Wesley was Lt. Colonel of the 43rd.

The 43rd served as part of the 13th and 7th Corps in the Union Armies of Ohio and Mississippi, Departments of Missouri and Tennessee, the Arkansas Expedition and the Department of Arkansas from 1861 through 1865.

Major engagements included: Siege of New Madrid and Island No. 10 / Fort Pillow / the FIRST regiment to enter Memphis, TN / White River and Helena, AR (at this battle the 43rd set a record of being the ONLY regiment in the Union Armies to capture a regiment LARGER than it’s own numbers) / Grenada, MS / Yazoo Pass / Elkin’s and Jenkin’s Ferrys, Camden and Mark’s Mill, AR (losing over 200 men as captured [Wesley was one of them] and taken to Camp Ford in Tyler, TX for 11 months).

Its original strength was 985; gain by recruits, 1,154; reenlistments, 165; total, 2,304. Loss by death - 206, desertion - 121; unaccounted for - 285.

After the Civil War, Wesley moved his family to Illinois and then pioneered the city of Rock Rapids, Iowa. An 1876 Lyon County Reporter newspaper it lists, "In August it was announced that Rock Rapids had its first resident doctor. He was Dr. W.W. Norris who had, it was announced, 13 years experience." Another source lists W.W. Norris elected as County Coroner in 1879. The roster of the Dunlap Post (Iowa), No. 147, in May 28, 1904 lists Wesley W. Norris as a member of the Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.). The history of the 43rd was published in 1903 by William E. McLean, Col. Of the 43rd. Wesley has a chapter included in that book titled, "The Battle of Mark’s Mill."

Wesley’s youngest half-brother, Gashum, served in the 6th IN (90-day) as a Sgt. and the 15th Kentucky, U.S. during the Civil War.

                        Wesley W. Norris

GRAVESITE: Rock Rapids, Iowa
Written by Bernadette Butgereit, June 2001

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great-grandfather of Connie Ware-Berg

Private     Co. B     11 MI Infantry
Dates of Service:  17 Feb 1865 - 16 Sep 1865


GRAVESITE:
Written by

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2nd great-granduncle of Nancy Starr

Private      Co. E      151 IN Infantry
Dates of Service:  14 Feb 1865 - 19 Sep 1865


GRAVESITE:
Written by

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2nd great-granduncle of Nancy Starr

Private    Co. E    151 IN Infantry
Dates of Service:  14 Feb 1865 - 19 Sep 1865

GRAVESITE:
Written by

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2nd great-grandfather of Nancy Starr
3rd great-grandfather of Amanda Cooper

Private      Co. E     151 IN Infantry
Dates of Service:  14 Feb 1865 - 19 Sep 1865

Lewis S. Patten was born 18 March 1848 in Lake County, Illinois to John and Mary (Cook) Patten. By 1860, the Patten family had moved to Eden, Fayette County, Iowa.

In 1865, Lewis went to Crown Point, Lake County, Indiana, where his grandfather, John H. Patten lived with his family. Here, Lewis and two of his uncles, Henry and Joseph, joined the 151st Indiana Infantry on 14 February 1865.

The 151st was stationed in the Tullahoma-Nashville Tennessee area. They did not fight in any battles, but they still lost 60 men to disease and 22 men to desertion.

Although Lewis ended up with a lung infection, bowel infection and loss of hearing in one ear, he and his uncles made it home. They mustered out 19 September 1865.

GRAVESITE: Floral Park Cemetery, Indianapolis, Indiana
Written by Nancy Starr, 2007

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great-grandfather of Lucille Read

Private     Co. G     10th MI Cavalry
Dates of Service: 22 Aug 1863 - 25 Oct 1865

James Fredrick Read was born in Utica, Oneida County, New York on 18 August 1846 to George Read and Mary Jane Price.  I do not know exactly when James moved to Portland, Ionia County, Michigan but he enlisted in the 10th Michigan in 1863.  In January 1864 while at Camp Nelson, Kentucky he became ill with an intermittent fever which left him with sores on both legs.  He recovered and continued on his duties until 30 September 1864 at Knoxville, Tennessee, when he was again taken ill with a fever and the ulcers erupted again.  He was eventually discharged for disability on 19 October 1865 at Jackson, Tennessee.

James married Lucy Anne Root, daughter of Dr. William and Sophia Root at Portland, Ionia County, Michigan on 13 February 1866.  Their son, Robert (Bert) Fredrick Read was born 23 November 1866 in Portland, Michigan.  Bert was my grandfather.  He married Lucy Margaret Gothiea on 23 November 1891 in Grand Rapids, Kent County, Michigan.

James & Lucy moved to Grand Rapids in the late 1880's where he worked in the furniture factories.  James died 12 July 1922 at Grand Rapids, Kent, Michigan and is buried in Greenwood Cemetery located on Leonard Street in Grand Rapids.  Lucy Anne died 30 January 1931 and is buried next to her husband.  The grave site is shared with their son Robert and his wife Lucy.

(See biography on Joseph Gothiea)

GRAVESITE: Greenwood Cemetery, Grand Rapids, MI
Written by Lucille A Read, May 2004

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great-grandfather of Dian Thomas

Sgt     Co. E      4th MI Infantry
Dates of Service:  3 Sep 1864 - 26 May 1866


GRAVESITE:
Written by

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2nd great-granduncle of Dorotha Piechocki

Private     13th Independent Battery    Michigan Light Artillery
Dates of Service:  27 Aug 1864 - 01 Jul 1865

Albert Adonijah Richmond was born 08 June 1846 in Cleveland, OH, the 3rd child of Martin Sylvanus and Mahalath Bedford Richmond. In 1863, he moved with his family to Keene Twp., Ionia Co., MI. At the age of 18, Albert enlisted at Grand Rapids, MI, in the 13th Ind. Batt., Mich. Lt. Art. An artillery regiment consisted normally of twelve batteries, given letter designations, but fourteen having been raised, the two batteries last formed were designated the 13th and 14th.

Albert and the 13th Battery were stationed in late 1864 in the fortifications of Washington, primarily at Fort Reno. In late February, 1865, they were mounted as cavalry and detailed for duty in Maryland with the 13th NY Cavalry to suppress guerrillas and maintain peace.

After President Lincoln's assassination, they were sent with the same NY regiment into Maryland and Pennsylvania chasing the conspirators. They assisted in the arrest of Mudd and Harold, two of the conspirators.

Dismounted in mid-June, they again were garrisoned in Fort Reno until they returned to Michigan at the end of the month and disbanded on July 1. Albert returned to farming, his lifelong occupation.

In the fall of 1870, Albert moved to Iowa, where he met and married Miss Mary Jane Leake. They had one son, Albert Ernest, born in 1872. The little family returned to Michigan shortly before Mary's death in 1877.

Albert stayed and farmed, marrying again in 1881 to Grace Enos. Together they had three more sons. Albert moved to Salem, Oregon in 1908, where he lived until his death on 12 March 1911. He is buried in "Odd fellows Cemetery" in Salem.

GRAVESITE:  Odd Fellows Cemetery (formerly, Old Pioneers Cemetery), Salem, OR
Written by Dorotha Simmons Piechocki, May 2001

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2nd great-granduncle of Dorotha Piechocki

Private      Co. D      103rd Ohio
Dates of Service:  9 Aug 1862 - 12 June 1865

James Almeron Richmond was born 21 Aug 1844 in Cleveland, OH, the 2nd child of Martin Sylvanus and Mahalath Bedford Richmond. He enlisted at age 18 in the 103rd Ohio and served with the Army of the Tennessee from 1862 through 1865, participating in such battles and campaigns as Monticello, Jonesboro, the seige of Knoxville, Kenesaw Mountain, Decatur, the seige of Atlanta, Franklin, Nashville, the capture of Wilmington, and the surrender of Johnston. After the war, James rejoined his family who had moved to Keene Twp., Ionia Co., MI, in 1863, and although he had no physical wounds, it appears that he was unable to "settle down". After a short while at home, he left his family for the adventure of the West, working as a rancher and later as an army scout.

On 2 June 1880, the following article was printed in the LOWELL JOURNAL, Lowell, Michigan: --"We presume that few of the readers of the Journal, in reading the item in the issue of May 19, of a telegraph dispatch from Tucson, stating that ‘P.S. Craig, deputy assessor of Apache county, and James Richmond, his assistant, were killed by Victoria’s band at Stevens Ranche,’ were aware that the said James Richmond was formerly a citizen of this vicinity, but such is the case. Our community was greatly shocked by learning that last Thursday's mail brought a letter from George Hiller, of Camp Thomas, Arizona, to the family of our well-known citizen M.S. Richmond announcing the death of his eldest son, ~ killed by Indians. It would seem that he was out with the deputy assessor on official duty and while camped for dinner were surprised and killed by Victoria's band, numbering about 60 warriors. James Richmond served in the U.S. Army during the war of the rebellion, after which he returned to his father's home near this place. He spent one or two years in this and neighboring states; since which time he has been in the States and Territories of the far west. In common with many others out there his fortune has been as varied as the country itself. Has been engaged in different pursuits with varied success. He had recently started a cattle ranch. We would assure the family that they have the sincere sympathy of this community in their terrible affliction."

The arrow shaft was sent home with his personal effects to his parents.

My great-great Uncle James served his Union; he never had any children, and no one knows where he was buried. His story captured my heart and my imagination at an early age. I vowed to make sure he wasn’t forgotten by later generations of his nieces and nephews. I wrote to county clerks and historical societies, trying to verify the authenticity of "Steven's Ranch" and pinpoint its location, hoping to find a record of James's burial.  My efforts yielded nothing except sad tales of fires which destroyed decades-worth of records. Then, a completely unrelated internet communication with a distant cousin revealed that he was a librarian at the University of Arizona. I told him the story of James Richmond and his interest was piqued. He sent me the following excerpt from "Arizona Place Names", by Will C. Barnes (1988); University of Arizona Press, Tucson, Arizona:

"Stevens Ranch, Greenlee Co. G.L.O. map 1912 --

On Eagle creek near present ‘Double Circle’ ranch, not far from mouth of Willow creek. Was owned by George Stevens or "Little Steve", a "squaw man" who had a ranch here in the Eighties. Claim has been made that Stevens was married to Cochiese’s daughter, but this is doubtful. Charley Hurrie, post interpreter at Fort Apache 1881-82, told the writer that she was one of the Warm Spring Apaches, probably a daughter of Victorio. Stevens always had a band of these Apaches hanging around his place. It was not far from here in 1880 that Captain Kramer and E. Troop 6th Cavalry were ambushed by some of this band, several men wounded and Sergeant Dan Griffin killed. The troop was hurrying to Steven’s aid called by a squaw who rode to Kramer’s camp with the news that Stevens was in dire need of help. Soldiers always insisted it was a ruse by Victorio to get the troops there."

The arrow shaft is still in our family's possession.

GRAVESITE:  unknown.  Died 07 May 1880, Stevens Ranch, Apache Co., AZ
Written by Dorotha Simmons Piechocki, May 2001

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great-granduncle of Wenda Fore

Corporal     Co. A     56th (old) Mechanics Fusiliers Regiment, IL Infantry
Dates of Service:  11 Oct 1861 - 28 Jan 1862

Charles G. Rockwell II was born on September 20, 1832 at Ridgefield,  Connecticut. He was the son of Charles G. and Sarah (Sally Brotherton) Rockwell, Sr. He came with his parents to Oakland County, Pontiac, Michigan in 1847.  In the August 1850 Federal Census he was listed as a farmer working for Nathan Terry. His father died on June 9, 1851.  

In the July 1860 Federal Census he was listed with his widowed mother, Sarah, and his siblings with the occupation of wagonmaker. On October 11, 1861 he enlisted at Pontiac, Michigan as a corporal in Co. A, 56th (old) Mechanics Fusiliers Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry for a period of three years. He was forced mustered out on January 28, 1862 at Chicago, having served for three months.  

He married Lucretia Irene Hunn at Rochester, Michigan on November 22, 1862. Lucretia was born on February 22, 1842 at Kankakee, Ill, the daughter of Harold and Rebecca Doan Hunn, who lived in the Milford, Michigan area in the 1860’s. Charles G. Rockwell II came by boat to Manistee, Michigan from Detroit in 1863. He selected a homesite in Maplegrove Township and returned to Detroit. A son, Charles G. Rockwell III was born in Detroit. The family soon returned by oxcart to Maplegrove where a log cabin was built on the land he had selected. He worked in Onekama as a carpenter and walked home each week to bring supplies to his family. The family lived on the property in compliance with the Homestead Act until required time for ownership rights had elapsed. President Ulysses S. Grant signed the land grant for Charles Rockwell in 1866.

Charles G. III died in 1866, but Charles and Lucretia had three more children. Jesse Romaine was born on November 29, 1869, never married, and lived on the farm until his death in 1937. Beatrice Adell was born on January 15, 1873, and married Carl A. Bigge. She was a schoolteacher and died January 12, 1963. Eva Irene was born on June 4, 1877. She studied nursing at Butterworth Nursing School in Grand Rapids, Michigan and met and married Dr. John Pedden in 1904. She died December 4, 1965.

Two homes were built on the homesteaded property. A small two-story house was built before Eva was born. The existing farm house was built at the turn of the century. Charles Rockwell died on July 27, 1911 and did not live to see the completion of his home. The Manistee Daily News, July 29, 1911, gave this account of his death:

“Bear Lake – Charles Rockwell, who was one of the oldest pioneers of this part of the country, died of apoplexy at his home in Maple Grove yesterday morning. The funeral will be held on Sunday.”

His widow, Lucretia, lived in the new farm house until her death on December 21, 1931. Now a Centennial Farm, the home belongs to Eva’s grandson, Dale Vredenburg.

Compiled from Federal Census Records, family accounts, and the booklet KALEVA 1900-1975, The Diamond Jubilee of the Village of Kaleva.

GRAVESITE: unknown
Written by Wenda Fore, June 2004

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great-grandfather of Wenda Fore

Private     Co. H     22nd and 29th MI Infantry
Dates of Service:  18 Mar 1865 - 06 Sep 1865

Horace B. Rockwell was born in Fairfield County, Ridgefield, Connecticut on June 10, 1840 to Charles G. Sr. and Sarah (Sally Brotherton) Rockwell. He moved with his family in 1847 to Oakland County, Pontiac, Michigan where his father was a farmer. His father died on June 9, 1851 and was buried in Oak Hill Cemetery in Pontiac, Michigan.

In the 1860 Federal Census he was listed as living with his widowed mother and siblings in Pontiac, Michigan.

Horace Rockwell enlisted in the Civil War at Pontiac, Michigan, on March 18, 1865 as a Private in Co. H, 22nd Michigan Infantry and was later transferred to Co. H. 29th Regiment Michigan Infantry.  They were assigned to guarding the Nashville and Chattanooga rail line until July of 1865, then moved to Murfreesboro until September 6, when they were mustered out of the service, returning to Michigan, arriving in Detroit on the 8th, where they were paid off and disbanded on the 12th. He returned to Pontiac, Michigan.

On August 22, 1866, Horace B. Rockwell married Elizabeth Jane Mumby in Macomb County, Ray Center, Michigan. She was born in England, but we have no other information on her family or place of birth. He was a farmer in the Pontiac area. Three children were born to them while they lived in Pontiac. Cora was born in 1867, Frank Mumby was born in 1869, and my grandfather, William Henry Rockwell was born on February 28, 1871.  

The family moved to Kent County, Grand Rapids, Michigan on August 28, 1871 where Horace started a carpenter business. A son, Harry, died at birth in 1873. Mary Ann was born in 1875 and Ralph Conrad in 1877. Little Cora died in 1878 at age 11 of rheumatic heart. Walter was born in 1879, and Harry Ewered was born in 1887. Walter died in 1889 at age 10 of diphtheria. Cora, Harry, and Walter are buried at the foot of their parent’s grave in Oakhill Cemetery in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Horace applied for a Civil War pension for years to no avail. In a letter to the Commissioner of Pensions dated November 17, 1902, he makes this appeal:

“Dear Sir,
Having a claime before the pension department and not hearing from it for a long time, I take the privilage writing direct to you to know why it is kep back so long for I have waited ten years since filling claim ------------. Is it because I am not worthy or is the government is to poor to pension an old solder man most sixty three years old…….”
His applications and required paper work finally accepted, his payments began at $21 per month on August 1, 1907.

Horace’s wife Elizabeth died September 25, 1915 at the age of 70. He continued to work as a carpenter and died December 1, 1920 at the age of 80.

Compiled from Federal Census records, Family History, Civil War Pension Records.

GRAVESITE: Oakhill Cemetery, Grand Rapids, Kent County, MI
Written by Wenda Fore, June 2004

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2nd great-grandfather of Clara Vickers

Private     Co. C     15th Michigan Infantry
Dates of Service:  29 Mar 1865 - End of war


GRAVESITE:
Written by

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2nd great-grandfather of Sally Redinger

Corporal       Co. 12 WI Light Artillery
Dates of Service:  01 Apr 1862 - 02 Apr 1865

Frederick Rowe was born in Painted Post, Steuben County, New York on February 28, 1828.  He enlisted in the 12th Wisconsin Independent Light Artillery on April 1, 1862 in Madison, Wisconsin.  He was sent to Jefferson Barracks, Missouri upon enlistment.  He served on detached service with the Ambulance Corps. as a driver as well as also serving with the Battery.  

He was stricken with sunstroke and chronic diarrhea at Farmington during the siege of Corinth, Mississippi.  He was with General William Tecumseh Sherman on his "March to the Sea".  He was honorably discharged on April 2, 1865 in Goldsboro, North Carolina.  

He resumed farming in Sauk and Richland counties in Wisconsin upon his return from the war.  He was married four times and had ten children.  He died on December 13, 1913 in Wausaukee, Wisconsin.

Taken from Soldier's Discharge papers:

"Said Frederick Rowe was born in Steuben Co. in the State of New York, is thirty three years of age, five feet, ten inches high.  Dark complection.  Black eyes.  Dark hair.  And by occupation when enrolled, a farmer."

WAR VETERAN PASSES AWAY
   Frederick Rowe passed away at his home in Wausaukee shortly after 6 o'clock Saturday evening.  His death was due to old age and he had been confined to his home for over a year.
 
   Mr. Rowe was born in Steuben county, New York, Feb. 28, 1828, and was nearly 86 years of age.  His early life was spent in the east and on April 1, 1862, he enlisted in the Civil war, served his country faithfully for three years and was honorably discharged April 2, 1865, at Goldsboro, North Carolina.  He immediately re-enlisted in the army and served until the end of the war.
 
   Later he came to Wisconsin and was engaged in farming in Sauk and Richland counties until about thirteen years ago when he bought land and located in the town of Athelstane.  He cleared up a tract, erected buildings and established a home, but owing to his advanced years and failing health he was obliged to give up farming about eight years ago and he and Mrs. Rowe came to Wausaukee to live.  He had been in an almost helpless condition for over a year prior to his death, being confined to his bed during the last two months of his illness.
 
   Mr. Rowe was a kind-hearted and generous old gentleman, always ready to lend a helping hand to the needy and suffering, and he was esteemed by all who knew him.
 
   Besides his widow he leaves to mourn his loss four sons and four daughters - Finlay Rowe, Ladysmith; Herbert M. Rowe, Velva, N.D.; Sherman Rowe, Homestead, Mont.; Fred C. Rowe, Sandusky; Mrs. Philura Sheldon, LaValle; Mrs. Velnetta Moody, Kasson, Minn.; Mrs. Kate Kilbourn, Sparta; Mrs. Mabel S. Fullington, Granville, N.D.  He also is survived by eight step-children.
 
   The funeral was held from the Presbyterian church Wednesday afternoon, Rev. W.J. Norton of Amberg officiating.  
                                                                     Source: OBITUARY: December 1913

GRAVESITE:  Wausaukee, WI (probably)
Written by Sally Redinger, August 2001

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great-grandfather of Judith Corrigan

Private     Co. I     29th Ohio Infantry
Dates of Service:  04 Jan 1865 - 13 Jul 1865


GRAVESITE:
Written by

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2nd great-grandfather of Sally Redinger

Private     Co. H     3rd Light Artillery, NY
Dates of Service:  05 Sep 1864 - 30 Jun 1865

Sally Redinger stands beside the new headstone for Harlow Sherwood. She is his great-great-granddaughter.
 
Pictured are: (from the left) Sally Redinger, Steve Redinger, Bill Costello, and Cemetery Sexton Gerrie Heskett.
 
HARLOW SHERWOOD, CIVIL WAR VETERAN, FOUND
by Angela Stair, Tri-City Record, July 3, 2002
 
Sally Redinger, Harlow Sherwood's great-great-granddaughter, has been looking for his grave for a long time now. Last year, Joe Cheshire wrote an article titled "Where is Harlow Sherwood?" and it generated a call from a woman that knew of another cemetery in Hartford Township that might hold him.
 
Cemetery sexton Gerrie Heskett checked it out but, alas, there was no Harlow Sherwood gravesite. Through extensive research, it was finally located in Pioneer Cemetery in Hartford and was given a beautiful headstone to mark the grave.
 
Friday, June 7, 2002, marked the end of a long search for Sherwood, a Civil War veteran. Redinger, a member of Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War, has been searching a long time for her great-great-grandfather.
 
"I could not have accomplished this without the help of Gerrie (Heskett) and Bill (Costello). They have been a tremendous help," Redinger said. "Harlow died in the old soldiers' home in Grand Rapids.
 
At first look, the records showed that he was buried in Grand Rapids but that proved not be so."
 
"Next, we were led to Gobles where we located his first wife and son in the Robinson Cemetery," Redinger explained. "The Pioneer Cemetery here in Hartford had been mentioned, but we could not find any data to substantiate it."
"This is where Gerrie was so helpful. She looked and looked until she found an old book that had been thought to be missing and located Harlow buried next to his second wife."
 
Steve Redinger and Bill Costello, both members of Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, put the finishing touches on the setting of a beautiful white headstone for Harlow.
 
"There," Sally Redinger says as she pats the stone. "It's been a long time coming, but here it finally is."
 
There will be a special ceremony conducted by "Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War" near the end of July.

GRAVESITE: Pioneer Cemetery, Hartford, MI
Submitted by Sally Redinger, June 2004

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2nd great-grandfather of Dorotha Piechocki

Private     Co. C    146th NYS Volunteers
Dates of Service:  19 Sep 1863 - 04 Oct 1864

Benjamin Wheeler Simmons was born in 1831 in Bristol, Ontario Co., NY, to a farming family.   In 1853, he married Abigail Betsey Stone, who gave birth the following year to their first child, a son they named Ai.  Like his father and grandfathers before him, Benjamin was a farmer, toiling hard to support his family.  In 1862, a baby daughter, Eveline, joined them.

In the early years of the war, thousands of men volunteered.  By the year 1863, as these early enlistments expired or the men died, the need for more soldiers was becoming serious.  The U.S. government set recruiting quotas for each state, and then each state, in turn, assigned quotas for each congressional district.  To get enough volunteers to fulfill the quota, counties would pay a bounty and/or conscript new recruits.  On Sept. 19, 1863, at the age of 33, married and with two young children, Benjamin mustered into the 146th New York "Volunteers".

Benjamin’s records indicate that he was drafted, but he was also promised a bounty of $100.  His monthly muster records show that he never received any of it, each month's remarks stating , "Due soldier 1st installment US Bounty $25. . . .", right up until the last entry.  Some conscripts were able to buy substitutes to serve in their places, but at a cost of $300 to $1,000, surely that was too expensive for a farmer like Benjamin to even consider.  Perhaps he even secretly wanted to "see the elephant", a popular phrase of the time meaning a desire to experience something new and exciting.  More likely he felt a moral and patriotic obligation to go, to serve his country as his grandfathers had done during the Revolution.

In any event, Benjamin mustered in and was assigned to the 146th New York, a Zouave Regiment of about 1,000 men whose uniforms were modeled after the French Army in North Africa.  They were well-trained and known for their valor.  The 146th was always in need of replacements, having recently lost 96 men at Gettysburg.  In addition to this bad luck, Gen. Grant had just taken over the Army of the Potomac.  Grant’s battle plan was to take his new army and wage a war of attrition against Lee’s Army of Virginia. Grant intended to fight every day and either win with superior numbers or use up both armies trying.

Between May and October of 1864, Benjamin and the 146th NY participated in seven major battles, ten engagements, and dozens of skirmishes with the enemy, including the Mine Run Campaign, the Battles of the Wilderness, Spottsylvania Court House, Bethesda Church, Cold Harbor, and the Siege of Petersburg.  During the two-day battle of the Wilderness, the 146th lost 312 men after they were ordered to capture a portion of woods held by the Confederates.  Both of their colonels were killed in the first few minutes of the charge.  After fighting all day, the woods caught fire and many thousands of wounded, who could not escape, died in the inferno.  Total Union losses were over 17,000 men, and Confederate losses were nearly the same.

A few days later, the 146th fought at Spottsylvania. This two-day battle ended with an early morning attack that nearly broke the Confederate center and would have won the war, but was beaten back when Gen. Lee personally led a counter-attack at a place now known as the "Bloody Angle".  The 146th lost 16 men there, but the Union Army had lost another 11,000 soldiers.

Between May 8 and May 31, the regiment lost ten more men while fighting in five more engagements.  Gen. Grant’s plan was working only too well, but the army must have had very mixed feelings about him.  They were finally winning the war, but they had lost over 50,000 of their friends and fellow soldiers in just one month, while the South had lost just 30,000.  They hoped that these battles would soon end the war.  Everyday the army would fight and then march off, leaving the dead and wounded behind, then fight again as Grant tried to position his army between Richmond and Lee’s troops in a gruesome game of chess.

Benjamin fought in more battles.  On June 10, 1864, Grant ordered his army to attack Lee at Cold Harbor, Virginia. The Union Army advanced in a suicide charge three miles long and lost 7,000 men in the first fifteen minutes.  In the second attack, they lost another 5,000.  The 146th lost 55 men during the second charge.

Between June 12th and June 19th, the 146th lost 17 more men in five more engagements.  When Lee’s army finally dug in around the city of Petersburg, the 146th participated in the siege.  Benjamin was part of the "Battle of the Crater" on July 30, 1864.  This was one of the strangest attacks of the Civil War, where a mine shaft was dug under the walls of Petersburg and 80 tons of black powder were exploded to make a 500-yard crater in the center of Lee’s lines.  Unfortunately, the following attack was badly planned: no ladders were given to the soldiers for climbing out of the crater once inside, and the officers who were to lead the charge left their positions and got drunk during the attack.  A chance to win the war failed once more, and the 146th lost another 17 men.

On August 19, 1864, the 146th, and their brigade, were attacked while destroying a railroad line at a place called Weldon Railroad.  While it is not a well-known battle, 1,000 Union and 1,600 Confederate soldiers were either killed or wounded.  The 146th lost 46 more men.

So far, in three months of fighting, the 146th had lost 456 of its 1,000 original men, and everyone, including Benjamin, must have wondered if he would be next.

On September 4, 1864, while on picket duty during the Battle of Poplar Springs, Benjamin was struck by a Confederate minie ball in the left arm, just above the wrist, shattering both bones.  Although not necessarily a mortal wound, it was very serious and must have been extremely painful.  For at least a week after he was wounded, he remained with his regiment.  Perhaps his fear of the Surgeon outweighed his pain.  Medical treatment during the War was considered horrible even then, and many chose to care for their own wounds rather than face a surgeon.  Shattered bones could not be repaired in field hospitals, so arms and legs were amputated instead.  What good was a farmer with only one arm?  How could Benjamin support his family if they took off his arm?

Finally, Benjamin was brought to a medical station where he was transported by steamboat up the Potomac River to Armory Square Hospital in Washington, D.C., being admitted for treatment on Sept.11.  On Sept. 28, the surgeon recorded that "pyemia", or blood poisoning, had set in, and treated him with "quinine, opium and brandy."  There being no such thing as antibiotics, infections either ran their course or killed you.  On October 4th, 1864, one month after receiving his gunshot wound, Benjamin Wheeler Simmons died.

Benjamin was buried in Baptist Hill Cemetery, near his father, his grandparents, and his great-grandparents, in Bristol, New York.  A fine marble headstone was erected over him, perhaps purchased with the $100 bounty owed to him for enlistment.

His wife, Abigail, never remarried.   Unable to remain on the farm she and Benjamin had shared, she was forced to take employment as housekeeper with another family, who provided room and board for her and her 3-year- old daughter Eveline.  Her son, Ai, ten years old, was sent to his uncle’s farm to earn his keep.  After filing and appealing for two years, Abigail was finally awarded a pension of $14 per month.  Six years later Ai left New York to go West and try ranching.  Stopping awhile in Belding, Michigan, to take a job breaking horses, he caught a pretty girl's eye and stayed, to marry and raise a family of six children.  Later, during World War I, two of Ai's sons went to fight in France, and later still, two grandsons served with the Army Air Corps during World War II.  Although they all returned, Ai must have feared losing his sons and grandsons, as he had lost his father, in wars where he was first too young and then too old to go himself.

GRAVESITE:  Evergreen Cemetery, Bristol, Ontario Co., NY
Written by Dorotha Simmons Piechocki, February 2001

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great-grandfather of Wenda Fore

Private     Co. D     12th MI Infantry
Dates of Service: 31 Aug 1864 - 09 Sep 1865

Peter Simmons and Eleanor Higley became friends when the families moved to the Adamsville area in Cass County, Michigan in the middle 1850's. Eleanor indicated that she met her future husband in the year 1856. They were married by Justice of the Peace John Hillman on June 13, 1858. Their first child, a son George Marcus, was born on September 1, 1862. Their daughter, Mary E. was born on October 3, 1863. Peter was the village blacksmith in Adamsville, a trade he learned from his father William Simmons.

Peter enlisted in the 12th Michigan Infantry, Company D at Adamsville on August 21, 1864 under the command of William E. Stewart. His unit was stationed near Devall's Bluff, Arkansas where they were on guard duty on the Memphis and Little Rock Railroad. From this time until June 12, 1865 they remained at their camp near Devall's Bluff doing provost guard duty, picket and other duties, with occasional scouting.

He was admitted to General Hospital at Camden, Arkansas, in February, April, June, and August 1865 with chronic diarrhea. Medical records also show he had difficulty with erysipelas, causing deafness in the left ear and partial deafness in the right ear, plus lung and kidney disease. He was mustered out with his detachment at Camden, Arkansas, on 9 September 1865.

When he returned home to Adamsville, he resumed work as a blacksmith, although he was unable to work more than a few hours at a time. At one time during the fall of 1865 it was reported that he was bedfast for several days at a time on account of his stomach and dizzy spells.

Peter and Eleanor Simmons had a son, William Warren, born on September 19, 1866, and grieved on the death of their first-born son, George Marcus, on September 30, 1868. Their twin daughters, Rosetta May (my grandmother) and Loretta May, were born on November 15, 1873 in Edwardsburg, Cass County, Michigan. Charles Leroy Simmons was born on December 13, 1878, and Myrtle Simmons was born on April 16, 1879 in Bangor, Van Buren County, Michigan, where her father worked in another blacksmith shop for a short time.

Before moving to Grand Rapids, Kent County, Michigan in 1879, Peter Simmons worked at a blacksmith shop in Fruitport, Muskegon County, Michigan. Friends signed affidavits attesting to the fact that he was an able-bodied man before the war, but never again able to work full time at his trade after he returned to Michigan.

According to the R.L. Polk Co.'s Grand Rapids City Directory 1880-81, Peter W. Simmons advertised his trade as "Blacksmith and Horse Shoer" at 40 Summit in Grand Rapids.

Peter and Eleanor Simmons 

GRAVESITE:  Oakhill Cemetery, Grand Rapids, Kent Co., MI
Written by Wenda Fore, April 2001

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great-grandfather of Dottie Woodard

Private     Co. B      3rd MI Infantry
Dates of Service:  03 Sep 1864 - 25 May 1866

James E Slocum was born sometime between April and September 1846 (can't seem to find the right month of birth). He was born in Manchester, New York and moved to Michigan some time before enlisting in the army. He was a farmer.

He mustered into Company B on the 3rd Michigan Infantry on September 3, 1864. He was mustered out in May 25, 1846. 

Interesting fact from his enlistment: He was 18 years old, 5 feet 3 inches tall and had fair complexion and dark hair and black eyes.

He married Hannah Matilda Kent in the Greenville, Michigan area on April 28, 1867. He was 20 and she was 16. They had 5 kids before he died January 21, 1873. My grandfather was their youngest child. He was born July 5, 1873 so he never knew his father. Hannah married two more times so we think a lot of the information on James got lost along the way.

GRAVESITE: Cato Cemetery, Lakeview, Michigan
Written by Dorothy Kay Slocum Woodard, 2007

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2nd great-granduncle of Ginger Bish

Private     Co. B     124th OH Infantry
Dates of Service:  12 Aug 1862 - 19 Nov 1863

Andrew J. Sooy, Japheth S. Sooy, and Samuel Sooy, Jr.: Brothers to my Paternal Second Great Grandfather, Jonathan Sooy. All sons of Samuel Sooy (War of 1812) and Rebecca Taylor (dau. of Freegift Taylor: Revolutionary War and War of 1812 and wife Sarah Pierce.) They were all born in OH and both Japheth and Andrew were killed in the Battle of Chickamauga. Samuel Sooy, Jr. married Emaline.

Andrew died from wounds on 19 Nov 1863 at Chattanooga, TN.

GRAVESITE:
Written by Ginger Bish, September 2008

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2nd great-granduncle of Ginger Bish

Sergeant    Co. B    124th OH Infantry
Dates of Service:  12 Aug 1862 - 16 Jul 1864

Andrew J. Sooy, Japheth S. Sooy, and Samuel Sooy, Jr.: Brothers to my Paternal Second Great Grandfather, Jonathan Sooy. All sons of Samuel Sooy (War of 1812) and Rebecca Taylor (dau. of Freegift Taylor: Revolutionary War and War of 1812 and wife Sarah Pierce.) They were all born in OH and both Japheth and Andrew were killed in the Battle of Chickamauga. Samuel Sooy, Jr. married Emaline.

Died from wounds on 16 Jul 1864 at Chattanooga, TN.

GRAVESITE:
Written by Ginger Bish, September 2008

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2nd great-granduncle of Ginger Bish

Private     Co. H     2nd OH Cavalry
Dates of Service:  25 Aug 1861 - 19 May 1865
** Killed at Battle of Chickamauga

Andrew J. Sooy, Japheth S. Sooy, and Samuel Sooy, Jr.: Brothers to my Paternal Second Great Grandfather, Jonathan Sooy. All sons of Samuel Sooy (War of 1812) and Rebecca Taylor (dau. of Freegift Taylor: Revolutionary War and War of 1812 and wife Sarah Pierce.) They were all born in OH and both Japheth and Andrew were killed in the Battle of Chickamauga. Samuel Sooy, Jr. married Emaline.

GRAVESITE:
Written by Ginger Bish, September 2008

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great-grandfather of Laura Schmidt

Private     Co. I     84th NY Infantry
Dates of Service:  31 Dec 1863 - 21 Aug 1865


GRAVESITE:
Written by

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great-grandfather of Connie Larson
2nd great-grandfather of Jane Larson

Private     Co. G and C     1st CO Vol. Cavalry
Dates of Service:  24 Nov 1864 - 8 Nov 1865

John Pye Springer was born in Decatur, IN, October 23, 1846. His family later moved to Iowa. June 1861, John Springer, eager to serve his country, enlisted in Co B, 4th Iowa Infantry, under Col. Dodge. Being only 15 years however, his father refused to allow him to enlist, took him home and got him a job!

September 1864, with promise of $45.00/mo pay (in contrast to the $15.00/mo presently earning) he accepted an offer to help drive several yoke of oxen to Denver. He walked from Council Bluff, Iowa - 61 days on the road. Free of Dad, he enlisted in the 1st Colorado Volunteer Cavalry, Co. C, Veteran Battalion, on November 24, 1854.

Five days later, John finds himself at Sand Creek, CO participating in the infamous Sand Creek Massacre Nov. 29, 1864. Although the 1st Co. Cavalry was not part of Col. John Chivington's "bloody third" (3rd Co. Cavalry) he was nevertheless involved. How we would like to know how this green 18-year-old kid felt and reacted. According to family history, he was slightly wounded there.

The remainder of his service was spent mostly in Kansas and Arkansas on courier duty, and guard duty against possible Indian uprisings. After being mustered out at Ft. Leavenworth, KS, Nov. 1865, he returned to Iowa.

1866 he married Cenia Mefford, they farmed, and later on he worked for the railroad. They had three daughters (one, our grandmother and great-grandmother).

The last of Mapleton, IA's Civil War veterans, he died March 11, 1928 after being married to the same woman over 61 years!

Grandpa John Pye Springer, born 23 October 1846, died 15 March 1928.  
Photo taken with John Harold McLaughlin in 1911 at Dog Creek, just behind where John Harold and Helen built their home near Spruce Grove, Alberta.

John Springer Family
back row: Elizabeth A., Lillian Viola, Stella Isabline
front row: John Pye and Cenia Ann (Mefford) Springer

GRAVESITE: Mt. Hope Cemetery, Mapleton, IA
Written by Constance Larson, April 2001

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2nd great-grandfather of Bethany Hoover

Private     Co. A     147th IN Infantry
Dates of Service:  24 Jan 1865 - 4 Aug 1865

GRAVESITE:
Written by

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2nd great-grandfather of Cheryl Bignall

Private     Co. I     5th MI Infantry
Dates of Service:  4 Sep 1861 - 20 Dec 1862

My great great grandfather, Alexander Clark Wilcox was born August 11, 1838, in Northfield, MI.

On September 4, 1861, at the age of 23, Alexander Wilcox enlisted for three years in the Fifth Infantry, Company I, in Detroit, Michigan. He was mustered on September 28, 1862. He was discharged for chronic condition on December 20, 1862.

Alexander married Maryett Gragg on December 1, 186. They had eight children. They moved from Owosso to Grayling, MI where he became a farmer and was very active in the community. He died July 23, 1824 at the age of 86. 

GRAVESITE:
Written by Cheryl Bignall, 2007

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3rd great-granduncle of Ginger Bish

Asst Surgeon     Co. S     12th IN Cavalry
Dates of Service:  5 Oct 1864 - 28 Oct 1864

Dr. James A. Wood was born 27 Feb 1814 in Trumbull Co., OH. He was the son of Francis Wood and Rachel (nee Dodd) Wood. He married on 06 Jun 1836 to Anna Jacobs who was born 07 Jan 1818 in Saratoga, NY (dau. of Jeremiah Jacobs born abt. 1800.) They lived in Lake County, Ohio: First in Cedar Creek and later in Lowell. Anna died about 1898.
 
Children:
William B. Wood      b. abt. 1837     OH    
Reuben C. Wood     b. abt. 1839     IN    
Elizabeth C. Wood    b. abt. 1841     IN    
Lydia A. Wood    b. abt. 1842     IN    
Francis Wheeler Wood       b. abt. 1845     IN     m. Harriet E. UNKNOWN
James A. Wood, Jr.     b. abt. 1847     IN    
Phebe A. Wood      b. abt. 1849    IN    
Stephen Wood     b. abt. 1857     IN    

GRAVESITE:
Written by Ginger Bish, March 2009

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"SELDEN WOOD
Member of Co. D
1 Mich. Mech. & Eng.
DIED
in hospital at
CHATTANOOGA, TENN.
Nov. 5, 1863
Aged 23 Yrs.
His body is buried where he died"

2nd great-granduncle of Jane Hall
2nd great-granduncle of Joyce Hulbert
2nd great-granduncle of Susan Norder
3rd great-granduncle of Beth Orletsky

Private     Co. D     1st Engineers and Mechanics
Dates of Service:  26 Aug 1863 - 5 Nov 1863
**Died of Typhoid Fever

Selden Wood was born in 1841 in Cuyahoga County, Ohio as the fourth child, second son, of William and Mary Ann (Roberts) Wood. By 1860, the family had migrated to Grand Rapids, Kent County, Michigan.
 
On 26 August 1863, Selden enlisted at Grand Rapids, Michigan, for 3 year period in Co. D, 1st Engineers and Mechanics. He was a 22-year-old farmer, had hazel eyes, dark hair, light complexion and stood 5 feet 10 inches tall. He joined his company on September 10 in Detroit, Michigan. He was paid a bounty of $25, $4.00 premium plus one month's pay in advance.
 
Selden Wood died of Typhoid Fever on 5 November 1863 at U.S. General Hospital in Chattanooga, Tennessee. His worldly possessions consisted of 1 hat, 1 uniform coat, 1 pair trousers, 1 flannel shirt, 1 haversack, 1 "History of Rebellion", 1 gold pen and holder, $4.54 cash, all turned over to his father.
 
A monument stands at Fulton Street Cemetery in Grand Rapids to honor the memory of Selden Wood.
 
1st Regiment Engineers and Mechanics
During the latter months of 1863 and the early months of 1864, the regiment was engaged in the construction of the Nashville and Northwestern RR from Nashville to Chattanooga, and in the construction of storehouses and ordnance buildings at Bridgeport and Chattanooga.

GRAVESITE: Chattanooga National Cemetery (Section A Site 113), Chattanooga, Tennessee
Written by Susan Norder, September 2008

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2nd great-granduncle of Suzanne Carpenter
2nd great-grandfather of Dorotha Piechocki

Private     Co. E     25th MI Infantry
Dates of Service:  11 Aug 1862 - 18 Jul 1865

Alanson Youngs was born June 22, 1830 in Marion, Wayne Co., New York, one of a family of twelve siblings.  In 1854, he bought a plot of land in Berlin Twp., Ionia Co., Michigan, and moved there to begin farming.  In 1857, he married Mary Jane Austin, a former neighbor in NY, whose father, a veteran of the War of 1812, had moved westward to Indiana.

In August of 1862, at age 33, Alanson enlisted in Co. E, of the 25th Michigan Infantry, signing for a period of 3 years.  (His brother Peter, serving with the 16th Michigan, had been captured by Confederates and had just been paroled.)   Leaving behind his wife and two small daughters, Alanson served with the Army of Ohio until August of 1863.  Most of his service time was spent chasing Gen. John Hunt Morgan and his "Raiders" through Kentucky.  The "Raiders" were a cavalry regiment of 4,000 men that would attack towns and Union encampments throughout Kentucky and Ohio.  They were considered guerrillas and were so hated and feared that there was a reward offered for Morgan’s capture -- dead or alive.

On July 4th, 1863, Alanson’s Company E, along with Companies D, F, I, and K, were attacked by Morgan’s Raiders at Green River Bridge, Tebb’s Bend, Kentucky.  The 4,000 Confederate troops were crossing the Ohio River on the second day of their "Great Confederate Raid" north.  Alanson's regiment commanded by Col. Johnson was defending the bridge against such an attack.  When asked to surrender, Col. Johnson told Morgan that the 4th of July would not be a good day for surrendering and he would rather not.  Morgan ordered a frontal attack against the fortified position.  After a 30- minute fight, the Rebs had lost 36 killed and 45 wounded, including one colonel, a major and a captain.  The Union lost 9 dead and 26 wounded.  After seeing the result of the first assault, Morgan called off the attack and moved his troops downriver to cross at another location, leaving his wounded to be taken prisoner.

A few months later, Alanson caught "lung fever" (probably pneumonia) and, although he did not die of the illness like thousands of others (more soldiers died from disease than bullets during the war), he spent almost a year in army hospitals in Kentucky and Indiana and never fully recovered.

After the War, Alanson returned to farming in Saranac.  He fathered six more children, four of whom lived to adulthood.  He was a proud member of the GAR, wearing his badge every time he sat for a photograph.  He outlived all of his siblings and died in 1911 just a week before his 81st birthday, leaving seventeen grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.  He is buried in Saranac Cemetery, in Ionia Co., MI.

GRAVESITE:  Saranc Cemetery, Ionia Co., MI
Written by Dorotha Simmons Piechocki, 13 February 2001

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2nd great-granduncle of Suzanne Carpenter
2nd great-granduncle of Dorotha Piechocki

Private     Co. B     16th MI Infantry
Dates of Service:  6 Aug 1861 - 30 Oct 1863

Private    Co. 58     2nd U.S. Reserve Corps
Dates of Service:  30 Oct 1863 - 11 Jun 1864

Private     Co. B     16th MI Infantry
Dates of Service:  11 Jun 1864 - 26 Sep 1864

Private     Co. C or E     19th U.S. Infantry
Dates of Service:  Sep 1864 -  1867

Peter Youngs joined the 16th Michigan Infantry in September 1861, and served with the Army of the Potomac from 1862, fighting in the 7 Days Battles. He was commanded by General George McClellan as the army attempted to capture Richmond. McClellan was fooled into believing that Confederate General Robert E. Lee greatly outnumbered him and decided to retreat instead of fight. The Army of Virginia attacked McClellan's army several times during the seven-day retreat.

During the Battle of Gaines Mill, Peter was injured and left on the field as his army continued its retreat to Washington, D.C. A day later he was taken prisoner. Family stories tell of him escaping, but army records show that he and others were traded for Confederate prisoners. These "prisoner exchanges" went on until 1864 when Gen. Grant refused to return them in hopes of reducing Confederate manpower. It is most probable that the family stories were embellished as the years went on.

Peter served out the rest of his enlistment until September 1864, defending one of the many forts surrounding Washington. He immediately reenlisted in the 19th U.S. Infantry, serving another three years and mustered out in 1867 in Madison, Arkansas. Later in life, Peter suffered from his injuries and was admitted to the newly-built Veteran's Facility in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He died there in 1890 and was one of the first veterans buried there.

GRAVESITE: Grand Rapids Home for Veterans, Grand Rapids, MI
Written by Dorotha Piechocki, April 2003

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