Trunk from Maine Regiment

47thNCancestor

Private
Joined
Nov 23, 2020
I was at the flea market last Saturday with my wife when she saw an old trunk she liked.It was really dirty but decided to get it for her.When I cleaned it up on Sunday I found the inscription C G Hall or A Mitchell Co G Maine 5th Regiment Personal belongings.I was really shocked but glad she talked me into getting it.

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5th Maine Infantry, Co. G

Alonzo Mitchell of Freeport, Me. Mustered in 1861 (at 25 yrs.) as a private and mustered out 1864 as a sergeant.

also--Charles D. Hall of Vienna, Me. Mustered in (at 32 yrs.) as a private and mustered out 1864 as a sergeant. He was wounded at Spotsylvania Court House.

Great find! Your wife has a keen eye!
 
Thanks for the reply.I couldn't believe it went so long without being noticed.I got it at the Raleigh,NC flea market from a lady from Pa..It was really dirty and no one could read the inscription. Thanks for the information also.Lee
 
Thanks for the reply.I couldn't believe it went so long without being noticed.I got it at the Raleigh,NC flea market from a lady from Pa..It was really dirty and no one could read the inscription. Thanks for the information also.Lee
Having only recently completed my own project on local ACW soldiers, I still have access to information and if you are interested in more on either, I'm happy to go into it. The writing on C.G. sure looks like a G so it may be that Alonzo Mitchell is your man.
 
Alfonzo King Mitchell was born c. 1836 in Freeport. When he mustered in (Portland) on 10 May 1861, he was a farmer. According to the description on his service card, he was 5'11'', had dark hair and hazel eyes. He mustered out on 27 July 1864 (also in Portland). He filed for an invalid pension on 28 Sept 1868 and, on 22 December 1879, his widow (Sarah) filed for a widow's pension. His cemetery card (Maine Vets' Cemetery records) states that he died on 11 August 1879 in Freeport and was buried on 14 August in South Freeport. There is a grave in the South Freeport Cemetery along with his parents (Ammi and Eunice Mitchell) and his wife Sarah; the grave stone gives the year of his death as 1887--but considering that his wife had filed for a widow's pension 8 years earlier, that date is probably incorrect. Also, there was a mortality schedule (filed along with census) which also gives his date of death as 1879. In 1890, his widow entered a summary for him on the Veterans' Schedule; she says that he died of "malarial poison" and--since Malaria isn't a frequent disease in Maine, it was probably something he picked up during the war. The mortality schedule states that, in 1879, he was a laborer.

Charles D. or G. Hall (service card says either but all subsequent records say "G") was born 15 Jan 1829 in Hallowell. He enlisted on 15 May 1861 in Vienna (Maine, not Austria!), giving his occupation as "farmer" and was mustered in 24 June 1861 in Portland; he was mustered out on 27 June 1864 (also in Portland). He filed for a disability pension on 17 August 1864 and, on 29 December 1896, his widow Abbie filed for a widows pension. In the 1890 vets' schedule, he states that his disability was a gunshot wound in the hip. According to his vet's cemetery card, he died on 11 Dec. 1896 and was buried on 14 December in North Vienna.
 
Thanks so much for this valuable information. I will make a copy of it and keep it in the trunk for others to enjoy reading years from now.Thanks,Lee from NC
My pleasure. The ACW records in Maine are pretty good. I am delighted that this bit of the Pine Tree State has found a home and I'm sure that Sgt. Hall/Sgt. Mitchell are pleased that there is this bit of their lives being treasured.
 
I was at the flea market last Saturday with my wife when she saw an old trunk she liked.It was really dirty but decided to get it for her.When I cleaned it up on Sunday I found the inscription C G Hall or A Mitchell Co G Maine 5th Regiment Personal belongings.I was really shocked but glad she talked me into getting it.

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Wow !! What a great find...so rare. BTW, the hand forged hasp is strikingly similar to the Lee Camp Chest in Richmond...and the dimensions appear very similar.
 
I linked this in your other post but thought I'd share again for others following this thread - there is a museum of the 5th Maine on Peaks Island in Portland, Maine. They have a lot of info on the 5th and the men who served in it. I'm sure they would be excited to see this box and might have some info on it.

 
Wow !! What a great find...so rare. BTW, the hand forged hasp is strikingly similar to the Lee Camp Chest in Richmond...and the dimensions appear very similar.
Thanks for replying. I found the Lee Camp Chest and was amazed by the close resemblance. Thanks Lee from NC
 
Now the next mystery is - how did the trunk get to Pennsylvania? If you could trace the descendants - maybe a child of one of the men moved there and took the trunk with them. It's obviously a sturdy piece so it would have been useful well after the war
 
Thanks for the reply.I couldn't believe it went so long without being noticed.I got it at the Raleigh,NC flea market from a lady from Pa..It was really dirty and no one could read the inscription. Thanks for the information also.Lee

Raleigh! You snatched this up from right under my nose! Although realistically my excellent wife would not thank me for bringing home something like this. ('Where are you going to put it?') Are you near Raleigh, Lee?

Roy B.
 
What a great piece! And, that split latch is great too... wonderful find!
...yes...for our reproduction of the Lee Camp Chest, I found a fellow to hand forge these as a "close copy"...as per original hasps, no two alike...his name is Daniel Young, a friend for over 25 years who still sets up at reenactments...saw him at Blountville, TN event this Fall...now in his mid eighties and still runs the coal fired forge and anvils !!
 
Raleigh! You snatched this up from right under my nose! Although realistically my excellent wife would not thank me for bringing home something like this. ('Where are you going to put it?') Are you near Raleigh, Lee?

Roy B.
Roy,I'm about 25 miles east of Raleigh near Zebulon. My wife loves the old boxes and primitive antiques and already stacked it with some more boxes.She claims it her box now.😀

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