2nd Wisconsin Cavalry/escaped Andersonville/lynched in GA

It may have been nothing more than the date the regimental command realized they had no idea where he was and declared him awol. If Fahay was lynched, the perpetrators may not have known his name. The questions I have - Is that the same man buried in California?
I was wondering the same thing regarding the headstone in a California cemetery. I am going to try to contact Ralph Bass who wrote the newspaper article and see where he found the name of James Fahey.
 
I would also look up the records for the jailer Anderson if I were you, simply to verify that there was such a person, which, if verified, is simply another small brick toward the goal of proving the truth of the story you're researching.
 
I would also look up the records for the jailer Anderson if I were you, simply to verify that there was such a person, which, if verified, is simply another small brick toward the goal of proving the truth of the story you're researching.
Yes, Mr. William P. Anderson's family is quoted in the 1901 newspaper article, they shared their version of the events of Mr. Anderson's death. Mr. Bass's article is the first time I learned the name of the other prisoner, James Fahey. I have sent a few messages to Mr. Bass to see how he came up with that information. He is a historian in Monroe County so I am presuming he found some sort of records. If I ever hear back from him I will share with you what I learned!

I have two more mysteries to solve. In a 1902 newspaper article about my ggf Thomas Hinds, the article mentions that his older brother John Hinds (also spelled Hines occasionally back then) was killed in the battle of Gaines Mills, VA in 1862. They were living in Philadelphia but the one John Hinds I have found was also with the 1st Maryland Cavalry (Union), but the date of death is December 1862 in a hospital. I am wondering if this could be the same person, and he was wounded at Gaines Mills but didn't die until much later. He would have been 22 in 1862.

The same article says "His younger brother went into the army later, was with Sheridan in the Valley Campaign,, and also in the Fenian movement in 1866, after which he went west to fight Indians and has not been heard from since." His name was Joseph, his dob is 1850, he was from Phildelphia PA. I know Sheridan went west to "fight Indians" after the Civil War, so perhaps he stayed attached to that command somehow?

My question is, should I subscribe to Fold 3 to get more information? Is it more helpful than other sites? I am already using ancestry.com but have hit a dead end there in trying to find out more information about these two brothers.
 
Just FYI, the NPS Soldiers Database indicates James Fahay was in the 4th Cavalry and not the 2nd. So either NPS or the tombstone in the Presidio is wrong.

http://www.nps.gov/civilwar/search-...oldierId=BF95939B-DC7A-DF11-BF36-B8AC6F5D926A
I saw that too. The reason I originally thought the 2nd (before I had a name) was that my ggf's memoirs said that the Wisconsin man (James Fahey) was in the 2nd Wisconsin Cavalry, but he wrote his memoirs about 40 years later (about 1902-03) so he may have made a mistake or just remembered incorrectly.
 
Interesting - you're probably right about a 40-year memory lapse. Have you checked pension records? It's possible the newspaper identified the the lynched soldier incorrectly.
 
Interesting - you're probably right about a 40-year memory lapse. Have you checked pension records? It's possible the newspaper identified the the lynched soldier incorrectly.
I have looked through the Wisc. 2nd Cavalry roster records and not found anything. I was just reading through the link you posted and it looks like the 2nd Cav. started off as an Infantry unit before converting, so when I get home I will see if I can find anything there, if anything exists about that prior unit. It may all just be considered the same thing though. I have not looked through pension records yet though, so perhaps that is my next step.
 
I have looked through the Wisc. 2nd Cavalry roster records and not found anything. I was just reading through the link you posted and it looks like the 2nd Cav. started off as an Infantry unit before converting, so when I get home I will see if I can find anything there, if anything exists about that prior unit. It may all just be considered the same thing though. I have not looked through pension records yet though, so perhaps that is my next step.

Yes, the 4th Wisconsin Infantry was converted to Cavalry in 1863 in Louisiana. Another suggestion would be to look for Fahay in the 1860 census records and again in 1870. If he's not enumerated in the latter and there was a wife and children that appear in '70 without him at least we'll know he's gone missing for sure. Then the challenge becomes "who is buried in San Francisco?"
 
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