Who were your Civil War ancestor what is their story?

I'm slowly piecing together more and more info that I can get a pretty good sense of what their day-to-day would have been like. Too few published letters/diaries by their regiment though has made me rely a lot on supporting regiments and what they say about the 22nd KY. But every little bit helps and as I posted in another thread, after about a year and a half I finally found someone who references David Burton's death by name. That was a huge (and looong) find.
 
I have been doing family research when I can. Came up with some interesting characters
2nd Great Grandfather William L. Harris joined Ico 6th Florida Inf. Regiment. Captured Missionary Ridge Tenn Nov 25, 1863
his brother, Isaac Harris, joined Ico 6th Florida Infantry Regt. Killed at Battle of Atlanta, July 22, 1864
They're Nephews
Nathan P. Harris joined 12th Ga Inf Regt. Captured at Spotsylvania May 11 1864
Jasper Harris joined Ico 6th Florida Inf Regt. Captured at Battle Nashville Dec 16, 1864
Columbus Harris joined Ico 6th Florida Inf Regt. Captured at New Hope Church March 18, 1864
Henry Harris joined Ico 6th Florida Inf Regt. Wounded at Chickamauga sent home Sept 1863.
Side note. Henry's Pension papers say he was Captured and Paroled at home by Union Troops in Holmes county Florida in Sept 1864. same time as Battle of Marianna Florida.
Research strongly suggests that little brother George age 17 may have unofficially been with Home guard defending town.

I am in awe.......
 
These are my direct ancestors who fought for the Union:

2nd Great Grandfathers
William Harrison Moore (1828-1894)
Co. K, 63rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry
Battles of New Madrid, Island No. 10, Iuka, siege and battle of Corinth, and Parker’s Cross Roads; Pioneer Corps; 17th Corps teamster during Sherman’s March to the Sea

Philip Walter (1836-1911)
Co. H, 32nd Ohio Volunteer Infantry (1864-1865)
Sherman’s March to the Sea, March through the Carolinas, Battle of Bentonville; Grand Review; also had earlier service (1862) as a private in Co. C, 11th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Militia

3rd Great Grandfathers
James Alexander Walter (1805-1884)
Co. D, 126th Ohio Volunteer Infantry (1862-1865)

Jesse P. Durham (1827-1917)
Co. I, 2nd West Virginia Veteran Volunteer Infantry (10 Dec 1864-16 Jul 1865);
Also had earlier service in Capt. B.L. Stephenson’s Co., Clay County Scouts,
West Virginia Union Militia

William Anderson Harless (1829-1894)
Co. B, 7th West Virginia Cavalry
(previously known as the 8th Virginia Volunteer Infantry (Union), 8th West Virginia Volunteer Infantry, and 8th West Virginia Mounted Infantry)
Battles of Strasburg, Harrisonburg, Cross Keys, Port Republic, Freeman’s Ford, Cedar Mountain (POW 9 Aug 1862; paroled 15 Aug 1862), 2nd Bull Run, Droop Mountain, Salem Raid, Cloyd’s Mountain, New River Bridge, Lynchburg

Jackson Clay (1843-after 1870)
Capt. William Turner’s Independent Company of Scouts, Raleigh County, 184th Regiment,
West Virginia Union Militia

4th Great Grandfathers
Daniel Bradshaw (1802-1879)
Capt. Cumberland Adkins’ Co., Peytona Home Guards, Boone County, 187th Regiment,
West Virginia Union Militia

Meredith McMillion (1809-1889)
Capt. William Turner’s Independent Company of Scouts, Raleigh County, 184th Regiment,
West Virginia Union Militia

5th Great Grandfather
Isaac Barker Sr. (1782-1869)
Capt. Cumberland Harless’ Co. C, Boone County, 187th Regiment, West Virginia Union Militia
 
I have to re type what I just lost. I keep turning everything all blue then it all erases. I had so very much up too, I was about one sentence from being done. Ah well, such is life.
.............................................................................

I feel your pain. I have a laptop that does that to me. Very sensitive touch pad. I will be typing and pause and re-start and it will be typing an insert into a paragraph above or, as you experienced, re-typing over what was there.
I either need to find a way to change the pad's sensitivity or plug in a portable mouse.
 
Most of my family were either Alabamians or Tar Heels.
My GGG Grandfather James Anthony Bennett was conscripted into The Service in 1863 in Walker County Alabama and fought with the 56th Alabama Partisan Rangers through The Atlanta Campaign and March To The Sea Campaigns up until his surrender in January.
. . . . .

I thought I replied to this or another post about someone in the 56 Alabama Partisan Rangers. This mounted cavalry unit also served in Alabama and Northern Mississippi but I'm still sketchy on the details. They may have been under General Chalmers division in summer 1863 and may have been with Col. R. Richardson. I find them mentioned here and there.
I searched through the service records in search of members who were on Special Duty. Some were assigned to a ship or gunboat. The ones that interested me were a few who were loaned to Buckner Battery which was a light artillery unit serving under General Chalmers.
The 56 AL Partisan Rangers were previously known by another name. If your ancestor joined in 1863, he might have seen action in N. AL and N. Miss.
 
I am new to this and so far have identified two relatives that fought in the Civil War my great, great grandfather John Ward was a private in the First Minnesota Light Artillery, he is buried in the Henrytown Pioneer Cemetary in Canton MN. He fought at Shiloh in the Hornets Nest, Vicksburg, Corinth, Atlanta, Shermans March to the Sea and finally in North Carolina. My first cousin 4 times removed Simeon Peter Overmyer fought with the 72nd Ohio and was captured and survived his imprisonment in Andersonville. I know other Overmyers fought with some Ohio units. His grandfather fought in the Revolution and the French and Indian War.
 
I'm slowly piecing together more and more info that I can get a pretty good sense of what their day-to-day would have been like. Too few published letters/diaries by their regiment though has made me rely a lot on supporting regiments and what they say about the 22nd KY. But every little bit helps and as I posted in another thread, after about a year and a half I finally found someone who references David Burton's death by name. That was a huge (and looong) find.
I've been attempting the exact same thing for many years.

I'm fortunate that an abundance of written documentation (primarily letters & diaries) has been uncovered & published that correspond to the Official Records of my ancestor's regiments. I now have a remarkable picture of their daily activities, locations, and such.

You are 100% correct about researching supporting regiments. Any material from regiments that were brigaded with your ancestors will give you the general details of what your ancestors were experiencing on a day-to-day basis.
 
I've had several relatives in the War. But now I'm focusing on my direct paternal lineage: William Milo Ferguson. Family tradition states 32-year-old William was impressed into service and served as a blacksmith for the Confederacy. Janet B. Hewett's The Roster of Confederate Soldiers 1861-1865 listed many William Ferguson(s) with various surname spellings. I knew William was born in East Tennessee and lived there most of his life, so logic 'told' me to start in the Volunteer State.

First, I found, using fold3.com, a William M. Furgerson, but his discharge paper indicated he was too young. Next I searched for other William(s) from neighboring states with no luck. I was finally led to a Private William Furguson that was enlisted on August 10, 1861 at Cleveland, Tennessee. I checked maps and discovered that the East Tennessee & Georgia RR and East Tennessee & Virginia RR services led directly to his home county--Greene; the distance from Cleveland to Greenville is only about one hundred and fifty miles. Finally I was on to something.

Private William Ferguson's war records stated nothing about being a blacksmith. "Maybe the family tradition was wrong" I said to myself. A few weeks later I got curious about other members of his company--Co. A "The Lancers." I decided to download all members from his company--including all officers up to the battalion commander. Eventually I came across the company blacksmith--a William Mills. How curious!

Clerical error is a matter of fact. It seems even more so with these confederate records. In a matter of time I noticed several members of Company A were the same person. The error did not occur once or twice, but TEN times--depending how you count the errors. The errors were usually a few letters off, but the names apparently are the same person.

However, in William's case it is different. Blacksmith William Mills enlisted the same day as Private William Ferguson. The spelling of William Mills is remarkable similar to the spelling of William Milo. So I have toyed with the idea that this is the same William Milo Ferguson that I have been searching for. Why he would be listed twice on the muster rolls I cannot explain away just yet. I have read on this forum that blacksmiths would be drilled as the other soldiers for a time; maybe this is a case of that.

Also, the farrier seems to be listed as a private in 3 other separate records on the same Company A muster rolls.

Well, that is how far I have come. Any opinions on this matter would be greatly appreciated.
 
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Hello 7th Mississippi and JPeg Matron thank you for liking what I wrote about some of my ancestors. I wonder if you all feel the same way I feel about my ancestors. It was a very interesting time. A very difficult time, but it was a time filled with very honorable people. The people of that time were also far more free than we are today. They would have been utterly shocked to have heard their elected officials tell them that they had not built their own businesses, or that they had not invented their own machines, but that their government had done it for them, or that they could not do anything at all with out the aid and encouragement of their government. I know that - My Ancestors - at least - would have called any statement like that - "Fighting Words".

Today, 85 percent of the teenagers would instantly give away their freedom for the governments stated prize of safety. Not guaranteed on paper mind you, just a verbal statement. and , on an Ivy League University Study it was discovered that 90 percent of the young people who were surveyed (All were between the ages of 18 and 22 years) said that they would be interested in sacrificing most of their freedom and allowing the government to choose for them if they were to be certain that they would have a job for the next 50 years that they could not be fired from, food and water would be guaranteed for the next 50 years, the government would guarantee that they would pay for their health insurance, and their education bills would be covered. They did not realize that they had just sold themselves into slavery for 50 years.

What many people do not realize is that Slavery is a very large issue, and a very ugly one. but it is not a black and white issue. Slavery is a human issue. America was in the White Irish and Scottish Slave trade long before it was in the African Trade of Human Bondage. The White Christian Slaves were cheaper, and weaker, and were valued far less than the African Slaves. The White Scottish Slaves and the Irish Slaves in the year 1701 in America out numbered the African Slaves. For in that year America had over 27,500 slaves and more than 17,000 of them were white slaves from Scotland or Ireland. The English had committed Genocide in Ireland and in the Highlands of Scotland.

The main difference for the white slaves from Ireland and Scotland is that though they were sold cheaply - many for less than the cost of a sheep- these Scottish or Irish Slaves were sold as "Slaves In Perpetuity" - This meant that they would NEVER - even if they earned three times the amount of their selling price - It would never be possible for them to buy their freedom. They were not slaves for the payment of a crime, nor were they slaves because they wanted to go to America and did not have the money for the Passage. They were NOT indentured servants. Those were lies that have been told over and over again to make both the English Government and the Colonial Representatives who were working for the English before we were truly free Americans - look good.

It's really a shame that these lies have been carried out for so long, But, we should be proclaiming them from the mountaintops so all may know of these ancestors who have been so mistreated. They have suffered for so long with no one to proclaim the injustice - while we have long heard the screaming of contempt that the children of one race have been so cruelly used. Slavery is a terrible thing - for anyone to live through. It was wrong for the Hebrew Children in the Bible. (They were not Black) It was wrong for the Greeks to sell their children into bondage especially their daughters - (they were not black either) Slavery was not a pleasant condition in the middle eastern region for the moors either - they were abused by their masters (the moors were black) The middle eastern conquerers also enslaved many very young girls, they forced them into their harems and made them become concubines - They were from ALL RACES.

I imagine what I am trying to say is - Every race on this planet has suffered through the unfortunate condition of slavery at one time or another; Every race on this planet has enslaved someone else on this planet at one time or another. Every person has some sort of cross that they have to bear and it is NOT easy. Still, we should never EVER have the next generation pay for the mistakes of the last generation. We certainly should not have that sort of vigilante' justice after such an all encompassing war as the civil war.

We should remember that the war was fought to preserve the Union of ALL of the States. We should also remember that there were other people who were slaves - Every Race! Slavery is not and was not a White Vs. Black issue, nor was it a Black Vs. White issue - Nor is it an issue that deals with anything to do with anyone vs. anybody! This big world will not be able to turn around and spin nicely and peaceably until we all can stop this conflict and maybe we should try to do something different for once.

Maybe we should realize that there have been slaves made of every race since the beginning of time, and maybe we should try to be less demanding of others, or maybe they could try to be more productive, if they were to create something beautiful instead of smashing something, or - instead of singing some absurd protest song with a commercially made sign, and then getting back on the rented bus that the agency put them on so they could go and pick up their lame check for doing the lame protest for the cause that they didn't understand, they could look into the truth for once and discover what the real Constitution is all about and learn about real Freedom.

Who are the "We" and Who are the "They" in my little blow up at the end? Well, I grew up in the south, My kids grew up in the south, and we had some troubles with kids spitting on us and calling us ugly names and being bullies because of where we lived. Some folks were unhappy because they thought that our ancestors may have been mean to theirs. My ancestors, if they had know theirs, may have re united them if they had been sold apart, and gone to jail for doing so. They may have educated them, and gone to jail for doing that also. (these were northern laws by the way) The only problem with my contemporaries and my childrens' peers was that the schoolroom is not educating them properly any longer. There is so much rewritten history that the only hope our children may have to escape revisionist history may actually be for concerned adults to purchase history textbooks from the 1800's and from 1910 and from 1950 and from 1970 (to teach them about the space program).

Do you all dislike revisionist history? Do you feel that we are less free today than we were in the Civil War years?
 
Greetings,

I too have ancestors who fought in the Civil War. My family is originally from western NY around the Wellsville, Andover area. My first ancestor is Pvt. Francis M.Bassett who enlisted in 1862 at Portage NY, with Co.E, 1st NY Dragoons. His unit fought up and down the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia. I have done much research on him and his regiment. I have his original sword, discharge papers and copies of muster rolls and other information.

The second ancestor is his older brother, Pvt. George H. Bassett , who also enlisted in 1862, but with the 21st Alabama Infantry Volunteers. George Bassett was relocated with other family members in the South around age 13. He fought at Shiloh, and later became a clerk for Gen. Withers in Polks Army of Tennessee. Towards the end of the war he became a drug purveyor, serving under the CSA Surgeon General. He is mentioned in the Civil War books "From That Terrible Field - Civil War Letters of James M. Williams 21st Alabama Infantry Volunteers" and Art Green's fantastic unit history of the 21st Alabama Infantry.

Both brothers are buried in Independence, NY. in the same cemetery. George H. Bassett, who died in 1912, had Co.A 21st Ala. Inf. CSA added to his small grave marker. This caused somewhat of an uproar within our family, along with the community of Independence, as many in the area had relatives who fought and died in the Union Army. Francis M. Basset lived until 1917 and was buried with a much larger and more expensive grave marker. His company and 1st NY Dragoons was also added to his marker.

I am very proud of my Civil War heritage, both Union and Confederate!!!

View attachment 28990 View attachment 28991
 
I didn't join the forum until about the time this tread was winding down, so I haven't seen it until this morning. My ancestor was my grandfather's much-older brother. He's the man in my avatar: Pvt. James Hanna, who enlisted in the 2nd MO Cavalry, USA, also known as Merrill's Horse, on August 11, 1862. He most likely spent some time chasing guerrillas around north-central Missouri before going to Arkansas. He was frequently absent on detached assignment, as shown on his muster roles. These assignments are not specific, but I know he was around Little Rock, on assignment to Pine Bluff at least once, and that he guarded trains at various places in Arkansas and Tennessee. He was mustered out at Chattanooga. His papers indicate that he kept his "saber, haversack, buckler, and Colt's revolver". I would love to know where those items are today. It is possible that they are still within fifteen miles of where I sit, but the family surname has sort of died out near here, and I don't know who his daughters might have married.
 
Hello T. Smith: I believe we are related, since George H. Bassett is my Great Gandfather. It has been a mystery to me why George H. Bassett fought on the side of the confederacy, but your information - that the family relocated to the South while George was still a child - makes sense. But I am sure he was back in New York at some time after the war. ( My Grandmother used to say she was born in Mobile, but her birth cirtificate says Wellsville, NY in 1880. )

If there was any Civil War animosity between the two brother, Francis M. and George H., it must have ended after the war. I say this because George H. gave my Grandmother the name Frances M.. Quite a tribute to his brother Franscis M., I would say.

Something I learned only recently is that the blood line of the two brothers, Francis and George, all their brothers and sisters, and all their children goes all the way back to the original Plymouth settlement!!! That is when Great Grandfather and Great Grandmother Bassett by many, many generations joined the Pilgrim colony at Plymouth. George and Elizabeth Bassett - husband and wife - were among the original Pilgrim Fathers (and Mothers). It wasn't the Mayflower that they sailed in but the ship that landed a few months later - The Fortune.

Here is a link to the Bassett family geneology:
http://www.bassettbranches.org/tng/getperson.php?personID=I08720&tree=1A
With it, you can trace George and Francis's family back generation by generation. Fascinating.
Also, a link to the Bassett Family newsletter:

http://bassettbranches.org/newsletters/newsletters2014on.shtml
It's a newsletter that covers the entire Bassett family.

I include two photos of George H. Bassett.

If all this rings true to you, please get in touch. I think it is just great to find kin after all these years.
And by the way, Bill Tweed is my real name, not a play on the old Tammany Hall politican.
Best Regards. Bill Tweed

4. George H Bassett.jpg


8. George H. Bassett (reason for Kilt unknown).jpg
 
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My 3 great grandfather John Wesley was a slave holder in Maryland though he did not support seccsesion so he joind the union army in February 1862 he served in 2 bull run, Antinam, chanslerville, and Gettysburg. His father was pro seccsesion and pro slavery so he bought him out of the army.
 
Great thread! I have been working with a good friend whose passion is research and genealogy and History in general and American History in particular. Most of what I knew about my ancestors was passed down verbally by my long passed Grandmother and Aunt from North and South Carolina(Daddy's side of the family). Momma's side of the family was from what was then Southern Maryland and they were easier to find and trace since most of them hailed from just two counties since before the American Revolutionary War.

Daddy's side of the family was spread over both North and South Carolina. To date we have found many Confederates who primarily served in the ANV and Coastal NC and SC. I have birth dates and units they served in but little else. I envy those contributors here who possess information regarding precisely what units their ancestors served and details regarding deaths, wounds, even particulars about specific engagements and battles. What pains me is my long passed Aunt held a treasure trove of family bibles, Confederate artifacts, and IMO priceless letters written by ancestors serving in the Confederate Army.

My Aunt gave myself and some of my cousins Confederate notes (one each). She was an old school researcher who was extremely careful about storage and preservation of letters, bibles, artifacts and documents. She would have been a wonderful curator or research assistant for a museum. The source of my pain is that when she passed away her home and possessions were basically looted by family members. No one has ever owned up to who took what and where it is but we have narrowed it down to three relatives that had knowledge and opportunity and they have since passed on as well.

So far we have discovered many but not all of the soldiers my long passed Grandmother and Aunt (both born in the early 1890s) spoke of. It slays me when I think of all the time and effort my Aunt put into collecting, preserving, and researching long before anyone even imagined something like the internet. I will likely go to my grave wondering what became of my Aunt's collection. Was it lost? Sold? Donated? Or does it rest inside and old steamer trunk in a hot attic over someone's garage somewhere moth eaten and partially degraded? I fear I will never know.
 
My great-grandfather was a 3rd Sergeant William M. Watson (1839-1912) Company A, 30th Arkansas Infantry, of McRae's Brigade at the Battle of Helena. Usually called "Red".

Family oral history I heard at the Thanksgiving table (related by his son, my grandfather, 1889-1971) was that "Red" had told the story of how, shortly before the Confederate attack on Helena, he dressed up as a woman and passed through the Union lines on a buckboard, counted all the cannon and colors and passed back through the lines the next day to report.
 
What a great thread. This should be pinned up top.

Mine are:

Benjamin Floyd Lawson- 60th Regiment NC State Infantry. He died of disease in camp. His family lost two sons to the war. Another son survived the war only to come home to discover his wife had passed away.

Wallace Ward-NC 69th Thomas Legion. Conscripted but we suspect he had Union sympathies. He named his son after Union officer Colonel. G.W. Kirk. Survived the war.

Stanford Lee- Union Army with the 3rd Tennessee Mounted Infantry. .Guarded railroads, chased bushwhackers, and generally made life miserable for the the few rebel folk still left around these parts. Many of their number were rebel deserters who came back from Vicksburg and switched sides. Survived the war.

George Passmore- Co E, Walker's Battalion, Thomas Legion. Fate Unknown

Hugh Lambert-Civilian. He volunteered to serve the Union Army but was turned down because of age. He became a courier and informant giving aid and comfort to Union forces in the area. He also worked as a blacksmith for the Union forces. Was captured by Confederate forces but managed to escape and smuggled his oldest son who was about to be conscripted behind the Union lines. His claim commission to the Federal Government was accepted.
 
I have one that died in 1858 somehow, then his teenage son is nowhere to be found on a muster roll. It's frustrating. He's on the 1860 census & the 1870. Maybe he was an objector. Perhaps he was hiding. Perhaps he was a Southern Yankee. It sem lost to ages now. Hopefully this internet fad will catch on and things like rootsweb will get even better.
"perhaps he was a southern yankee". if there really is that possibility then there is also the possibility that he joined the regular army and not one of the volunteer units that were called for by thee presidents. one of my great grandfathers, luther davis joined the regular U.S. army and, just my luck, the federal gov't. has not converted those records to digital and put them on the web. as I understand it, all that information about all those volunteer units from all the various states were compiled by each state starting back in the 1880's. each state paid the costs to compile that information.
some of those federal records can be found on the web but thru sites like fold3, for a monthly fee. someone, on this web site I think it was, is a member of fold3 and found luther's pension card and that is where I found out he was in the U.S. first regiment, veteran volunteer engineers, company K and was a corporal. that was from about sept. 1864 to about sept.1865 and then he was mustered out. in this case it was a group of veterans who volunteered to sign up for another hitch. what I can't find is what engineer group he was in before that time. was he in the pioneer brigade as early as 1861 and was with them when they became part of the army of ohio and later became part of the army of the Cumberland and maybe even part of the army of the Potomac. you had to be hand picked by the colonel of your company to become an engineer. I know just about everything about him except for that period between the start of the war and when he joined the U.S. first.
"perhaps he was a southern yankee" who joined the regular army and that makes it much harder to trace. I hope you do find out about him. keep looking. there is new info added to the web every day. maybe tomorrow is your day as well as mine.
 
Armstrong, Martin V.
Born 1835 in Missouri; Died 1880

Franklin County Land Atlas 1865 (62) 17-21-16
1877 Franklin County Township History - Cutler - 21
Western Home Journal - 1868 (3)
1885 Atlas Cutler S-22
Miami County Family History - 189 (Grauel)
Franklin County Family File
Probate Court File - A-28
Buried: Howard Cemetery (Civil War Veteran - Company D 12th Regiment)
Census: 1859 Peoria - p4; 1860 Peoria - 2980; 1870 Peoria - 157; 1875
Cutler - p8

You can these days research with ease all the well known and published articles in reference to the activities of the 12th Kansas Volunteer Infantry.

What you can not do is look up the stories relayed to me by my grandmother.

Her husband was Arvin F. Armstrong, the grandson of Martin Van Buren Armstrong.

Martin Van Buren Armstrong (MVBA) is first found in the Kansas census of 1859 (irregular yes... but think about the times, Bloody Kansas) with his "first" family -- I looked up the microfilm (yes microfilm) back in the mid 1990's at the library in Ottowa KS. I forget the names but he lived in a homestead near Rantoul with his wife, father, child(ren) and a servant (indentured female) surname Merchant. The same listing in the 1860 census, I found on microfilm at the library. This is Franklin County KS. "First" family? yeah. I'll get to that.

Death records indicated he was buried in Howard Cemetery. I found his headstone. Grandma told me at the time that I was the first Armstrong she knew of to look at it since she and my grandfather had been there in the early 1930's. The cemetery is on private property, and twenty-some years ago it was in timber. MVBA's headstone is (was?) a grand sight to see. The inscriptions were well weathered but still legible. On the side if I recall correctly facing the West, "Civil war Veteran -Company D 12th Regiment".

12th Kansas Volunteer Infantry mustered in 1862 September. Organized in Paola KS under command of Col. Charles W. Adams. D Company was comprised entirely of residents from Frnaklin County KS. MVBA listed his residence as Stanton, a town just across the river (Marais Des Cygnes) from his homestead place near smaller rural Rantoul KS.

<<below, is snip cut and paste from Wiki, a synopsis of 12th KS Vol INF activities from muster-in to muster-out>>


"The regiment was assigned to duty by detachments on line between Kansas and Missouri until November 1863. At Olathe, Paola, Wyandotte, Mound City, Shawnee Trading Post, Fort Scott, Leavenworth and Fort Riley, Kan. Company H at Fort Larned until January 1864, then rejoined regiment at Fort Smith, Ark., also occupy Kansas City, Westport, and Hickman's Mills, Mo., guarding trains and operating against guerrillas. Operations in Jackson County against Quantrill November 2–5, 1862 (Company A). Baxter Springs October 6, 1863 (detachment). Companies B, E, and F escort train to Fort Smith, Ark., October 28-November 17, 1863. Companies A, C, D, G, I, and K concentrated at Fort Scott November 1863, and march to Fort Smith, Ark., December 13–28, 1863. Duty there until March 1864. Steele's Expedition to Camden March 23-May 3, 1864. Prairie D'Ann April 9–13. Jenkins' Ferry, Saline River, April 29–30. Return to Fort Smith May 3–16, and duty there until February 1865. Fort Smith September 1864. Moved to Little Rock February 24, 1865 and duty there until June."

<<end snip from cut-n-paste>>

(I recieve no credit nor is none asked for compiling any of the original research regarding the details described above. Nevertheless, I had a hand in it.)


MVBA for his part, stomped around Eastern Kansas for three years with his unit ultimately mustering out of service at Little Rock in June of 1865.

here's the neat part of the story.

Martin (MVBA) came back to his homestead on the banks of the Marais Des Cygnes near Rantoul and Stanton KS (it's on a bend in the river)... to find it taken over by his neighbor because while he was off being a soldier, all his family had died. They had all been buried over in Howard Cemetery. The neighbor we assume did not resist to surrender the homestead place back to Martin, because between then and the 1870 census I've found no records contesting MVBA's ownership. We do however find MVBA in the census with a new wife. And daughter. And a little later, with his new wife, daughter, another daughter, and a son.

Martin had come home to find his family gone. His homestead place was returned to him by his neighbor, gladly. Martin the widower married his new young wife Elizabeth Gragg (sometimes found spelled Gregg) from near the Barton/Vernon MO county line. This union produced first two daughters then one son. The youngest, the son, was named John Franklin Armstrong.

That very John Franklin Armstrong is my grandfathter's father. Martha Olene (Phipps) Armstrong married Arvin Franklin Armstrong, and she is my oral source for most of these stories, as relayed to her by "Dad Armstrong" (as she referred to her father-in-law) and his older sister Mary (Armstrong) Grauel.




An interesting note here is that my Grandma Martha's own maternal grandmother was Judith (Longacre) Phipps. Wife of John Phipps. Sheldon, MO.

Study reveals, like it or not, that Longacre is a name known as Bushwhacker "Royalty".

Judith's father was David M. Longacre, PVT, E Co 10th MO Cav CSA. Her oldest brother was Martin V. Longacre, PVT, H Co 3rd MO Cav CSA. These would be Martin David my GGG Grandfather, and my GG Grand-uncle Martin.

(the history of those units these days is easy to 'google')


David M. Longacre - Civil War history.... Served with Missouri 10th Cav., Co. E he's the father of my Grandma's Grandma.

<<"The Roster of Confederate Soldiers, 1861-1865", Vol. X, page 26

According to the Missouri State Archives papers on file, David M. Longacre belonged to McDonalds Reg. Cav. Captured 1 Jan 1863. Exchanged, assigned to duty with Co. H, 3rd MO. Cav. on 1 Aug 1863. Battles: Carthage, Wilson Creek, Lexington, and Springfield. He was born in Roane County, TN Resided in Clinton, MO.

his son, Grandma's Grandma's eldest brother... Pvt Martin V. Longacre Co. E 10th MO Cav (CSA) born 1843 in Missouri died 29 APR 1863, Williamsburg VA (disease).>>



As if that were not enough, now we return to the first Martin in the story, MVBA. That second wife he took, Elizabeth Gragg, was the grand-daughter of George Henry Norvell. The same Geroge Henry Norvell ("Hank" as related to me in stories told to my by my Grandma Martha) who was a member of C Co, 2nd MO Cav CSA.

"Hank" Norvell, if you look up my tree, is another of my GG Grandfathers then.

there's plenty of gray and a sliver of blue, but they all bled red blood from West Central Missouri and Eastern Kansas.


Chapter Two...

But now here remember our original hero in this story, Martin Van Buren Armstrong. That first oddball census of 1859 in Kansas listed his father John living in his household. Further research revelead that John was a veteran of service under Jackson. No, not "Stonewall", but ... Andrew. Yes, in the "War of 1812" there was an affair reffered to as the Red Stick Mess. For his part, he was warrented a parcel in what is now Henry County MO. I've seen the document. John mustered out before the famous Battle of New Orleans, but did indeed participate in the Red Stick affair. That parcel is now mostly or completely underwater near Deepwater MO. Truman Lake.

Genealogy research linked John to another US Army veteran and another land warrant granted to his own father. John's father would be my own ... let us now count the "G's" ...

Great great Grandfather, Martin Van Buren Armstrong. Co D 12th KS Vol INF... Youngest son of...
Great great great Grandfather, John Armstrong... warrented a parcel in what is now Henry Co MO for his service in Red Stick affair War of 1812 under Andrew Jackson...
John was the son of ...
Great great great great Grandfather Armstrong, warrented a parcel in the Ohio River Valley for his service which includes a time as a company commander in Light Horse Harry Lee's cavalry Brigade, where he was wounded at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse.



-- William Joseph (Billy) Armstrong,
born 25 Feb 1965 in Fort Scott KS
to this day resides in Smithville MO... Untied States Navy from 1984 to 1993, submarine service... SSN-680 USS William H. Bates

and daughter AT2 Jazmyne E. Armstrong HSC-12 World Famous Golden Falcons
recently Honorably Discharged USN 2008-2014
forward deployed attached to NAF Atsugi
attached as Air Wing to both USS George Washington and USS Abraham Lincoln


In this house, we observe Veteran's Day.
 
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