G W Coffey - 26 NC?

[Kyle Kalasnik]

Looking for any information on George Washington Coffey. Service in Company F, 26th NC.

He enlisted 20 Mar 1862 from Caldwell County, NC

Was captured at Bristol Station in 1863.

Thank you in advance.

 

[lupaglupa]

He was captured October 14th and sent to the Old Capitol Prison in Washington the next day. From there he was transferred to Point Lookout, October 27, 1863. He appears to have stayed at Pt. Lookout until he was exchanged February 18, 1865. A different record says he was transferred to Aiken's Landing, Virginia on February 24th.

He did a stint in the hospital in August of 1862 for diarrhea. He was back at the same hospital (Episcopal Church in Williamsburg, VA) that November and stayed through February 1863 with bronchitis.

In August of 1863 he worked at Gordonsville, VA as a teamster, then that September he did extra duty at "The Pontoon Train" as a blacksmith.

 

[Kyle Kalasnik]

Wow that's interesting. Appreciate it.

 

[lupaglupa]

Wow that's interesting. Appreciate it.

It's a bit of a tangle on Fold3 - they have GW mixed up with two other soldiers named Coffey.

 

[Kyle Kalasnik]

Ok thanks. Do you think he was at Gettysburg?

 

[lupaglupa]

There's no muster roll from that period but nothing in his records would indicate that he wasn't at Gettysburg. The battle falls between the time he had bronchitis and when he went to work as a teamster. I didn't look too much at other records - there might be stuff that definitely places him at Gettysburg.

 

[lupaglupa]

His pension application mentions being wounded at Newbern and Petersburg. No mention of Gettysburg one way or the other. It's quite hard to read but you can see it here -

Error - North Carolina Digital Collections

digital.ncdcr.gov

 

[Kyle Kalasnik]

There's no muster roll from that period but nothing in his records would indicate that he wasn't at Gettysburg. The battle falls between the time he had bronchitis and when he went to work as a teamster. I didn't look too much at other records - there might be stuff that definitely places him at Gettysburg.

Yea I agree with what you said and gathered because Gettysburg falls between his hospital stay and his teamster work, he was at Gettysburg. Thank you for your help.

 

[Tom Elmore]

From available information, George W. Coffey may have been a teamster at Gettysburg. Company F has the distinction of having had all (or nearly all?) of the members killed, wounded or captured during the battle. Of course, the 26th NC had a substantial number of non-combatants (roughly 15 percent of overall strength), including teamsters. But even the teamsters in that brigade sustained loss (as prisoners) when the wagon train of wounded was attacked by Federal cavalry near Greencastle, Pennsylvania and at Cunningham's Crossroads circa July 5, plus there was a fight at Williamsport involving the teamsters on July 6. Those who passed this gauntlet would have crossed the Potomac beginning July 7, but most had to wait for the pontoon bridge to be built and crossed by July 13. George W. Coffey reported at Staunton, Virginia as of July 12 (Staunton had a large hospital).

 

[lupaglupa]

@Tom Elmore thats a fascinating addition to what we found. Thanks

 

[Tom Elmore]

There were a total of 16 members of the Coffey "clan" serving in Company F, 26th North Carolina (according to an article in Confederate Veteran magazine, vol. 4 (1896), p. 312). Company F was known as the "Hibriten Guards" or "Carolina Mountaineers":

I just learned that eight Coffey brothers were present at Gettysburg in Company F, 26th North Carolina; of these, five were killed or mortally wounded and the remaining three were wounded but recovered (per Confederate Casualties at Gettysburg, by John W. Busey and Travis W. Busey, 2:1026-1030, but I don't know the original source. By the way, this sets two records in my years of research on family members who served together at Gettysburg - both for the number of brothers present in the battle; and the number of brothers who died there.) They were:

-Asbury F. Coffey, Private, Company F, 26th North Carolina, finger shot off July 1, returned to the company Dec 1863. Oldest of the eight brothers present in the battle.
-Cleveland Coffey, Private, Company F, 26th North Carolina, mortally wounded July 1 in the bowels, died two months later.
-Henry C. Coffey, Sergeant, Company F, 26th North Carolina, wounded in the wrist July 1, captured July 5 in a field hospital, exchanged early 1864.
-J. G. Coffey, Private, Company F, 26th North Carolina, mortally wounded July 1 and captured, left arm amputated, died in a field hospital on July 4.
-J. H. Coffey, Private, Company F, 26th North Carolina, killed July 1, shot in the chest.
-Jesse Patterson Coffey, Private, Company F, 26th North Carolina, shocked by a shell (usually a concussion from a bursting shell).
-Thomas M. Coffey, Private, Company F, 26th North Carolina, mortally wounded July 1 in the chest and captured in a field hospital, died August 12, 1863 in a division field hospital.
-William S. Coffey, Private, Company F, 26th North Carolina, mortally wounded July 1 in the thigh, died August 20, 1863. Youngest of the eight brothers present in the battle.

If George Washington Coffey was indeed serving a teamster at Gettysburg, he might have carried some of his own kinfolk back to Virginia in his wagon or ambulance - Asbury, Cleveland, and possibly Jesse. If he was not there, he may still have encountered them at Staunton, Virginia.

 

[lupaglupa]

What a tragic thought. I have Coffeys/Coffees in my family so this hits home.

 

[Kyle Kalasnik]

Wow! Unbelievable.Thank you so much for your help.