Help Correcting an Error, Maybe?

huskerblitz

Major
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Jun 8, 2013
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Nebraska
As some of you know I am researching the 22nd Kentucky and came across an error in the record, at least the best I can figure.

In searching for William R. Gilbert of the 22nd KY, I found a FindaGrave listing. However, some facts don't support this man being in the 22nd while some records actually do.

William R Gilbert of the 22nd Ky, died of pneumonia May 27, 1862 near Piketon, Kentucky. This Gilbert had only been enlisted for a couple of months before his illness and death. He never rose above the rank of private.

The information shown the F-A-G says he died in the Battle of Richmond and was later interred at Camp Nelson National Cemetery. This is supported in the Roll of Honor as well as the burial ledger found on Ancestry (shown below). Of course, the Roll of Honor information is the same.

But the 22nd KY did not participate at the Battle of Richmond and that engagement took place after William R Gilbert of the 22nd died in May. I've looked for other William Gilberts but have not found one that is listed as a lieutenant and I haven't found a casualty list for the battle of Richmond that lists names.

Anyone want to help me fix this supposed error?

@lelliott19 @John Hartwell you guys seem to like these types of challenges. Thanks!

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Which error do you want to fix? It seems there are either two men, though that's unlikely, or the death date is wrong, or the battle experience is wrong. Knowing what you know about that regiment, what do you think is most likely the truth?
 
I looked at the records on Fold3 and at the FindAGrave listing. I agree there is something wrong here. I would start first with the FAG listing - it was done at different times by different people and the photo was taken by a third. The stone has minimal info - just W R Gilbert KY and the number of the gravesite. But on FAG they state "inscription: Lt, US Army, Civil War" which is not there.

The records on William R Gilbert of the 22nd KY are not exactly crystal clear. They give two different death dates in three different locations. But it seems pretty definite that he died in 1862. Looking at the info about the Camp Nelson Cemetery, it seems highly likely that Gilbert's body might have been transferred from the plot where it was originally buried (probably by the hospital where he died in either Barbourville, Flat Lick, or Jackson County, the three sites mentioned in the records).

I'm guessing the info in the Richmond Casualty list has an error. Some well meaning person found that entry and also found a gravesite for a W R Gilbert from Kentucky and decided to link them.

But - I could be wrong. The thing to do is to contact either the FAG site owner (given as Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War) or the person given credit at FAG for the bio (given as Old Joseph) and ask them what source they used for their info. Nothing in the FAG rules requires them to reply to your enquiry or to fix any mistakes (don't get me started on that...) but people are sometimes helpful about these things.
 
The stone has minimal info - just W R Gilbert KY and the number of the gravesite. But on FAG they state "inscription: Lt, US Army, Civil War" which is not there.
This information comes from the burial ledgers, which was then copied to the Roll of Honor listing. The Grave Locator for the national cemeteries also lists this information.

Until I can find a casualty list from Richmond, I'm not sure exactly what to conclude. My guess is the information is wrong, but it was wrong almost immediately since it first appears in the burial ledgers. I can contact the memorial owner (I've corrected several already) but I'm not exactly sure what to tell them because the information they list is backed by the information they used. But digging deeper such as I have, shows that information is probably not accurate.
 
Maybe the route to fixing this mess is to find out who the Lt was who was put onto the burial ledger. What is known about the ledger? Are the names in any particular order?
 
Maybe the route to fixing this mess is to find out who the Lt was who was put onto the burial ledger. What is known about the ledger? Are the names in any particular order?
That's what I was hoping for help on, figuring out who that particular person was.

As for the burial ledger, the names aren't in any particular order themselves. Just whenever a body was discovered they would be listed in the ledger along with identifying information and then where the body was reinterred.
 
Okay - I've been poring through old records. Fun!

In the US Register of Deaths of Volunteers I found John A. Gilbert, 2nd Lt, Co D (or I - both are given), 22nd KY. John died of disease April 24, 1862 in Madison County, Kentucky (or at Goochland which is just south of Madison County - both locations are given). Obviously he could not have been at the Battle of Richmond. But he could have been buried nearby and moved at the same time the bodies from the battle were moved.

John's records say that after his death his effects were taken by his brother, "who was with him at the time of his death." John had a brother named William who survived the War and moved (with much of the rest of the family) to Iowa. John has a FindAGrave listing in Iowa, though I suspect his body is not there.

That doesn't explain how William got a post-death promotion. But it may be a piece of the puzzle. One thing that caught my eye - William's burial record has an asterisk next to his name. A number of other men have that also but I could not find anything that explains the asterisk. All of the official records state that William's death was not officially recorded. How did he then end up on the Roll of Honor?

I don't think any of this is helping you @huskerblitz!
 
I agree, these types of hunts are fun. I appreciate the help!

William got onto the Roll of Honor (the black and white published copy) because the original records (the burial ledgers) contained the same information that I posted in my first post. I'm just not sure HOW that information was obtained. And why his death is not officially recorded is also a mystery.

I have a hard time believing they would have moved his body 90 some miles when I know of others who died in the same hospital were not moved. It doesn't help I can't track his family either because his name is too common.

My instinct is the info in the burial ledgers is wrong...but how I don't have a clue. I spent a couple more hours today and still haven't made any headway on a good answer as of yet.
 
I was trying yesterday to think through all the times info could go wrong. The soldier dies, is buried, is disinterred, is transferred, is reinterred. At each step information can be altered. The likeliest place where info is lost or mangled is at burial. Hospital burials seemed to get fairly decent info but battlefield burials were a mess. If you look at the Camp Nelson burial register you can see that the vast majority of bodies that were moved from Richmond were listed as unknown. The fact that the W R Gilbert body had such specific information with it really stands out - it was almost complete in the particulars. Was that because someone marked the body at burial? I know fellow soldiers often did that. If they did, and we assume they put in correct info, did it get transcribed wrong? Maybe it was written on wood or paper and that decayed?

There were a lot of Gilberts in the 22nd. Were they related in some way? John A. Gilbert has pretty good family info online. Some descendant there has done work on that line. William R. doesn't, which makes it harder. There's no context for his service which might help explain some of the facts.

And what is the asterisk for?
 
I would look for what I call “typo’s”. I found a reference in a well-researched book that listed a soldier in the “13 Tenn Cav”. I found the original roster of those who died and it was actually “13 Penn Cav”.

Did you check that name in other Kentucky units?
 
I would look for what I call “typo’s”. I found a reference in a well-researched book that listed a soldier in the “13 Tenn Cav”. I found the original roster of those who died and it was actually “13 Penn Cav”.

Did you check that name in other Kentucky units?
Yep, checked all of the Kentucky regiments at the Battle of Richmond and no other William Gilbert's.
 
There is a record for a pension for William R. Gilbert of the 22nd. It might be worth getting if you really want to go deep on this.
 
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