Need some help tracking down a grave

Huh. There are actually two William H's as well as William T. Hang on, I gotta look at these.
No, there was not two William H's...even if the service records list two...they should be combined. There was a William H and a William T. Godard in Company B, then Wiley Godard was in Company C.

Those letters are sad, I have seen so many of them, sometimes from the widows as well, desperately trying to collect their loved ones pay.
 
Just read through everything and the information you have is correct... Although given that there are two different William H Goddards of the same age in the same county, I'm not as sure as you that the records should be combined. But in any case even if there are two it is clear which one is the man who died, the brother of Wiley, because the letters trying to collect pay are from the same man. Wiley started in company B but was transferred to company C.

I'm thinking that either all the markers are not online, in which case I think there's an email for stones river (or try making a photo request on find a grave to get a live human to look) or they have been moved to Georgia, in either Monroe, Pike, or Jones county. Their father moved to all three in a short time frame. I'm sorry I wasn't able to help.

The confederate records say "wounded, left on field," and then the Union records give details of a slow and agonizing death from blood poisoning. Just dreadful.
 
@Barnesville_Blues
Here are the transcribed records From Fold3:
William H Goddard also listed as W H Goddard, Godard, Godart and Goodard.
Enlisted May 13, 1862 at Barnesville, GA by Capt McDowell for 3 years

Company muster rolls list him as follows:
May 4 1863 "Present"
May to July 1863 "Present"
July and Aug 1863 "Absent" Remarks: "Wounded and left in the field June 24, 2863"
Sept - Oct 1863 Present or Absent (Blank) Remarks: "Died at Murfreesboro Tenn Aug 24 1863 of wounds received at Hoovers Gap Tenn June 24, 1863."

Name appears on a Report of Confederate Prisoners who were wounded and captured during the engagement at Stones River Dec 31, 1862. (?) Report dated Office Medical Director, Murfreesboro Tenn Dec 1863.
W H Godart [sic]
Pvt Co B Caswells Regt Georgia SS
Date of Death: Aug 24, 1863
Cause of Death: G S thigh
No. of grave: 1204
Where buried: Union Cemetery

Appears on a List of Confederate prisoners of war who have died in US Army General Hospital, Murfreesboro Tenn. List dated Office of Med. Direct., Murfreesboro Tenn, Dec 15, 1863.
William H Goddard
Pvt Co B Casewells[sic] Regt Ga SS
Place of Capture: Hoovers Gap Tenn
Date of capture: June 25, 1863
Date of death: Aug 24, 1863
Cause of death: G S fract left thigh
Place of interment: Union grave yard
No of grave: 1204

Appears on a List of killed and wounded, of Bate's Brigade, in the engagement near Hoover's Gap, Tenn, June 24, 1863
W. H. Goddard
Pvt Co B, Caswell's Battn. Sharp Shooters
Remarks: killed on field

Name Appears on a Register of Deceased Officers and Soldiers from Georgia which were filed for settlement in the offices of the Confederate States Auditor for the War Department
Wm H Goodard
Pvt Carter's Co; 4 Battn S.S.
By whom presented: Fred R Goodard, Fa
When filed: Dec 9 1863
Where born: (blank)
Where died: Murfreesboro, Tenn

Name Appears on a Register of Deceased Officers and Soldiers from Georgia which were filed for settlement in the offices of the Confederate States Auditor for the War Department
Wm H Godard
Capt Carter's Co; 4 Batt SS Ga
By whom presented: F R Godard, Fa
When filed: Aug 30 1864
Where born: Consolidated
Where died: Aug 24, 1863

Medical Record from USA Gen Hosp No 1 Murfreesboro Tenn
Wm Goddard
Co B Caswell S.S. Rebel
Admitted June 27, 1863
To No 1 USA General Hospital, Murfreesboro Tenn
Diagnosis: G.S. wound of thigh; ball entering front, comminuting femur in upper middle third for about two inches, passing out posteriorly, passing in its course through the gluteus maximus and pectineus* muscles.
July 1, exsection performed, spiculae of bone removed
Aug 6, attacked with erysipelas**
Aug 20, failing rapidly
Aug 24, died. Patient died from exaustion[sic]

*Pectineus muscle - One of the muscles of the hip socket, primarily responsible for hip flexion and also adducts the thigh. Located very near and associated with the femoral artery, saphenous vein, and profunda artery.

**Erysipelas - a bacterial skin infection involving the upper dermis that characteristically extends into the superficial cutaneous lymphatics. Basically a systemic Staphylococcus Aureus infection.
 
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Great thank you for confirming. I don't keep a fold3 subscription year round because I travel so much, I usually just sign up when I need it. I am still of the opinion that there was only one William H. Godard...and this opinion is shared by the local historical society who has an extensive file on this company...

So is it the consensus that the "Union Hospital" which you transcribed above is the Stones River National Cemetery?
 
I think it probably is. It's even listed as "union cemetery" if you google it.

It's possible that some graves are just marked with numbers and the names were not originally put on them, and that when they were transcribed, only the graves with names made it online.
 
Well... poo. I searched everything I could think of in Georgia on ancestry and came up empty.

I'm surprised that they would reuse the number even if he had been moved. It makes me wonder if we really have the right cemetery. Unfortunately Rutherford county's cemetery page on tngenweb has never been finished. That's where I usually go for obscure cemeteries.
 
So is it the consensus that the "Union Hospital" which you transcribed above is the Stones River National Cemetery?
That I cant say for sure. While I am familiar with a few Confederate Hospitals and their disposition of dead for interment, I am not nearly as well versed on Union Hospitals. The carded record states that he was admitted to "No 1 US General Hospital Murfreesboro, Tenn" and that he was interred in "Union Cemetery" or "Union grave yard." I cant say if that was the ground that would become Stones River National Cemetery. My guess would be that he was removed to another final resting place.

I found this info about the establishment of the National Cemetery on wikipedia (I know - not the authoritative source, but hopefully at least this much is true):
"The cemetery was established on March 29, 1864 by the order of Major General George H. Thomas. Under the supervision of Chaplain William Earnshaw, the 111th Regiment United States Colored Troops disinterred bodies from the battlefields of Stones River, Murfreesboro, Franklin, Shelbyville, Tullahoma and Cowan.[11] Reburials began in 1865 and were completed by 1867. The cemetery was transferred from the War Department to the National Park Service on August 10, 1933. Most of the Confederate dead were taken to their towns or to the nearest southern community. Some, however, were buried in a mass grave south of town and later reinterred in another mass grave, Confederate Circle in Evergreen Cemetery in Murfreesboro."

And this....."Confederate Circle at Evergreen Cemetery was established in 1890. In 1891 Confederate dead from the area were moved to this, their final resting place." About 2000 were buried (or reburied) there. List of knowns is here: http://www.tennessee-scv.org/Camp33/confed_circ.htm ........but, alas, no Wm H Godard listed among the knowns.

And this....."An old cemetery record was discovered in the public library that details the history of the Old Confederate Cemetery and the subsequent removal of the dead to Evergreen Cemetery. The records indicate that the Old Cemetery was located one and one-half miles south of Murfreesboro (across from Samsonite Luggage Plant where the telephone sub-station is presently located.) Over two thousand bodies were removed from the Old Cemetery to Confederate Circle according to the December 7, 1867 edition of the Murfreesboro Monitor. On January 28, 1882, the Nashville Banner published a list of men whose names appeared on wooden markers in Confederate Circle. Since time has long since erased those markers." Includes another list of id'd Confederates buried at the Confederate Circle Evergreen Cemetery. Not sure if its the same as previous. http://www.tngenweb.org/rutherford/confed4.htm
 
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Well their must be two possiblites . Either he was moved when Stones River Cemetery was created and thus the grave number given in his record no longer is accurate in the Stones River Cemetery. Or...his father came up and moved the body back to Georgia. I'll try to see if I can learn anything about this "Union" cemetery to be sure. I appreciate the help.
 
Interesting additional information about Hoover's Gap/Beech Grove (although can't vouch for it's 100% accuracy)

The Battle at Hoover's Gap (aka Battle of Beech Grove) may have been the first battle in the Western Theater to see the use of repeater rifles? Col John T Wilders Brigade (17th & 72 IN, 98th and 123rd IL and 18th IN Battery) was armed with new Spencer repeating rifles. To bypass army red tape, Wilder arranged for the purchase of the weapons through his own hometown bank in Greensburg, Indiana. In March of 1863, he obtained a loan from that bank and each man of the brigade co-signed a personal loan of $35 for his rifle.

From an article by S F Jones, Rutherford County Historical Society, Publication No. 37.
"Colonel Wilder and his Brigade, almost nine miles ahead of the rest of their division, reached the entrance to Hoover's Gap about 10 am. The 1st Kentucky Cavalry was on duty when Wilder's sudden and unexpected advance took them completely by surprise. Confederate forces retreated after a valiant fight through the seven-mile length of the gap and Wilder pushed on through, seizing the hills at the south end of Hoover's Gap, which he was determined to hold until reinforcements arrived. This was the very position that Confederate forces had planned to use for their defense. Brigadier General William B. Bate rushed his Confederates to the front and for over an hour they gallantly attacked Wilder 's entrenched, but badly outnumbered, brigade.

Company E, of the 72nd Indiana overran its position and while returning to the battle line, and being fired upon by
Confederates, came across 3 small children, 2 girls and a boy, trying to find their way out of the woods amid the shower
of bullets. The firing suddenly stopped. Sgt. Wilhite of the 72nd dismounted, helped them over a fence and headed
them toward a house out of range of the battle. The fighting then resumed and Company E went about its business of
fighting its way back to the brigade.

The battle continued throughout the day, with charge after charge of brave Southern men being repulsed by a storm of
Yankee bullets from their new "seven-shooters." Bate's Tennesseans staggered but filled their ranks and came on time
and time again only to fall back in a hail of bullets. General Bate reorganized his men, brought up his reserves, and
together with Bushrod Johnson's newly arrived brigade, began preparations for a new attack on Wilder's position. In
the meantime. Wilder was ordered to withdraw immediately, but refused and steadfastly maintained that he could hold
his position and would take responsibility for the consequences, even under the threat of arrest. He was accurate in this
assessment and the last attack of the day was easily repulsed. By 7:00 p.m. Union reinforcements had arrived and on
June 26th Confederate forces withdrew toward Tullahoma.

General Thomas declared following the day's battle that he had not expected to capture the gap for three days and that
hence forth Wilder's men would be known as the "Lightning Brigade." Over two hundred, or nearly one forth of the Confederate forces were killed or wounded at Hoover's Gap while Wilder's Brigade suffered only fifty-one casualties. General Bate later commented that judging from the fire power of the Union force, he thought he was outnumbered five to one.

It may very well be that this first encounter with repeating rifles at Hoover's Gap was the beginning of the expression which traveled around the Confederate army for the remainder of the war: that the "Yankees could load on Sunday and shoot all the rest of the week."

The 1,500 Spencer repeating rifles were capable of firing 14 rounds per minute and proved to be the difference between Union forces and the numerically superior Confederates. The loss of Hoover's Gap resulted in the loss of Middle Tennessee, a blow from which the South would never recover." http://archive.org/stream/publication37ruth/publication37ruth_djvu.txt
 
Just a quick note that Find a Grave is in no way a comprehensive account of all the cemeteries/burial sites in the US. Even in some of the bigger cemeteries you'll have stuff missing -- it just depends on what the local volunteers are up to doing, and some are more hard-core than others. Anyway, just FYI.
 
Evergreen Cemetery in Murfreesboro.... they went around collecting confederate graves after the war... bring them there... Its called a mass grave...

 
I was just going through some of my notes. Whenever I discover the burial location of a member of the 4th Battalion Georgia Sharpshooters, I always make a note of where they are buried. Most of the time it is not hard to figure out where I found the information as 90% of the time, it came from findagrave.

Anyway, I came across an entry I made for Private William H. Godard of Company B. The information I have on Private Godard is :
Wounded severely in the left thigh and Captured at the Battle of Hoover’s Gap June 24, 1863. Died at U.S. Army General Hospital in Murfreesboro Tenn. of wounds August 24, 1863. Buried in Union Cemetery in Murfreesboro Tenn., grave 1204.

Now there are only two possibilities on where I got this burial information, findagrave, or the compiled service records. If I got this from findagrave, both the memorial and cemetery have been removed because now I can not find a "Union Cemetery" in Murfressboro or the surrounding county. I figured this is probably referring to McGavock's Cemetery in Murfressboro but I can't find a Private W. H. Godard or Goddard as it is sometimes spelled anywhere.

Does anybody have any ideas on this Union Cemetery? Since I have the grave number, it shouldn't be hard to figure out where he is buried, even if the grave is not marked unless the family went up, collected the body, and bought it back to Georgia which did happen in another case of a soldier who died of wounds in a Union Hospital in Nashville.

Any ideas on this "Union" Cemetery in Murfreesboro?
 

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