Prisoner Escape

[Gettysburg Guide #154]

I am looking for some help. I have read more than once that Sgt. Oscar Bates of Company G, 19th Indiana Volunteers was captured on July 1 at Gettysburg. It was claimed that he escaped and returned to his company about a month later. I would love to find the details of the escape. Does anyone have any references to share?

 

[Tom Elmore]

Quite a few Union prisoners escaped during Lee's retreat and returned to their units. Most escaped while on the way to the Potomac and were back within a few days. Likely only a very few escaped after crossing the Potomac on their way to Staunton, Virginia, but even those documented cases were thought to be back in friendly territory within a couple of weeks. I am not familiar with Bates' case, but if it took him a month, I wonder if he was not among those who were paroled and afterwards released from Camp Parole in Annapolis.

Corporal Warren H. Freeman, Company A, 13th Massachusetts wrote in a letter on July 26: An order has just been issued, saying that our parole was good for nothing, and that as soon as we were armed and equipped we must join our respective regiments again without being exchanged. So Freeman and others like him may have been back with their units after about a month's absence.

See also: https://civilwartalk.com/threads/escapes-from-captivity.157508/#post-2045782

 

[tomlamarcooughlin]

Have you looked for a battle report for his company?
I had evidence that one of my family had been captured but later showed up still in service. Trying to find out how that could happen I located the battle report which said that the next day his company had retaken the position and in the Union hospital "we recovered Colonel Lamar"

 

[virginiayankee]

I checked the records for him at the Indiana Digital Archives. The records don't mention him as a POW but it's been my experience that they are not always reliable. Just look at his age at the time of his second enlistment. Here is what I found out:

Last Name Bates
First Name Oscar
Middle Name C.
Age 20
Date Enrolled1861/07/29
Where Enrolled Indianapolis, Indiana
Regiment 19 Company G
Notes Veteran Volunteer, 1/1/64. Severely wounded at Wilderness, VA., 5/6/64; Sergt. Source:http://secure.in.gov/apps/iara/search/Home/Detail?rId=1238784

Last Name Bates
First Name Oscar
Middle Name C.
Age 20
Date Enrolled 1864/01/01
Where Enrolled Culpepper, Virginia
Regiment 20 Company C
Discharge Date 1865/07/12
Notes Reorganized. 1st Sergt.; Promoted 1st Lieut., 12/15/64 to Capt., 5/16/65.
Source: http://secure.in.gov/apps/iara/search/Home/Detail?rId=1238799

 

[Gettysburg Guide #154]

I want to thank each of you who took the time to post suggestions and information here. Some of it is useful.

In March, I will be guiding a tour bus with some high school students from Garrett, IN. Garrett is in Dekalb County. My research has shown that Corporal Oscar C. Bates enlisted with the Elkart Guards from Elkart County, who became Company G of the 19th Indiana Volunteers and served with the Iron Brigade. Before the war, Bates was a carpenter in Butler, IN in Dekalb County. After the war he married Sylvia Altenburg, also from Dekalb County and the sister of Bates' Company G comrade, Henry Altenburg. They moved to Michigan and farmed. Oscar died in 1900 and Sylvia in 1909. This much (along with Dekalb County resident, Lt. Charles Baxter, who is listed on the 17th IN Monument at Gettysburg along with the other officers) should provide the kids with some local connection to this Eastern Theater battle. I was just hoping to add some adventurous detail to Bates' escape.
Again, thanks to all who replied.

 

[connecticut yankee]

I want to thank each of you who took the time to post suggestions and information here. Some of it is useful.

In March, I will be guiding a tour bus with some high school students from Garrett, IN. Garrett is in Dekalb County. My research has shown that Corporal Oscar C. Bates enlisted with the Elkart Guards from Elkart County, who became Company G of the 19th Indiana Volunteers and served with the Iron Brigade. Before the war, Bates was a carpenter in Butler, IN in Dekalb County. After the war he married Sylvia Altenburg, also from Dekalb County and the sister of Bates' Company G comrade, Henry Altenburg. They moved to Michigan and farmed. Oscar died in 1900 and Sylvia in 1909. This much (along with Dekalb County resident, Lt. Charles Baxter, who is listed on the 17th IN Monument at Gettysburg along with the other officers) should provide the kids with some local connection to this Eastern Theater battle. I was just hoping to add some adventurous detail to Bates' escape.
Again, thanks to all who replied.

You probably have seen this----additional info on Oscar Bates including his being wounded later in the war...

https://scholarship.richmond.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2139&context=masters-theses

 

[lelliott19]

You probably have seen this----additional info on Oscar Bates including his being wounded later in the war...

https://scholarship.richmond.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2139&context=masters-theses

Good find @connecticut yankee Page 84 of that source mentions another man in G/19th IN who was captured and returned to the company about a month later:

Private Benjamin Turner was captured as well, but was illegally paroled according to his pension file and returned to the Company near Westchester, Pennsylvania on 10 August 1863. [Pension file for Benjamin Turner is cited.]​

On page 83, it mentions that several of the others who were captured were imprisoned in Richmond until August 6th, when they were paroled at City Point. Perhaps like Turner, Bates was also illegally paroled? Or as @Tom Elmore mentioned, it is possible that Sgt. Bates was exchanged quickly and released? Or he may have failed to report to Camp Parole to await exchange?

 

[rpkennedy]

The 19th Indiana had a heck of a fight against the 11th North Carolina and part of the 26th North Carolina. They stood for about as long as any regiment could before falling back to Seminary Ridge, covered by the 151st Pennsylvania. I hope the kids have a good time.

Ryan

 

[damYankee]

Thanks for bringing this up, I have wondered if there were any prisoners exchanged or released by the Confederates after Gettysburg as well , the man pictured in my moniker was captured on July 1 as well, he returned within two weeks, was involved in the suppression of the draft riots in NYC, and later served with the 103rd USCT in Atlanta.
Hubert Hollenbeck was his name.

 

[Tom Elmore]

(Fayetteville Observer, quoting Lynchburg Republican) We [the Confederates] captured 11,500 prisoners [at Gettysburg], 7,300 of whom were paroled on the field.

The remaining 4,200 were marched south to Staunton, Virginia.

Those numbers don't include the 5,000 or so captured from Milroy's force at Winchester in mid-June, and several hundred Pennsylvania militia taken by Maj. Gen. Early near Gettysburg on June 26. It totals up to around 17,000 Federals who were rounded up by Gen. Lee's army in the summer of 1863.

 

[Popman]

I am looking for some help. I have read more than once that Sgt. Oscar Bates of Company G, 19th Indiana Volunteers was captured on July 1 at Gettysburg. It was claimed that he escaped and returned to his company about a month later. I would love to find the details of the escape. Does anyone have any references to share?

 

[Popman]

Oscar was my gg grandfather. Here is part of his obit. We still have this original.

 

[Popman]

View attachment 357156

 

[Tom Elmore]

Some Union prisoners spent just one week on Belle Island before being exchanged, spending one month total in captivity. Sergeant Benjamin L. Johnston of Company H, 105th Pennsylvania was captured on July 1, and crossed the Potomac on a pontoon bridge just before dark on July 13. He and others in the same predicament spent July 15-19 at Bunker Hill, and were loaded on railcars at Culpeper, arriving at Belle Island in Richmond on July 25. On August 2, Johnston and others were placed on railcars for City Point; they boarded the truce boat "New York," reached Fortress Monroe after dark, and arrived in Annapolis the morning of August 3. ("One Month a Prisoner," by Benjamin L. Johnston, Brookville Republican, July 15 and 29, 1863)

 

[Gettysburg Guide #154]

View attachment 357156

Thank You - Thank You- Thank You! This is great! In appreciation, I thought I should post photos of your great, great grandparents, Oscar and Sylvia. Perhaps you already know that another one of Sylvia's brothers, Henry (not mentioned in the obit), was also a member of Company G, 19th Indiana Volunteer Infantry. it is not clear if Henry was present in the fighting at Gettysburg, as he was often on the sick list from the ill effects of camp life.

My interest in Oscar and Company G is that several men from Dekalb County, Indiana, were members of that company. On March 12, my last battlefield tour before everything shut down was for a group from Garrett High School in Garrett, Dekalb County, Indiana. The group keenly interested to learn about men from their home county who fought at Gettysburg and to stand on the ground that was occupied by the 19th Indiana for part of the battle. Oscar Bates and his capture and escape were certainly part of the presentation, as was Oscar's marriage to his comrade's sister, Sylvia. The Altenburg family resided in Auburn, Indiana, which is also in Dekalb county, and nearly borders Garrett. My son is a teacher at Garrett High School, and I will forward to him a copy of the obituary.

If you ever find any details on the "most daring manner" of Oscar's escape, I would love to see that. For that matter, even a family legend would be interesting.

Again, I am most grateful for this follow up. I'm a bit jealous, as my ancestors are not quite so interesting.

 

[Popman]

Thank You - Thank You- Thank You! This is great! In appreciation, I thought I should post photos of your great, great grandparents, Oscar and Sylvia. Perhaps you already know that another one of Sylvia's brothers, Henry (not mentioned in the obit), was also a member of Company G, 19th Indiana Volunteer Infantry. it is not clear if Henry was present in the fighting at Gettysburg, as he was often on the sick list from the ill effects of camp life.

My interest in Oscar and Company G is that several men from Dekalb County, Indiana, were members of that company. On March 12, my last battlefield tour before everything shut down was for a group from Garrett High School in Garrett, Dekalb County, Indiana. The group keenly interested to learn about men from their home county who fought at Gettysburg and to stand on the ground that was occupied by the 19th Indiana for part of the battle. Oscar Bates and his capture and escape were certainly part of the presentation, as was Oscar's marriage to his comrade's sister, Sylvia. The Altenburg family resided in Auburn, Indiana, which is also in Dekalb county, and nearly borders Garrett. My son is a teacher at Garrett High School, and I will forward to him a copy of the obituary.

If you ever find any details on the "most daring manner" of Oscar's escape, I would love to see that. For that matter, even a family legend would be interesting.

Again, I am most grateful for this follow up. I'm a bit jealous, as my ancestors are not quite so interesting.
[/Q

Thank You - Thank You- Thank You! This is great! In appreciation, I thought I should post photos of your great, great grandparents, Oscar and Sylvia. Perhaps you already know that another one of Sylvia's brothers, Henry (not mentioned in the obit), was also a member of Company G, 19th Indiana Volunteer Infantry. it is not clear if Henry was present in the fighting at Gettysburg, as he was often on the sick list from the ill effects of camp life.

My interest in Oscar and Company G is that several men from Dekalb County, Indiana, were members of that company. On March 12, my last battlefield tour before everything shut down was for a group from Garrett High School in Garrett, Dekalb County, Indiana. The group keenly interested to learn about men from their home county who fought at Gettysburg and to stand on the ground that was occupied by the 19th Indiana for part of the battle. Oscar Bates and his capture and escape were certainly part of the presentation, as was Oscar's marriage to his comrade's sister, Sylvia. The Altenburg family resided in Auburn, Indiana, which is also in Dekalb county, and nearly borders Garrett. My son is a teacher at Garrett High School, and I will forward to him a copy of the obituary.

If you ever find any details on the "most daring manner" of Oscar's escape, I would love to see that. For that matter, even a family legend would be interesting.

Again, I am most grateful for this follow up. I'm a bit jealous, as my ancestors are not quite so interesting.

How I would love to go back in time and meet this man..he and Sylvia are buried about 30 minutes away from me in Ithaca Michigan. His son john and his grandson Oscar ( my grandfather) are also resting here along with much of his family. The little scrap of flag from the Wilderness campaign is still with cousins nearby, and the property he settled and farmed is barely different than when it was his. It was probably a very difficult living especially considering that he was probably in poor health often, but quite a departure from the previous 4 years of his life.

 

[lelliott19]

The little scrap of flag from the Wilderness campaign

I'd love to see a picture of that if you'd be kind enough to share?

 

[Gettysburg Guide #154]

How I would love to go back in time and meet this man..he and Sylvia are buried about 30 minutes away from me in Ithaca Michigan. His son john and his grandson Oscar ( my grandfather) are also resting here along with much of his family. The little scrap of flag from the Wilderness campaign is still with cousins nearby, and the property he settled and farmed is barely different than when it was his. It was probably a very difficult living especially considering that he was probably in poor health often, but quite a departure from the previous 4 years of his life.

Please post a photo of the piece of the flag.

 

[Popman]

How I would love to go back in time and meet this man..he and Sylvia are buried about 30 minutes away from me in Ithaca Michigan. His son john and his grandson Oscar ( my grandfather) are also resting here along with much of his family. The little scrap of flag from the Wilderness campaign is still with cousins nearby, and the property he settled and farmed is barely different than when it was his. It was probably a very difficult living especially considering that he was probably in poor health often, but quite a departure from the previous 4 years of his life.

Thank You - Thank You- Thank You! This is great! In appreciation, I thought I should post photos of your great, great grandparents, Oscar and Sylvia. Perhaps you already know that another one of Sylvia's brothers, Henry (not mentioned in the obit), was also a member of Company G, 19th Indiana Volunteer Infantry. it is not clear if Henry was present in the fighting at Gettysburg, as he was often on the sick list from the ill effects of camp life.

My interest in Oscar and Company G is that several men from Dekalb County, Indiana, were members of that company. On March 12, my last battlefield tour before everything shut down was for a group from Garrett High School in Garrett, Dekalb County, Indiana. The group keenly interested to learn about men from their home county who fought at Gettysburg and to stand on the ground that was occupied by the 19th Indiana for part of the battle. Oscar Bates and his capture and escape were certainly part of the presentation, as was Oscar's marriage to his comrade's sister, Sylvia. The Altenburg family resided in Auburn, Indiana, which is also in Dekalb county, and nearly borders Garrett. My son is a teacher at Garrett High School, and I will forward to him a copy of the obituary.

If you ever find any details on the "most daring manner" of Oscar's escape, I would love to see that. For that matter, even a family legend would be interesting.

Again, I am most grateful for this follow up. I'm a bit jealous, as my ancestors are not quite so interesting.

I'd love to see a picture of that if you'd be kind enough to share?

the picture of the flag is mixed in here with the other posts.. it is definitely the regiments U.S. flag and not the regimental flag.

 

[Gettysburg Guide #154]

This is great. Thanks for sharing. Your family is privileged to have this wonderful legacy and to have kept it so well preserved.

Just because we have introduced the flag, it seemed a good place to sell a bit about some of those who carried the 19th IN flags at Gettysburg.

As they regiment advanced across the fields west of the Lutheran Seminary, the surprised Confederates began to fire on them. One account says that "a shower of bullets rained about the colors". The flag was pierced by about a dozen shots. Color Bearer, Burlington Cunningham, went down having been shot in the side. Cpl. Abram Buckles heard someone shout for him to drop his gun and get the flag. He did so and raced down the hill. At times he would get so far ahead that the Lt. Col of the regiment, William Dudley, would yell "Come back with that flag!"

the history of the regiment by Alan Graf says that eight of the regiment's color bearers would become casualties at Gettysburg. One of them was Lt. Col. Dudley. As he carried the flag, he was hit in the right leg, which had to be amputated.

During the withdrawal from Herbst Woods to Seminary Ridge, Cpl. Burr Clifford, Co. F was carrying the state flag. He decided to furl it up. He was standing sideways so as to be a bit less of a target. He tells us: " . . ., a Bullet struck the staff below my hand an other (sic) struck my hat an other (sic) the left leg just cutting my pants below my knee, an other (sic) the right leg just above the knee cutting the pant, also two other cut the tail of my Blouse in the rear." Yet he made it back to Cemetery Hill without a wound, where the now unfurled flag helped serve as a rallying point for the remnants regiment.