Charles W. Eldridge, continued:
Active 100+ year-olds make the news. And so it was for Charles W. Eldridge. Every year, newspapers all across the country took note of him. At 103, when he was elected Commander of St. Petersburg’s Kit Carson Post, G.A.R., the Miami Herald noted that he “walks miles daily from his home in the downtown section, takes a lively interest in local and national affairs, and frequently goes fishing alone in his rowboat.”
Centenarians are always asked “the secret to their longevity.” He had given his best answer on his 102nd birthday: “Don’t die!” But, at other times, he was more forthcoming. At 104, he attributed his survival to “heredity and his many years at sea.” In 1936, when John D. Rockefeller, sr., reached the age of 79, he published a long list of “rules to live by” for a long life. Eldridge was not impressed:
But, most of all, "Keep your hat on and don't worry." He said there was a mistaken impression that bared heads resulted in hair growth. "The head should be bared no longer than the rest of the body," he said. "Benefits from the sun's actinic rays are to be obtained within 20 minutes. I have seen tars in the old days who made the mistake of going about hatless who lost their hair within a year. Salts who wore head covering kept their locks. … And early deaths are brought about by worry. "
As the 1938 reunion approached, Charles W. Eldridge got in a little hot water with the U.D.C. (United Daughters of the Confederacy). Passing through Charleston on his way north, the always opinionated veteran remarked that such ill-feeling as exists between the north and south as an aftermath of the war was being kept alive by the women.
“The southern soldiers were darn good fellows. A number of us Yanks stole behind Confederate lines to swap stories and trade our salt for their tobacco. On our stolen visits … we always found the enemy friendly. On both sides we felt that the war was a most unfortunate thing, and the sooner over the better. Men who fought the war would have forgotten their differences long ago, and would be having bully times together if it weren’t for the women of the Confederacy.” he insisted. The President-general of the U.D.C. gave a dignified reply that her organization “is too busy with its program to stir up differences.” Only those who did not know of the U.D.C.’s work would criticize it, she insisted.
Charles enjoyed his time at the Reunion of the Blue and Gray. He may not have voted for that young Roosevelt chap who spoke at the dedication of the Eternal Light of Peace monument, but acknowledged that the president had said all the right things for the occasion. He also said that the most tiring, yet flattering part of the anniversary were the crowds seeking his autograph.
Following the Reunion, Charles W. Eldridge returned to St. Petersburg; to his fishing and baseball, and refereeing. He hung up his uniform that year and no longer played, but he kept his position as “Czar” of the League. Like so many of the veterans visiting Gettysburg that year, he didn’t long survive the excitement. He passed away at his home in St. Petersburg on December 17, 1938, at the age of 107. Buried in Bay Pines Cemetery, (he has no Find-a-Grave entry).
The Three Quarters Century Softball League of St. Petersburg still plays 2-3 games a week every winter.
(http://kidsandkubs.webs.com)
Charles W. Eldridge’s Civil War Record
My usual manner of going about these sketches is to begin with a search of newspaper archives and other general online sources, and from there look for more specific military resources (regimental histories, fold3.com, etc). A problem with depending heavily on newspaper reports is that they tend, with unsurprising regularity to get things wrong -- or at least to be mutually contradictory. Where does their information come from? Is it from the subject himself (who, at over 100 years might be getting a bit foggy), from a secondary source, is it hearsay, someone’s vague recollection (accurate or otherwise)? Sometimes a reporter fills in blanks with surmise or his own fallible memory.
The published statements regarding Charles Eldridge frequently state that he served a full four years during the civil war; and that he was wounded multiple times. But only two found thus far specify his state or regiment. According to a May, 1938 account:
While in 1935, he
First of all, there seems to have been no Charles W. Eldridge (or any reasonable approximation of the name) in the 1st California Cavalry. There was a William Eldridge in Co. G, 3rd California Infantry, but his CSR identifies him as a 45 year old mechanic born in Delaware Co, New Jersey. But, there was a Charles W. Eldridge in Co. D, 2nd Maine Cavalry, who enlisted 8 December 1863, and was discharged as disabled on March 8, 1865. That would give him sixteen months service. The regiment served in the Department of the Gulf, particularly western Florida and the Mobile campaign. The regimental history gives his residence as Perry, Maine; but the Maine CSRs are not yet online at fold3, so other details are not yet found. I am still looking,however.
Just to complicate matters a bit further, we read the caption to this photograph: