A missing burial

[Bob Velke]

I thought that some people here might be interested in my latest post to my Kearny Cross page on Facebook.
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There's an exciting end to this story!

Today we honor PVT John Donahue. When the Civil War broke out, he left his little country town in Maine at the tender age of 18 and enlisted on 27 Apr 1861 in Co. I, 4th Maine Infantry in order serve his country and go on an adventure. It didn't take him long to find it. He served in some horrendous fights, including First Bull Run, Seven Pines, Gaines' Mill, Malvern Hill, Second Bull Run, Chantilly (where he was wounded), Frederickburg, and Chancellorsville. After Chancellorsville, he was awarded the Kearny Cross for bravery. And then he went to Gettysburg and his luck changed.

At Gettysburg, he and his division held their ground as long as possible at the Peach Orchard against the Confederate assault. But when about to be overwhelmed, PVT Donahue was wounded a second time - this time in the arm - and lay on the ground until captured.

He spent the next four months in a Richmond prison but was paroled at City Point, VA and sent to the 1st Corp Hospital in Annapolis on 18 Oct 1863. He died the next day of dysentery and "the effects of poor treatment as a POW".

The curious thing is that, although more than a dozen family members have documented his service on Ancestry dot com, nobody has ever found a record of his burial. Was he interred somewhere in Annapolis or was his body sent home to his parents?

In rare cases, a soldier's burial location is described in his pension file (filed, in this case, by his mother). If mentioned, it is usually in the context of a family member requesting reimbursement of burial expenses. But there was no such reference.

Next I reviewed his Compiled Military Service Records (CMSRs) from the National Archives and was surprised to find a "Record of Death and Internment". I think that I've only seen one such document in a CMSR before. Unfortunately, it was so faded that it was unreadable. But with a little digital manipulation, the writing revealed itself. The "Number and locality of the grave" clearly said, "446 Ash Grove U.S. Cemetery." Ash Grove Cemetery in Annapolis is now the Annapolis National Cemetery.

But that's not the end of the story. The database that itemizes the burials in the Annapolis National Cemetery (the "National Gravesite Locator") doesn't mention PVT John Donahue! Worse, that website does not offer any way to look for a specific grave number (446). Fortunately, I have my own copy of that database (acquired through FOIA). It turns out that Grave #446 is attributed to an "Unknown Soldier".

The bottom of the form says that a copy was sent to the sexton of Ash Grove Cemetery but apparently it didn't get there - or was misplaced.

Annapolis is only 30 minutes from my house so my wife and I decided to take a ride, visit Grave #446, and say a little prayer for John Donahue. I took the authentic Kearny Cross from my collection in order to reunite him with this medal (see photo).

On monday morning I'm going to contact the administrators of the Annapolis National Cemetery and request that (1) the database be update appropriately and (2) they order a replacement tombstone which is properly engraved. When the tombstone comes, we'll have a little dedication ceremony with an honor guard and a minister to say a prayer.

I think that 158 years is long enough for this hero to lie in obscurity.

Please share to any appropriate group.

 

[Fairfield]

Terrific! He shouldn't lie in obscurity--thank you for changing that. One small adjustment: Pvt. Donahue was born in Bangor which isn't a small country town--it's Maine's 2nd largest city.

 

[Bob Velke]

Terrific! He shouldn't lie in obscurity--thank you for changing that. One small adjustment: Pvt. Donahue was born in Bangor which isn't a small country town--it's Maine's 2nd largest city.

He said at enlistment that he was born in Bangor but his mother said that their home when he was born was "on the road between Bangor and Dixmont, about 8 miles from Bangor." I'm guessing that she had a somewhat better memory of the event.

On Google Street View that area looks pretty rural even today.

Thanks.

 

[Demaster30]

That's a great story!

 

[lupaglupa]

@Bob Velke I'm hopeful you can get a tombstone for Pvt. Donohue. Some members have reported that only family can now request stones so I'm curious what the outcome is - please update us!

 

[Bob Velke]

@Bob Velke I'm hopeful you can get a tombstone for Pvt. Donohue. Some members have reported that only family can now request stones so I'm curious what the outcome is - please update us!

Anyone can apply for a stone if the soldier died prior to 6 Apr 1917. Thereafter requires a family member.

In 2018, I successfully obtained a stone for another soldier (another Kearny Cross recipient) who is buried in Baltimore. A direct descendent flew his entire family from California for the dedication ceremony.

PVT Donahue did not have any descendants, though, and I've yet to find any extended family members who care about his tombstone.

 

[lupaglupa]

I've yet to find any extended family members who care about his tombstone

That sort of thing makes me so sad - but not everyone values their family heritage.

 

[Tom Elmore]

Nice sleuthing work with a satisfying conclusion. When I was a midshipman at the Naval Academy, I became very familiar with the Parole area of Annapolis, which had a movie theater and nice restaurants. It was only much later that I learned that it took its name from the parole camp established there during the Civil War, and that a number of Gettysburg participants had passed through there.

Private Donahue probably fell into the hands of Benning's Georgians at Gettysburg. Private J. W. Lokey of Company B, 20th Georgia mentioned having been wounded and assisted off the field by an unidentified sergeant from the 4th Maine, who had been captured. (Confederate Veteran magazine, vol. XXII, September 1914, no. 9, p. 400)

 

[Bob Velke]

Private J. W. Lokey of Company B, 20th Georgia mentioned having been wounded and assisted off the field by an unidentified sergeant from the 4th Maine, who had been captured. (Confederate Veteran magazine, vol. XXII, September 1914, no. 9, p. 400)

I see that now. Very interesting.

That's the kind of mystery that I like to tackle! Sadly, there were 9 sergeants of the 4th ME Inf. captured at Gettysburg. The article doesn't really give us any more clues to figure out who it might have been.

 

[OldSarge79]

While I unashamedly honor my Confederate ancestors, I honor the slaves and the Union soldiers just as much. For any soldier who gave his life in that war, to lie in obscurity is so very sad.

Thank you so much for taking the time to research this and taking action on it! Recognition and appreciation are the last things that we on earth can do for a long-passed soldier. Please update us with the final results.