A Very Rewarding Day

[ExNavyPilot]

I pulled off a Civil War hat trick this Saturday, with two of the "feats" being visits to battlefields on which ancestors fought, while the third feat had nothing to do with my ancestry but everything to do with ACW ancestry in general. To top it off, it was finally a beautiful Spring day here in SE Virginia, with lots of sunshine and temps in the mid sixties.
First, I had the opportunity to participate in a ceremony honoring a living "real daughter" of a Union soldier; i.e. a woman whose father served in the Civil War. How cool is that? My SUVCW camp, in combination with MOLLUS, met in the Varina area of Richmond to honor Hazel Mason Jeter, age 96, and her father, PVT Silas D. Mason, Co. C, 1st Maine Cavalry (born in 1842).
PVT Mason enlisted 11 Feb 1864 at Belfast, Maine and joined his unit around Warrenton, VA. His unit participated in actions at Todd's Tavern, Sheridan's first raid to Richmond, Cold Harbor, Trevilian Station, St Mary's Church, Charles County Road, Dinwiddie Court House, and Ream's Station. At Second Ream's Station, 24 August 1864, PVT Mason had his right arm badly injured when his horse fell on him. He evidently didn't recover full use of his arm for in March or April 1865 he was transferred to the 48th Co., 2nd Battalion, VRC. He was mustered out of service in September or October, 1865.
PVT Mason returned to Maine and started a family, but he ended up marrying his third wife at about age 72 and settling in Giles County, Virginia. His daughter Hazel was born in 1917. Silas Mason died when Hazel was 5 years old, but she still has memories of him.
It was very moving to discuss with Hazel and her family the experiences of her father. The whole family, and especially Hazel, were quite appreciative of the attention and enjoyed hearing her father's history recited.
Now for my second and third feats. I had not planned out anything for my day beyond the presentation of the certificate, but as I was driving into Hazel's neighborhood I saw a historical plaque for Fort Harrison, which was within a mile of her house. My gggrandfather, PVT Jacob Minnick, Co A, 142nd NY Infantry, had participated in the Battle of Chaffin's Farm (Laurel Hill, Fort's Harrison and Gilmer, etc), so I decided to check out the park unit there. My first stop was Fort Gilmer and then I walked the fortifications at Fort Harrison. [When I got home later I found the OR from the 142nd NY which detailed their participation in the attack, and I realized that his unit probably advanced across the ground where Hazel Mason Jeter's house now stands. She had mentioned gardening in her yard and finding minie balls. The coincidence sent shivers up my spine...in a good way.]
Now pumped up from seeing that battlefield, I took a glance at my Richmond map (old-school, pre-digital paper map) and realized that Malvern Hill was just a few miles east down VA Route 5. Jacob's brother Simeon Minnick and his brother-in-law Peter Sawyer fought as Privates in Battery D, First Regiment NY Light Artillery at Malvern Hill. Guess where I went? I was the only person at the battlefield at that time and the solitude was wonderful. I walked down the trail to the Crew House and the Malvern "cliffs", where Battery D saw action on the night of June 30th and the morning of July 1st, 1862. Mid morning the battery was moved to the far right of the line where it participated in some counter battery fire but was out of the main action of the afternoon. I had a wonderful time at this battlefield, getting a good visual of the terrain and understanding why the Union defenses were so tough.
On the two hour drive back home I had the opportunity to reflect on my experiences of the day and think some more about those Civil War actions long gone. It was quite a satisfying trip, one that I'll be sure to appreciate always.

 

[bjcas]

How rewarding for you. I wish I lived closer to that area as many of my ancestors were in the War. To walk on the ground where it all happened would be really quite an experience. I don't know if I could be the only one on the field, but it seemed to really affect you. And to meet the daughter of a soldier! How fortunate......now I really do envy you!

 

[RobertP]

I pulled off a Civil War hat trick this Saturday, with two of the "feats" being visits to battlefields on which ancestors fought, while the third feat had nothing to do with my ancestry but everything to do with ACW ancestry in general. To top it off, it was finally a beautiful Spring day here in SE Virginia, with lots of sunshine and temps in the mid sixties.
First, I had the opportunity to participate in a ceremony honoring a living "real daughter" of a Union soldier; i.e. a woman whose father served in the Civil War. How cool is that? My SUVCW camp, in combination with MOLLUS, met in the Varina area of Richmond to honor Hazel Mason Jeter, age 96, and her father, PVT Silas D. Mason, Co. C, 1st Maine Cavalry (born in 1842).
PVT Mason enlisted 11 Feb 1864 at Belfast, Maine and joined his unit around Warrenton, VA. His unit participated in actions at Todd's Tavern, Sheridan's first raid to Richmond, Cold Harbor, Trevilian Station, St Mary's Church, Charles County Road, Dinwiddie Court House, and Ream's Station. At Second Ream's Station, 24 August 1864, PVT Mason had his right arm badly injured when his horse fell on him. He evidently didn't recover full use of his arm for in March or April 1865 he was transferred to the 48th Co., 2nd Battalion, VRC. He was mustered out of service in September or October, 1865.
PVT Mason returned to Maine and started a family, but he ended up marrying his third wife at about age 72 and settling in Giles County, Virginia. His daughter Hazel was born in 1917. Silas Mason died when Hazel was 5 years old, but she still has memories of him.
It was very moving to discuss with Hazel and her family the experiences of her father. The whole family, and especially Hazel, were quite appreciative of the attention and enjoyed hearing her father's history recited.
Now for my second and third feats. I had not planned out anything for my day beyond the presentation of the certificate, but as I was driving into Hazel's neighborhood I saw a historical plaque for Fort Harrison, which was within a mile of her house. My gggrandfather, PVT Jacob Minnick, Co A, 142nd NY Infantry, had participated in the Battle of Chaffin's Farm (Laurel Hill, Fort's Harrison and Gilmer, etc), so I decided to check out the park unit there. My first stop was Fort Gilmer and then I walked the fortifications at Fort Harrison. [When I got home later I found the OR from the 142nd NY which detailed their participation in the attack, and I realized that his unit probably advanced across the ground where Hazel Mason Jeter's house now stands. She had mentioned gardening in her yard and finding minie balls. The coincidence sent shivers up my spine...in a good way.]
Now pumped up from seeing that battlefield, I took a glance at my Richmond map (old-school, pre-digital paper map) and realized that Malvern Hill was just a few miles east down VA Route 5. Jacob's brother Simeon Minnick and his brother-in-law Peter Sawyer fought as Privates in Battery D, First Regiment NY Light Artillery at Malvern Hill. Guess where I went? I was the only person at the battlefield at that time and the solitude was wonderful. I walked down the trail to the Crew House and the Malvern "cliffs", where Battery D saw action on the night of June 30th and the morning of July 1st, 1862. Mid morning the battery was moved to the far right of the line where it participated in some counter battery fire but was out of the main action of the afternoon. I had a wonderful time at this battlefield, getting a good visual of the terrain and understanding why the Union defenses were so tough.
On the two hour drive back home I had the opportunity to reflect on my experiences of the day and think some more about those Civil War actions long gone. It was quite a satisfying trip, one that I'll be sure to appreciate always.

Sounds a lot like the feel I got in Vicksburg a couple of weeks ago. Beautiful weather, and walking the ground my own folks fought over. It was just a very satisfying day.

 

[donna]

Thanks for sharing. It must been very rewarding to meet the daughter of the Civil War Veteran. I correspond with several daughters of Confederate Veterans through my Chapter of the UDC. Would love to meet one of them.

 

[CMWinkler]

Great story. Thank you.

 

[damYankee]

What a day that must have been for you! Thanks for sharing it with us.

 

[unionblue]

Makes you glad you love this history enough to truly appreciate it when it circles back for you.

Thanks for sharing,
Unionblue

 

[damYankee]

Makes you glad you love this history enough to truly appreciate it when it circles back for you.

Thanks for sharing,
Unionblue

It all circles back to us, trying to get young people to see the importance of that fact is our challenge. Keeping history relevant in a age of video games should be our collective goal.

 

[ExNavyPilot]

It all circles back to us, trying to get young people to see the importance of that fact is our challenge. Keeping history relevant in a age of video games should be our collective goal.

I think young people in general--in all generations--don't have as deep an appreciation for history as do their elders. When you're young, you are focused on the life ahead of you; working on your education, your career, your love life, and so on. You're having fun building your memories, not spending time dwelling on your past or the past of your ancestors. It's when you come around to middle age that those old family tales gain new interest, and the history seems to hold a new fascination for what it says about how we got where we are today and what it might teach us about our future.

Now, I always enjoyed reading some history, especially military history, for the action, but as I got older I began to understand more how that history truly affected the lives of those living it. I not only started listening more closely to my dad's family stories but actually started doing some research of my own to learn more.

I see the same sort of growth in my kids, especially my son. As a kid he liked our trips to various museums and historic sites and listened politely to my "recitations" of the family lore, but didn't show much enthusiasm for learning history on his own. As he gets older (he's 23 now), he's showing some more actual interest, but I don't think he'll be truly enthusiastic until he establishes his career and his own family and then starts considering what it all means in the scheme of things.

I think what we need to do is not so much push to make our youths enthusiastic about their history but to avoid turning them off from history; keep the info accessible via their preferred modes of learning--digital, online and multi-media--and make it fun, so when they reach that level of wisdom and maturity at which history becomes relevant to them, they will want to reach out, find their history and become as hooked as we are (if so inclined.)

 

[unionblue]

I think young people in general--in all generations--don't have as deep an appreciation for history as do their elders. When you're young, you are focused on the life ahead of you; working on your education, your career, your love life, and so on. You're having fun building your memories, not spending time dwelling on your past or the past of your ancestors. It's when you come around to middle age that those old family tales gain new interest, and the history seems to hold a new fascination for what it says about how we got where we are today and what it might teach us about our future.

Now, I always enjoyed reading some history, especially military history, for the action, but as I got older I began to understand more how that history truly affected the lives of those living it. I not only started listening more closely to my dad's family stories but actually started doing some research of my own to learn more.

I see the same sort of growth in my kids, especially my son. As a kid he liked our trips to various museums and historic sites and listened politely to my "recitations" of the family lore, but didn't show much enthusiasm for learning history on his own. As he gets older (he's 23 now), he's showing some more actual interest, but I don't think he'll be truly enthusiastic until he establishes his career and his own family and then starts considering what it all means in the scheme of things.

I think what we need to do is not so much push to make our youths enthusiastic about their history but to avoid turning them off from history; keep the info accessible via their preferred modes of learning--digital, online and multi-media--and make it fun, so when they reach that level of wisdom and maturity at which history becomes relevant to them, they will want to reach out, find their history and become as hooked as we are (if so inclined.)

ExNavyPilot,

It does require a bit of seasoning of an individual in order for him/her to begin serious appreciation of history, no matter what the era.

Sincerely,
Unionblue