CURIOUS ABOUT THIS SOLDIER

[Patrick H]

Hi, All. During a cemetery walk a couple of weeks ago I came across a monument I'd never seen before. Tree roots have grown up around it and pitched it at a very odd angle (I leveled the image with my camera). Due to shade, time of day and the deteriorated condition of the stone, I wasn't able to get a perfect photo of it, but I've tried to enhance the contrast a bit.

The soldier's name is Joseph D. Keoterson. He was a member of the 10th MO Cavalry, I believe Co. K. I discovered that the CSA and the USA both had 10th MO Cavs, but I'm going to guess from the shield carved on this stone that the man was a Union affiliated trooper. I couldn't find birth or death dates. If they are on a separate stone, that stone is now missing or simply fallen and covered with soil.

I couldn't find a complete unit roster, so I can't confirm anything about Mr. Keoterson. I wonder if any of you
can confirm his presence in one of the companies and perhaps tell me where to find a unit history.

Many thanks in advance.

 

[AndyHall]

From CWSSS:

UNION MISSOURI VOLUNTEERS
10th Regiment, Missouri Cavalry
OVERVIEW:
Organized at Jefferson Barracks, Mo., October, 1862, from 28th Missouri Infantry. Bowen's Battalion asigned as Companies "A," "B," "C" and "D," and six Companies organized for 9th Missouri Cavalry assigned December 17, 1862, as Companies "E," "F," "G" and "H." Attached to District of St. Louis, Mo., to January, 1863. District of Memphis, Tenn., 16th Army Corps, Dept. of Tennessee, to March, 1863. Cavalry Brigade, District of Corinth, 16th Army Corps, to June, 1863. 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, 16th Army Corps, to August, 1863. Cavalry Brigade, 15th Army Corps, to December, 1863. Winslow's Cavalry Brigade, 17th Army Corps, and District of Vicksburg to April, 1864. 2nd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, 16th Army Corps, to June, 1864. 2nd Brigade, Cavalry Division, Sturgis' Expedition, June, 1864. 2nd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, District of West Tennessee, to November, 1864. 1st Brigade, 4th Division, Cavalry Corps, Military Division Mississippi, to December, 1864. 2nd Brigade, Cavalry Division, District of West Tennessee, to February, 1865. 1st Brigade, 4th Division, Cavalry Corps, Military Division Mississippi, to May, 1865. 2nd Brigade, 4th Division, Cavalry Corps, Military Division Mississippi, to June, 1865.

SERVICE:
Moved to Memphis, Tenn., December, 1862. Duty in the District of Memphis, Tenn., till February, 1863. Moved to Corinth, Miss., February 7-15. Actions at Glendale and Tuscumbia, Ala., February 22. Duty in that district till June. Courtney's Plantation April 11. Burnsville, Ala., and Glendale, Miss., April 14. Dodge's Expedition into Northern Alabama April 15-May 8. Barton Station April 16-17. Dickson Station, Great Bear Creek, Cherokee Station, and Lundy's Lane April 17. Dickson's Station April 19. Rock Cut near Tuscumbia April 22. Dickson's Station and Tuscumbia April 23. Leighton April 23. Lundy's Lane April 25, Town Creek April 27. Expedition from Burnesville to Tupelo, Miss., May 2-8. Guntown May 4. Tupelo May 5. Near Vicksburg, Miss., May 18 (Co. "C"). Expedition from Corinth to Florence, Ala., May 26-31. Florence, Ala., May 28. Hamburg Landing, Tenn., May 29-30. Iuka, Miss., July 7. Jackson, Miss., July 29. Jacinto August 13. Expedition from Corinth to Henderson, Tenn., September 11-16. Clark's Creek Church September 13 (Detachment). Yazoo City, Miss., September 27. Expedition from Big Black River to Yazoo City September 27-October 1 (Detachment). Brownsville September 28. Canton September 28. Moore's Ford near Benton September 29. Messenger's Ford October 5. Expedition to Canton October 14-22. Brownsville October 15. Canton Road near Brownsville October 15-16. Treadwell's Plantation near Clinton and Vernon Cross Roads October 16. Bogue Chitto Creek October 17. Robinson's Mill near Livingston October 17. Livingston Road near Clinton October 18. Treadwell's Plantation October 20. Brownsville October 22. Near Yazoo City October 31. Operations about Natchez, Miss., December 1-10. Natchez December 10 (Detachment). Meridian Campaign February 3-March 2, 1864. Near Bolton's Depot and Champion's Hill February 4. Jackson February 5. Morton and Brandon February 7. Morton February 8. Meridian February 9-13. Hillsboro February 10. Meridian February 13-14. Laudersdale Springs February 16. Union February 21-22. Canton February 24. Near Canton February 26. Sharon February 27. Canton February 29. Livingston March 27. Near Mechanicsburg April 20. Ordered to Memphis, Tenn., April 29. Bolivar, Tenn., May 2. Sturgis' Expedition to Guntown, Miss., June 1-13. Rienzi, Miss., June 6. Danville, Miss., June 6. Brice's or Tishamingo Creek near Guntown June 10. Guntown June 24. Smith's Expedition to Tupelo, Miss., July 5-21. Tupelo July 14-15. Old Town Creek July 15. Smith's Expedition to Oxford, Miss., August 1-30. Tallahatchie River August 7-9. Hurricane Creek and Oxford August 9. Tallahatchie River August 10. Oxford August 12. Hurricane Creek August 13-14 and 19. Holly Springs August 27-28. Moved to Little Rock September 2-9. Campaign against Price in Arkansas and Missouri September 17-November 30. Actions at Little Blue October 21. Big Blue and State Line October 22. Westport October 23. Engagement at the Marmiton or battle of Charlot October 25. Osage Mine Creek, Marias des Cygnes, October 25. Rolla November 1. Expedition from Memphis to Moscow November 9-13. A detachment on Grierson's Raid on Mobile & Ohio Railroad December 21, 1864, to January 5, 1865. Verona December 25. Egypt Station December 28, 1864. Regiment at Louisville, Ky., till February, 1865. Moved to Gravelly Springs, Ala., February 5-15, 1865. Wilson's Raid from Chickasaw, Ala., to Macon, Ga., March 22-April 24. Near Montevallo, Ala., March 31. Ebenezer Church near Maplesville April 1. Selma April 2. Columbia, Ga., April 16. Capture of Macon, Ga., April 20. Duty at Macon and in Georgia till June. Mustered out June 20, 1865. (Co. "C" in demonstration on Haines' Bluff April 29-May 2, 1863. Siege of Vicksburg May 18-July 4. Advance on Jackson, Miss., July 5-10. Siege of Jackson July 10-17. Jackson July 29. Expedition to Yazoo City September 27-October 1.)
Regiment lost during service 2 Officers and 52 Enlisted men killed and mortally wounded and 3 Officers and 295 Enlisted men by disease. Total 352.

Predecessor units:
MISSOURI VOLUNTEERS

BOWEN'S CAVALRY BATTALION.
Organized at Rolla, Mo., July 10-October 10, 1861. Attached to Dept. of Missouri to January, 1862. Unattached, Army Southwest Missouri, Dept. Missouri, and District of Southwest Missouri, Dept. Missouri, to October, 1862. 1st Brigade, 3rd Division, Army Frontier, Dept. Missouri, to December, 1862.
SERVICE:
Ordered to join Fremont October 10, 1861. Action at Wet Glaize October 13. Linn Creek October 14. Return to Rolla November 11, and duty there till January 8, 1862. Action at Salem December 3, 1861. Expedition through the Current Hills December 5-9. March to Lebanon, Mo., January 25-29, 1862. Advance on Springfield, Mo., February 10-15. Near Springfield February 12. Springfield February 13-14. Crane Creek February 14. Flat Creek February 35. Keytesville and Sugar Creek, Ark., February 17. Hunnewell and Capture of Bentonville February 19. Battle of Pea Ridge, Ark., March 6-8. Leetown March 7. Elkhorn Tavern March 8. Mountain Grove March 9. Expedition to Huntsville April 6. March to Batesville, thence to Helena, Ark., April 8-July 14. Talbot's Ferry, White River, April 19. Sylamore May 28-29. Reusey's Ferry June 5. Waddell's Farm June 12. Hill's Plantation, Cache River, July 7. Expedition from Helena down Mississippi and up the Yazoo River August 16-27. Tallulah August 18. Greenville August 23. Bolivar August 25. Moved to St. Genevieve, Mo., thence to Rolla, Mo. Assigned to 9th Missouri Cavalry October 1, 1862, and to 10th Missouri Cavalry December 4, 1862.

MISSOURI VOLUNTEERS
JOYCE'S BATTERY LIGHT ARTILLERY.

Attached to 10th Missouri Cavalry.​

 

[John Winn]

Yes, he was Union. His company was F, not K, btw.

Here's a link showing him in Co. F

http://www.caulleyscorner.com/MissouriMilitaryLists/CW10thRgtCavUNIONMultipleUnits.txt

Edit: Andy beat me to it by a few seconds. Good job Andy !

 

[Patrick H]

Wow! Ask and you shall receive! Thanks, Andy and John. You guys are great! I can now see that the stone says Co. F and "Kesterson", although it was almost unreadable in the cemetery.

 

[East Tennessee Roots]

Wow! Ask and you shall receive! Thanks, Andy and John. You guys are great! I can now see that the stone says Co. F and "Kesterson", although it was almost unreadable in the cemetery.

Frederick William Benteen of Little Big Horn fame (or infamy ?) was a 1st Lieutenant in Company C 10th MO. Rose t0 Lieutenant-Colonel of the Regiment. He was a southerner, born in Petersburg, Va. died in Atlanta, GA. retired from the Army in 1888.

 

[Patrick H]

Follow up: After lunch today, I revisited the grave of Mr. Kesterson. Knowing what I now know about him, it was a bit easier to read the inscription. Not too far away on the other side of the tree, I found a very clearly inscribed monument to Mr. George Kesterson, so I suppose that was a family plot.

Equally interesting: A short distance in the other direction is the grave of Sgt. Lee Harris of the USCT. I've known about him for quite some time. There are three other USCT veterans buried in that cemetery, and many black veterans of WWI. A nice feature of the cemetery is that the races and the walks of life are all intermingled--from the grandest monument to the humblest home-carved stone. That is somewhat unusual in central Missouri.

 

[Patrick H]

One last comment and then I'll shut up: Take a look at my photo of the stone again. Look at the man's surname "Kesterson". Look at the two S's in that name see how the first S is carved in a different form than the second S. It was pretty easy to mistake it for a O, and I'd have gone to my own grave insisting that's what it was if John Winn hadn't shown me that roster. Thanks again, John.

 

[John Winn]

One last comment and then I'll shut up: Take a look at my photo of the stone again. Look at the man's surname "Kesterson". Look at the two S's in that name see how the first S is carved in a different form than the second S. It was pretty easy to mistake it for a O, and I'd have gone to my own grave insisting that's what it was if John Winn hadn't shown me that roster. Thanks again, John.

You are most welcome. Glad to have been of some service.

You are right that the two Ss are slightly different but that's not uncommon. I think the carvers sometimes modified letters slightly to make things fit (i.e. didn't really plan ahead that carefully or modified for a differing curvature) or maybe just because they finished on a different day than they began. It's also common to see parts of a letter having worn away enough that what's left looks like something else. But you did a good job at photographing the stone so with a little close examination it looked clear to me.

Glad you found out about this guy. That's something I like to do - investigate people whose stones are interesting. Poor guy seems to have been sick pretty much from the beginning (thanks Andy). I do wonder when he actually died. Does the family stone say ?

I've seen several examples of there being a military stone and a family one for the same burial and always wonder why they did that. Usually the military ones are because they were free. And for the record the Confederate stones have a more pointed apex than Union ones so I knew right away your guy was Union.

Happy graveyards to you.

 

[Patrick H]

Does the family stone say ?

No, John, at least not one that I can find. There are many fallen stones in this old city cemetery, so it's possible that Joseph has a family stone, too, but it's missing or buried just under the sod. The tree growing up there could have toppled it. I found two fallen stones elsewhere in the cemetery--side by side. One had fallen face down. It was quite small, so I turned it face up. The inscription was clear (but dirty) and then I wondered if I should have left it face down to sort of protect it from the elements. Those old limestone monuments dissolve away pretty easily. The city does a good job mowing that cemetery, keeping it open during regular hours for visitors (it's very historic), etc. But I don't see any evidence that they reset stones when they topple. That's a shame. There is now a new public cemetery and this old one is closed to new burials. It's the same cemetery that contains the eight victims of Bloody Bill Anderson's Rawlings Lane ambush.
Yes, there are a number of peaked stones in the cemetery--very similar to a Confederate monument, but none seem to have military information on them. Having said that, I've no doubt there are some Confederate vets buried there.

 

[John Winn]

No, John, at least not one that I can find. There are many fallen stones in this old city cemetery, so it's possible that Joseph has a family stone, too, but it's missing or buried just under the sod. The tree growing up there could have toppled it. I found two fallen stones elsewhere in the cemetery--side by side. One had fallen face down. It was quite small, so I turned it face up. The inscription was clear (but dirty) and then I wondered if I should have left it face down to sort of protect it from the elements. Those old limestone monuments dissolve away pretty easily. The city does a good job mowing that cemetery, keeping it open during regular hours for visitors (it's very historic), etc. But I don't see any evidence that they reset stones when they topple. That's a shame. There is now a new public cemetery and this old one is closed to new burials. It's the same cemetery that contains the eight victims of Bloody Bill Anderson's Rawlings Lane ambush.
Yes, there are a number of peaked stones in the cemetery--very similar to a Confederate monument, but none seem to have military information on them. Having said that, I've no doubt there are some Confederate vets buried there.

Yeah, restoration work is expensive and takes trained personnel. Unless someone is willing to pay for it or there is a volunteer organization that does such it just doesn't happen. I doubt turning the stone over would cause any more rapid deterioration just from exposure (soil type can be critical depending on the type of stone) but it does expose the engraving to damage from surface traffic. Don't lose any sleep but I don't move them unless I'm restoring them.

Just for reference, government-issued military stones for US veterans only had shields for veterans before WWI. Spanish-American war veteran stones usually have some text saying Spanish-American war (although there are a few exceptions). Confederate government-issued stones do not have shields and have a pointed apex.

If there's no "friends of" organization to take care of the cemetery maybe there's a new opportunity for you ! Or maybe you just want to wander around and take it all in.