Lost and Found

[Tom Elmore]

Part I

At dawn on July 4 [5?], a passing Confederate handed a book to Mrs. John Shank, who was standing near the road at the hamlet of Seven Stars. In it, Mrs. Shank found the name of the original owner, Carrie [Caroline] McMillan, daughter of David McMillan, as well as the most recent owner, S. R. Doolittle of Sumter's Artillery Battalion, who had also added a brief parting sentiment, "S. R. Doolittle, a Georgian by birth, Alabamian by adoption, and a Pennsylvanian by a d--- misfortune." Carrie got her book back. (Selim R. Doolittle hailed from Americus, Georgia, and was then serving as a private in Captain Hugh M. Ross' battery, which during the battle was stationed not far from the McMillan residence on Seminary Ridge. By the way, Carrie witnessed Lincoln deliver his address in Gettysburg on November 19, 1863.) [Sources: Article on Carrie L. McMillan in the Chronicle 2012; Compiled Service Records of Selim R. Doolittle; Reeves, Caroline Buck, Family Papers 1856-1978, Harvard Library.]

Thomas E. Cook, a farmer in Menallen Township, located roughly 10 miles north of Gettysburg, had two horses taken by a Confederate foraging detail on July 3. One of these horses was subsequently recovered by Boyd's cavalry. (Colonel William H. Boyd's 21st Pennsylvania Cavalry was recruited by Governor Curtin during the Confederate invasion of Pennsylvania. Boyd had previously served in the Lincoln Cavalry.) [Source: Civilian damage claims, Adams County Historical Society, Gettysburg]

Rev. Dr. Charles B. Krauth and his family occupied a house just north of the Theological Seminary, where Krauth was employed. The family emerged from their cellar late on July 1 to find their house packed with wounded Federals of the First Corps. Early the next morning they went to Jacob Hankey's place on the Mummasburg road, and did not return home until July 6. Fortunately they found that their home was not badly ransacked, although some items were missing, including a four-piece silver set. They must have been surprised when the mayor of Waynesboro, 22 miles to the southwest of Gettysburg, returned the silver. A conscientious Confederate officer had turned the set over to the mayor as his command was passing through Waynesboro during the retreat. Slightly scratched from the journey, the set now resides at the Adams County Historical Society. [Source: Adams County Historical Society, Gettysburg]

A coverless Bible was picked up on the battlefield on July 6 with the names of George Hyatt and William Hyatt written on one fly-leaf, and Timothy Harrington, West Henrietta, Monroe County, N.Y. written on another fly-leaf. (All three belonged to Company H, 108th New York, which only had one recorded death in the battle – 2nd Lieutenant Dayton T. Card, killed by a shell piece during the July 3 cannonade. Card was afterwards buried at Mt. Hope Cemetery in Rochester, New York.) [Sources: S. B. Row, The National Tribune, October 13, 1892, p. 4; Travis W. Busey and John W. Busey, Union Casualties at Gettysburg, 2:587]

B. F. Eberly wrote that his father-in-law, Augustus Reinoehl, found a Testament a few days after the battle in the trough of a stable near Cemetery Hill. Written on the front and back fly-leaves was the following: Joseph L. White, Co. F, 12th N.J. (The 12th New Jersey was posted along the stone wall extending south of the Brien barn on July 2 and 3. Company F was also part of an attack made upon the Bliss buildings around 7:30 a.m. on July 3, but White is not listed among the casualties of the battle.) [Source: B. F. Eberly, The National Tribune, October 10, 1889, p. 5]

 

[Tom Elmore]

Part II

Private Charles Shotten of Company C, 143rd Pennsylvania, described picking up a small Testament on July 2, in which was written "Orang. Hart, Co. B, 14th Vt., 1863." On the fly leaf was also written "Orang. M. Hart, Co. B, 14th regiment, Nov. 21. Mr. W. Smart, 14th regiment." Shotten posted this information in The National Tribune of March 10, 1898, presumably with the goal of reuniting the testament with its original owner, but it is not known if he succeeded. Private Orange M. Hart was indeed a member of Company B, 14th Vermont, but he was not a casualty of the battle. The regiment's chaplain, William Stevenson Smart, a Congregationalist, was present at Gettysburg. Some Vermonters lost knapsacks to pilfering when they were left behind before going into battle, but perhaps Hart accidentally dropped his Testament - we may give Private Shotten the benefit of the doubt. For the record the 143rd Pennsylvania was not far from the 14th Vermont on both July 2 and 3.

Captain John D. S. Cook of the 80th New York (20th N.Y.S.M.) was looking over the field with his men following the repulse of Pickett's division on July 3 when the bodies of several Confederate officers were discovered just west of the stone wall, south of the copse. On one body was found a small pocket map of Virginia on which was written a name and rank: "Jas. Gregory Hodges, Col., 14th Virginia Volunteers," which was handed to a senior officer. A sergeant of the 80th detached the sword belt and presented it to Captain Cook. In 1903, Cook mentioned the incident to Senator Daniel of Virginia, who made inquiries and determined Hodges' widow was still alive. Cook sent her the sword belt with an accompanying letter in which he wrote, "I can only tell you of him that he fell at the head of his men within a few feet of the line against which the attack was directed, surrounded by officers and soldiers whom he was leading and who fell beside him." Cook's command was ordered away before the burial parties arrived, so he regretted not being able to tell Mrs. Hodges where her husband was interred, but he expressed sympathy for her loss and noted she "had the consolation of knowing that he died as a soldier in the faithful performance of his duty." [Letter of John D. S. Cook to Mrs. James Gregory Hodges, Portsmouth, Virginia, October 24, 1903, Library of Virginia and Virginia Sesquicentennial of the Civil War Commission, digital online document]

Lieutenant Charles W. Cowtan, adjutant of the four companies comprising the 10th New York Battalion, which performed provost guard duty on July 3 in rear of the Third Division, Second Corps, was also looking over the bodies after the bloody assault. He found a torn and bloody North Carolina officer's commission, on which was legible only a partial name, "John Ca---- ." In 1887, this document was reunited with the mother of John Caldwell, 2nd Lieutenant of Company E, 33rd North Carolina, who for years had hoped her son had been taken prisoner and was still alive. (Caldwell was commanding his company when he was killed or mortally wounded on July 3.) [Marion (NC) Record, November 28, 1895]

A fine four-horse wagon captured near Martinsburg from Union Brig. Gen. Robert H. Milroy's fleeing force at Winchester was transferred to Major James C. Bryan, quartermaster of Col. Edward A. O'Neal's Alabama brigade. Bryan made it his brigade staff wagon, but only for two weeks, for on the night of July 4/5, it was recaptured by Federal cavalry who attacked the retreating Confederate wagon train at Monterrey Pass. [Retreat from Gettysburg, by Kent Masterson Brown, p. 140]

Daniel H. Klingle, whose house stood on the Emmitsburg road, lost two cows and a calf on July 2. They were evidently branded or otherwise marked. After the battle, he discovered the hide of one of his cows, with part of the front quarter of meat attached to it, on the nearby Trostle farm. He went looking for his other cow and calf at nearby farms, but folks became angry with him because they had lost all of their cattle. Two months later, despite the odds, his other cow and calf were located two miles to the northwest. After claiming them, Klingle killed the calf to fulfill a promise made to his neighbor Joseph Sherfy before the battle, for a quarter of the meat. [Crossroads to History, March 1999, vol. 4, no. 3, Winchester, VA]

 

[JPK Huson 1863]

Why are these so interesting? I'm smitten by the returned silver. The officer in that story reminds you of an exasperated parent handing back some item a kid decided was theirs.

Klingle's cow- the months post battle, you see a lot of " Cow found please claim " and " Lost cow, please return " ads in Gettysburg papers. Nice to know a couple made it back!

It's amazing any items were reunited with owners or families- can you imagine in that shambles? That was 150 years and no internet searches ago. We have a small date book from another war. An American soldier picked it up, lying beside a dead German soldier during the Battle of the Bulge. Someone gave it to Dad- been trying to return it ever since. These personal items may mean a lot to a family although that generation isn't around. War's debris is someone's treasured memory of a soldier dying on a battlefield far from home. ( we're still trying )

 

[JPK Huson 1863]

One of Waud's, the barricades by Gettysburg's RR Depot. Someone in a house, may be one of these, got their silver back.

 

[PeterT]

These are great stories @Tom Elmore !!!

 

[Patrick H]

The stories are good, and they dredge up questions I have pondered from time to time: How about the families who came up from their cellars and found their horses dead or gone, their milk cow dead, their valuables missing? It's terrible to ponder.

But, apart from that, I really dig the field sketch!

 

[MRB1863]

Interesting stories! Imagine the anticipation that must have been felt when approaching a post war home. "Is it still standing,...are our heirlooms intact...is it fit to live in our home...". Very stressful, I am sure.

 

[kel1985]

Great post!

 

[NH Civil War Gal]

The stories are good, and they dredge up questions I have pondered from time to time: How about the families who came up from their cellars and found their horses dead or gone, their milk cow dead, their valuables missing? It's terrible to ponder.

But, apart from that, I really dig the field sketch!

Imagine being in the cellars listening to the pounding going on upstairs and the running footsteps, etc!

 

[Tom Elmore]

Part III

Lieutenant A. A. Freeman of Company C "Floyd Rifles" from Macon, 2nd Georgia Battalion, carried into the second day's fight an engraved sword that had been presented to him by his company. Being badly wounded, Freeman afterwards entrusted his sword and two others to a slave for safekeeping. However, the slave was captured and the sword became the property of William F. Bloor of the 25th Ohio. In 1868, Bloor encountered a Mr. Ricks from the Georgia Weekly Telegraph, a Macon newspaper. Bloor mentioned the sword and inquired about Freeman. When it was determined that Freeman was alive and well, the return of the sword was promised. It arrived along with the following note, which read in part: Columbus, Ohio, July 16, 1868 … The blade has a history other than that attached to it when it first came into my possession, and for which you will, I trust, prize it none the less. In order to retain possession of it, I threw my own away, and from the 4th of July 1863 to the 4th of July 1864 I carried it, bearing it through the siege of Wagner and Gregg, South Carolina. Since then, it has hung in my bedroom – a sad remembrance of the bloody field of Gettysburg. Hoping that, when again our swords are needed, we may stand side by side, and shoulder to shoulder in behalf of a common cause, and that cause the Constitution and our whole country, I am very respectfully your obedient servant, Wm. F. Bloor. (Georgia Weekly Telegraph, Macon, August 28, 1868, p. 6, vol. XLII, no. 45)

A small pocket Testament belonging to a New York Captain was left at the battle of Chancellorsville in May 1863. On May 5, it was recovered by Private O. Thompson of Company A, 24th Georgia. Thompson deserted his unit at Gettysburg on July 2, and on July 12 he was captured at Hagerstown, Maryland. Being transferred to Hammond Hospital in October 1863, Thompson evidently wound up at the Point Lookout prison. In 1864, J. Edwin Nye of Company E, 3rd Maine recovered the Testament at Point Lookout. On the fly-leaf was written: "This book was found two and one-half miles above Fredericksburg, on the battlefield, the 5th day of May, 1863. 24th Georgia regiment, Wofford's brigade, McLaws' division. Private O. Thompson." On the inside of the last cover was the name of Captain Wheeler, Company A, 130th New York regiment. (The National Tribune, May 1, 1884; Compiled Service Record of O. Thompson)

During a trip to Gettysburg in 1878, Henry M. Mingay, a former soldier of the 69th New York, found an ambrotype buried with the remains of a Confederate soldier, thought to have been a member of the 31st Georgia. Found on the property of David Blocher near the Carlisle road north of town, the ambrotype was still clear and distinct. It showed a mother and two beautiful daughters, about 12 and 7 years of age. (The Albany (Georgia) News, August 22, 1878)

On July 1, 1863 Philip Keller, from Westminster, found a soldier's badge or medal on the road leading from Westminster to Manchester, Maryland, on which was inscribed on one side: "Maj. Gen. Hooker," with a bust of the general and "I. P. Clifford, Co. E, 2d Reg't Vt. Vols., Chelsea, Vt.;" and on the reverse, "War of 1861. Bull Run, Yorktown, Williamsburg, Seven Days, Richmond, South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericksburg." (The National Tribune, November 3, 1892, p. 4)

On July 1, Captain Mahlon B. Briggs of Company D, 75th Ohio was carrying a small prayer book called, The Soldier's Textbook. During a brief halt in Gettysburg, he apparently encountered a young lady who wrote hastily in his book, "Capt. Briggs, Don't forget, God's will be done. Go forward into the fight. Think of friends and home. God is with you. I pray God protects you. Sincerely, Kate W., Gettysburg. Glory and safety to the Seventy Fifth Regiment." Briggs was seriously wounded later that day; he died on July 3 and was buried on the Almshouse farm. Following the battle, a traveler found the book. The identity of the young woman was believed to be Kate Wattles, single, age 22 (the same age as Capt. Briggs), who lived with her family on West Middle Street. She likely walked to Washington Street, a half-block to the east, to watch the Union soldiers pass by, and encountered Capt. Briggs there. Kate would eventually marry a Gettysburg man and raise a family. (Article by Glen Hayes, The Civil War News, July 2004, p. 4a)

 

[rpkennedy]

A small pocket Testament belonging to a New York Captain was left at the battle of Chancellorsville in May 1863. On May 5, it was recovered by Private O. Thompson of Company A, 24th Georgia. Thompson deserted his unit at Gettysburg on July 2, and on July 12 he was captured at Hagerstown, Maryland. Being transferred to Hammond Hospital in October 1863, Thompson evidently wound up at the Point Lookout prison. In 1864, J. Edwin Nye of Company E, 3rd Maine recovered the Testament at Point Lookout. On the fly-leaf was written: "This book was found two and one-half miles above Fredericksburg, on the battlefield, the 5th day of May, 1863. 24th Georgia regiment, Wofford's brigade, McLaws' division. Private O. Thompson." On the inside of the last cover was the name of Captain Wheeler, Company A, 130th New York regiment. (The National Tribune, May 1, 1884; Compiled Service Record of O. Thompson)

This is interesting since the 130th New York wasn't near Fredericksburg but was rather stationed around Suffolk. In August 1863, it was reorganized as the 19th New York Cavalry and then redesignated the 1st New York Dragoons. In addition, I couldn't find a Captain Wheeler on their roster.

Ryan

 

[Tom Elmore]

Part IV

A spyglass and satchel were taken by a soldier of the 21st Mississippi from the body of an artillery officer [Lieutenant Christopher E. Erickson?] who lay dead beside the four captured Napoleons of the 9th Massachusetts Battery near the Trostle buildings, and were presented to Colonel Benjamin G. Humphreys. The satchel contained photographs of two boys about 12 or 14 years old. The satchel and its contents were later stolen from Humphreys on the train between Bristow [Bristol?] and Lynchburg, Virginia, and he lost the spyglass in Chattanooga Creek shortly after the battle of Chickamauga. (Benjamin G. Humphreys, Bachelder Papers, 1:482)

Lieutenant James Isaac Metts of Company G, 3rd North Carolina fell wounded on the night of July 2 while he bravely led his company against the Federal works on Culp's Hill. A rifle ball had entered his right chest and passed through the lung. Adjutant James helped Metts to the rear and into a waiting ambulance on the far side of Rock Creek, which took him to a field hospital two miles distant. Thinking he was going to die, Metts gave his sword to Surgeon J. R. T. Reeves to keep it out of enemy hands. Chaplain Paul C. Morton wrote and sent Metts' obituary to a home newspaper, where it was published. However, Metts slowly recovered and was eventually sent to the prison camp at Johnson's Island, Ohio. Exchanged circa August 1864, he rejoined his company as captain, but in the meantime Dr. Reeves had evidently moved on. In 1882, Dr. Reeves made inquiries and was astonished to learn that Metts had survived the battle and the war, and was still alive. He arranged to return the sword to him. Metts lived many more years, serving as Vice-Commander of the Camp Fear Camp, U.C.V. from April 1899 through 1905. The end finally came on October 18, 1921, when he was 79 years old. (Biographical History of North Carolina from Colonial Times to the Present, ed. by Samuel A. Ashe, vol. 5, Greensboro, NC: Charles L. Van Noppen, Publisher, 1906, pp. 267-274; Confederate Military History, Extended Addition, vol. V, NC, pp. 652-654; https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7071289/james-isaac-metts)

Allen Richal of Company G, 6th Wisconsin, participated in the charge to the railroad cut on July 1. There he recovered a knapsack with the name and address of a Miss Fannie A. Barber. On July 5, he penned a note, "Camp on the field, Gettysburg, Penn., July 5th 1863. Miss Fannie A. Barber: Madam: I take the liberty to write you a few lines although I haven't the pleasure of your acquaintance. I found a knapsack on the battlefield of Gettysburg, where we charged and captured a rebel brigade, belonging to a soldier of one of our regt.'s in the 1st Army Corps, with the photograph of a young lady in it, also [an] envelope with your name and address on it and a scrap cut from a newspaper which I will enclose to you. The knapsack lay by a dead man. I couldn't ascertain what regt. he belonged to. We have orders to move and I must close. Your Obt Servt, Allen Richal, Co. G, 6 regt. Wis Vol" (on file, Gettysburg National Military Park)

A. F. Lee of the 6th Wisconsin visited the Devil's Den area on July 4: "They had been butchering in there … there was one who had skinned half an animal; one was killed just after he had struck and killed an ox; and a third had been struck by a ball and had fallen between the legs of the ox he was skinning." (A. F. Lee, Reminiscences of the Battle, 2nd Wisconsin, The Janesville Gazette, July 6, 1912) /// An old butcher knife was found by Mr. Diehl near Devil's Den, and looks as though it had done good service in its time. (Collection of Andrew Diehl, Ohio's Relic Room, The National Tribune, February 21, 1889, p. 3)

Captain Elias Riggs Monfort, Company F, 75th Ohio, was dangerously wounded on the night of July 2. When he revived two soldiers who said they were members of the 17th Connecticut were bending over him. After asking their names and regiment he gave his pocketbook, containing $250, to one of them, upon a promise that he would carry it to Col. Harris of the 75th Ohio [then commanding the brigade]. The money was never delivered. ("Comrade," National Tribune, December 11, 1890, p. 4)

 

[Tom Elmore]

Part V

On July 4, David Mundorff, a Pennsylvania citizen residing in Franklin Township (Cashtown), had a buggy taken from his property by the Confederates. It was later found damaged and left at Mercersburg. (State Claims of Civilians, Adams County Historical Society) [Comment: On the evening of July 5, nearly a hundred vehicles that were captured from the Confederate wagon train by detachments from the 1st New York "Lincoln" Cavalry and 12th Pennsylvania Cavalry, were brought to Mercersburg. Mundorff's buggy was likely used to transport wounded men from Gettysburg; he was fortunate to recover it.]

"William L. Hart, Company G, 7th Indiana, Brandon, Illinois, wants to know the name of the officer who lost a fine field-glass on the march from Pratt's Landing, Virginia, near Petersburg, in the Spring of 1863, when the Army of the Potomac started on the Gettysburg campaign. The writer was driving a team in the First Division forage train of the First Corps, and this officer and his staff rode past the train at full speed. As they passed the glass dropped from the officer's pocket, and the writer picked it up. He carried the same with him until he was put in the ranks, when he sold it to a Captain of some regiment in the Ninth Corps for $15." (Information Asked and Given, The National Tribune, October 17, 1889, p. 5)

A diary found on the field after the battle was inscribed: "I. Fillman, mustered March 25, 1863, camp near Falmouth, Virginia. Camp of the 12th Reg't, Co. D, N.Y.S.V. Expect to march soon with the help of God." On the other side were written some lines of poetry, signed by Nathan H. Blake, Co. D, 12th N.Y. (The National Tribune, January 9, 1890) [Comment: Companies D and E of the 12th New York formed the Provost Guard of the Fifth Corps at Gettysburg; neither Fillman nor Blake are listed as casualties in Travis W. Busey and John W. Busey's Union Casualties at Gettysburg.]

"My knapsack, blankets and everything else except what I had on my back has in soldier parlance, gone up, but I have picked up two rubber blankets and two fly kits, and that with a towel comprises my outfit." (4 July letter of Hezron G. Day, Company C, 16th Vermont, to his parents) /// "A pile of knapsacks, just as they were unslung, still lie moldering here – on one the inscription 'Sixteenth Vermont' is still visible." (The Civil War in Song and Story, 1860-1865, collected and arranged by Frank Moore, New York: P. F. Collier, Publisher, 1889)

"During the charge on July 3, a very young Confederate officer jumped toward the gun at which he [Captain Andrew Cowan] was standing, but was immediately shot down and his sword fell at [Cowan's] feet. He kept it, but has never been able to restore it to the family of the officer. It is about three feet long, the handle is mother of pearl, and the blade of finely polished steel. Maj. J. C. Crocker, of Virginia [probably James F. Crocker, former adjutant of the 9th Virginia], accepted it in the name of the Pickett Division Association, promising to do all that was possible to find the family of the officer." (National Tribune, July 7, 1887, p. 5, describing events at the 24th reunion of the battle) /// "The scabbard is of brass and bears the number '425' and the name of the maker, 'Horstman,' presumably of Philadelphia. The sword itself appears to be older … surmounted by a figure of the goddess of liberty. The guard is a representation of a Palmetto tree and bears the date '1776.' " (The Philadelphia Press, July 3, 1887, p. 2) /// "The five guns, double-loaded with canister, were ready, their muzzles depressed to the lowest point, when I saw a young officer, waving his sword, leap the wall, followed by a number of men, and heard him shout, 'Take the gun,' meaning our gun closest to the trees [copse]. They were within ten yards when I shouted 'Fire!' … We buried that young officer in a separate grave." (July 13 account of Captain Andrew Cowan, 1st Independent New York Light Artillery, Supplement to the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Wilmington, NC: Broadfoot Publishing Company, 1995, vol. 5, serial 5, pp. 214-215)

 

[ismith]

South Carolina Militia Officer's Sword/horstmann

Sword belonged to Darius Fred Gandy who joined the Confederate Army during the Civil War and served under Capt. James L

www.liveauctioneers.com

 

[rpkennedy]

A diary found on the field after the battle was inscribed: "I. Fillman, mustered March 25, 1863, camp near Falmouth, Virginia. Camp of the 12th Reg't, Co. D, N.Y.S.V. Expect to march soon with the help of God." On the other side were written some lines of poetry, signed by Nathan H. Blake, Co. D, 12th N.Y. (The National Tribune, January 9, 1890) [Comment: Companies D and E of the 12th New York formed the Provost Guard of the Fifth Corps at Gettysburg; neither Fillman nor Blake are listed as casualties in Travis W. Busey and John W. Busey's Union Casualties at Gettysburg.]

Oddly, I wasn't able to find either Nathan H. Blake or I. Fillman on the 12th's muster rolls. I also looked at the rolls for the 44th New York to corroborate these findings and couldn't find any mention of either one there either (the 12th New York's members who were not due to muster out with the rest of the regiment in May 1863 were folded into the 44th New York's ranks).

Ryan

 

[Tom Elmore]

Part VI

In the latter part of 1865 … when the Union troops were passing by Baltimore to their Northern homes, John Worick found a knapsack on a vacant lot in East Baltimore. In it was found a well-worn copy of the New Testament, upon the fly leaf of which was written in a neat hand, "B. Taylor Jetton, Co. I, 11th Regiment, Lincolnton, N. C. From Lt. L. J. Hoyle." … Last Christmas [1890] his daughter, Mrs. Chas. Beeler … persuaded Mr. Worick to present it to her, which he reluctantly did. Mrs. Beeler, early in January, wrote to the postmaster of Lincolnton … and asked his assistance in finding the owner of the book or his relatives. … The sequel came from Boston. It was written by Mrs. Fannie D. Britton … [who] wrote under date of April 27: 'I have just received a letter from you through the post master of Lincolnton, N. C., which was my former home, Boston being the home of my adoption. The Testament of which you speak belonged to my brother, who was killed at Gettysburg on July 3, 1863. We never recovered his body nor anything belonging to him. He must have had on his person when killed a silver watch, a ring and set of shirt studs which he always wore even after he went to war. The Testament, being of the least value was no doubt thrown away. I thank you very kindly for taking the trouble to find his relatives and shall feel truly grateful if you will forward the Testament to me. Just to think after twenty-five years to find something belonging to my noble brother?' Mrs. Beeler will forward the precious relic today. (The Lincoln Courier (Lincolnton, N.C.), May 8, 1891.) [Comment: While a nice story, there's a twist. Benjamin Taylor Jetton was actually captured at Falling Waters on July 14, exchanged in 1864, and was present with his company as of early 1865. However, 4th Sergeant William H. Jetton of the same company (I) was missing and presumed killed on July 3. On the rolls, 3rd Lieutenant Lemuel J. Hoyle was marked present at Gettysburg.]

Dr. J. T. Wilson, of Sherman, Tex., writes that he has lately come into possession of a small leather book, faded and worn, containing the diary of a soldier named "Denson, Company C, 9th La. Regt., Hay's Brigade, Early's Division." His initials cannot be deciphered; but in the roll of the company is the name of Sergeant W. E. Denson, to whom the book evidently belonged. The first date is May 8, 1863, and it has a note for nearly every day until November 5, 1863, and contains what seems to be a complete roll of the company, except commissioned officers, five sergeants, four corporals, and seventy-eight privates. Opposite the names of seven of the privates is the word "dead." The book was picked up on a farm adjoining Rockville, Md., after Early's attack on Washington, in 1864. If the owner is not living, some member of his family might like to have it in his possession. (Confederate Veteran magazine, vol. 16 (1908), p. 98) [Comment: According to his service records, Private W. Ezra Denson was enrolled in the Confederate army on July 7, 1861. He was promoted to 4th Sergeant just prior to the Gettysburg campaign and was present as of June 30, 1863. He was captured at Rappahannock Station on November 7, 1863, exchanged on March 10, 1864, and was killed at the battle of Monocacy on July 9, 1864. What became of his diary is not known.]

Geo. H. Star, Captain, Co. D, 104th N.Y., 156 Broadway, New York, says that about Oct. 19, 1864, while one of a party of five officers who had escaped from Columbia, S.C., and were on their way to Knoxville, Tenn., he lost a diary containing a record of army and prison experiences during the years 1863, '64, including accounts of the battle of Chancellorsville and Gettysburg; of his escape from Libby Tunnel, February, 1864, and recapture; of escape from Macon, Ga. In July 1864, and recapture, and incidents of the escape from Columbia, Oct. 10. It was lost near Station 96, on the Columbia and Greenville Railroad. A proper reward will be paid for its recovery. (National Tribune, March 19, 1891, p. 3)

Samuel D. Aspinwall of the 1st New Jersey attended the dedication of the New Jersey monument in July 1888. He mentioned how he had hid his cartridge box in a crevice in the rocks. When he and others went to look at the brigade monument, he recognized the place, walked straight to the old wall, and discovered the tin box in the crevice where he had placed it 25 years ago. Two bullets remained in the box, which was much bent and rusted. Mr. Aspinwall bore his prize home to Newark, and is very proud of it. (The National Tribune, July 12, 1888, p. 8) [Comment: This might actually be Sumner D. Aspinwall of the 2nd New Jersey Infantry.]

Walter H. Parcels, Lewistown, Pa., has a revolver, found upon the battlefield of Gettysburg, bearing the name of C. A. Parcels. (The National Tribune, May 24, 1888, p. 5) [Comment: C. A. Parcels may actually be Private James A. Parcels of Company F, 3rd Pennsylvania Cavalry, who received a saber wound to the head on July 3. He was hospitalized at Chester, Pennsylvania on July 9, returned to his command on December 23, 1863, and was mustered out of the service on August 24, 1864.]

 

[rebel brit]

What a great thread, missed it first time around but have just enjoyed reading from beginning to end.

 

[Tom Elmore]

Part VII

A mystery apparently solved after 157 years! "Father [Angelo Hippolyte] Gandolfo went alone into the graveyard of the Catholic church in town. Here, in a small culvert, he had sequestered a sum of money – specie in a box – which belonged to himself and which he had placed there for safekeeping. But the hiding place was less safe than he supposed. Or perhaps his actions had been observed when he prepared the little cache. At any rate, when he went to retrieve his property, the box was missing and the money gone." (The Sisters and the Soldiers, by Virginia Walcott Beauchamp, DePaul University Libraries, Fall 1986, vol. 7, issue 2, p. 344) /// "One of the bummers attached to the regiment, a disreputable camp follower, the brother of one of our officers (not enlisted in the service), found a box in a ditch at Emmitsburg containing $200, mostly in gold. There is reason to believe that his loot was the poor-box of the convent at Emmitsburg." (Martin A. Haynes, A Minor War History, 2nd New Hampshire) [Comment: Not the convent's poor-box, but perhaps Father Gandolfo's entire life savings!]

"Mr. F. W. Richardson, of Newark Valley, N.Y., while on a visit to Gettysburg, Pa., found in a museum at that place a sword, upon which was engraved, 'Capt. John E. Cook, 76th N.Y.,' which belonged to a farmer by the name of John Rosensteel, who lived near the town. The weapon was found by him shortly after the battle. Mr. Richardson, being acquainted with some of the survivors of the 76th N.Y., informed Mr. B. F. Taylor, of Cortland, N.Y, of his discovery, who at once authorized him to secure the sword and forward it to him, together with the bill for the same. The sword was bought, and is now in the possession of Mr. Taylor, who desires to present the same to the daughter of Capt. Cook, who lives in New York or Brooklyn, her husband being connected with a produce commission house in New York. Should this come to the notice of any person who can give her husband's name and address, Taylor will be pleased to restore to the family the sword of his old friend and comrade." (National Tribune, January 29, 1891, p. 4) [Comment: Capt. Cook took charge of the regiment on July 1 after the mortal wounding of Maj. Grover, and wrote the official report of his regiment's role in the battle.]

"Fred Mather, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., says that on overhauling his war relics he found a wooden pipe shaped like a lily, which he picked up on a [rail] car that conveyed Union prisoners from Macon to Charleston in 1864. On it is cut, 'Lieut. Davis, Pris. of War, Richmond, Va., Libby Prison. Captured July 2, 186-' the last figure being broken off. On one side of the stem is cut, 'Gettysb---' and on the other, '71st Pa. Vo.' The writer was a prisoner in the car and was told that Lieut. Davis had escaped in the night. … it is possible that Lieut. Davis, or his relatives, might like this relic, which has no value as a pipe." (National Tribune, April 17, 1890, p. 5; Union Casualties at Gettysburg, by Travis W. Busey and John W. Busey, 2:857; https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/115425398/byron-c-davis) [Comment: 2nd Lt. Byron C. Davis of Company F, 71st Pennsylvania was captured on the second day at Gettysburg, probably while out on the skirmish line posted west of the Emmitsburg road, by the advance of Wright's Georgia brigade. Besides Libby, he was confined in prisons at Columbia, SC and Macon, GA. Davis was promoted to captain on September 21, 1863, but never mustered with that rank. He mustered out on March 15, 1865 and died on June 18, 1909 at the age of 78]

"M. J. Leach, Wolcott, Vt., on July 4, 1863, found on the field of Gettysburg a copy of 'U.S. Infantry and Rifle Tactics,' upon the fly-leaf of which is the name H. L. Haskell, 125th N.Y." (National Tribune, April 3, 1890, p. 5; NPS Soldiers and Sailors Database; http://www.phelpsfamilyhistory.com/branches/haskell/record.asp) [Comment: M. J. Leach is likely Corporal Moses H. Leach of Company E, 13th Vermont, a regiment belonging to Stannard's brigade that was posted on central Cemetery Ridge when it flanked Pickett's division on the afternoon of July 3. H. L. Haskell must be Harry L. Haskell, who was a lieutenant in Company F, 125th New York at Gettysburg. Haskell subsequently served in the Indian Wars in the 1870s, as well as the Spanish-American War in 1898. He retired as a brigadier general in 1901 after 39 years of service in the U.S. Army!]

"Capt. John Slusser, of Danville, Ill., owns, among other interesting war relics, a bugle with a history. It was carried by Samuel J. Rodgers, Co. E, 3d Ind. Cav., during the war, and sounded 'boots and saddles' on the first day at Gettysburg. The bugle was afterward captured by Ashby's famous rebel cavalry at Beverly Ford, Va., while its owner was on a raid with Kilpatrick's cavalry, but was afterwards retaken along with a rebel prisoner at Hanover Courthouse, Va., by a Union soldier, and having Rodgers' name cut upon it, was returned to him and was afterward closely guarded until the close of the war. While at Washington awaiting muster out of service, it was once more lost or stolen, this time seemingly for good. As time passed Rodgers gave up ever hearing or getting possession of his old war companion again. During the year 1886 he received a package by express from Danville, Ill., and to his joy and surprise, upon opening the bundle, there was his long-lost and precious war bugle, which for 16 years he had considered gone forever. Rodgers was never able to learn who returned the bugle. It has been used a number of times by Rodgers at soldiers' Reunions, and when its history became known, was fondly handled by hundreds of old veterans." (National Tribune, July 31, 1891, p. 4)

 

[Tom Elmore]

Part VIII

A Dr. Albion M. Dudley of Massachusetts uncovered items at both Spotsylvania and Gettysburg. On the latter field he found "a stencil-plate bearing the name of A. W. Parks, Co. D, 16th Vt., and it has been learned that his first name was Ariel, and that he was wounded upon the field where this relic was found while engaged with his regiment in repelling the charge of Pickett's Division. His present address is unknown, and any information concerning him will be gratefully received by Dr. Dudley." (National Tribune, March 3, 1892, p. 6; Union Casualties at Gettysburg, by Travis W. Busey and John W. Busey, 2:1099; The Civil War in Song and Story, 1860-1865, collected and arranged by Frank Moore, New York: P. F. Collier, Publisher, 1889) [Comment: Private Alden (not Ariel) W. Parks was born in Newport, New Hampshire and was a farmer living near Grafton, Vermont when he enlisted. He mustered out on August 10, 1863 at Brattleboro, Vermont. The regiment lost their knapsacks, likely by theft, while they were engaged in the fight, and perhaps the stencil was cast aside then – see pertinent entries in Parts II and V above.]

"A few years ago I was on the Gettysburg battlefield, and passed by the very spot where you [Private Sampson M. Still, Company C, 9th Georgia] fell and where I laid you down by the rock wall. … I picked up an old piece of leather, evidently part of a cartridge box, within a few yards and possibly the spot where you were struck. … I have surmised that, as you were far too badly hurt to take care of yours, and as the [litter] corps that carried you away would naturally leave such a thing for the ordnance department to pick up, it may have been overlooked, and possibly this piece of leather is the very one you had round you at the time. It had lain there on the ground for 25 years when I picked it up. Sometime when you are here, or when I get the opportunity, I will give it to you, if you wish, for you to preserve as a memento of the occasion." (1895 letter of Captain George W. Hillyer, Company C, 9th Georgia, to Sampson Marion Still, Confederate Reminiscences and Letters, 1861-1865, Georgia Division, United Daughters of the Confederacy, vol. VI, 1999)

The Richmond Dispatch says that a gentleman of Petersburg, Va., has in his possession a silver medal, which was found some time ago by a lady, and which, as a war relic, may be of value to the owner. The medal is of the size and shape of a quarter of a dollar, and on the face bears the following inscription: "Philip Brady, Co. I, 125 N. Y. V., Troy, N. Y." On the obverse: "Taken prisoner at Harper's Ferry;" and underneath are engraved the following names of battles in which the person probably participated: "Gettysburg, Auburn, Bristoe Station, Mine Run, Morton's Ford." (National Tribune, January 12, 1893, p. 6; https://dmna.ny.gov/historic/reghist/civil/infantry/125thInf/125thInfHistSketch.htm) [Comment: At the Wilderness battle in May 1864, when the color sergeant fell with a rifle ball in his leg, Brady seized the flag and began waving it in advance of the men, until he was struck and killed.]

In 1893, John Hay Kuhns of Gettysburg reported finding an officer's sword, "on the blade of which is engraved 'Virgil Price, New York' " (National Tribune, September 14, 1893, p.7) [Comment: It would have been difficult to trace the owner, because Virgil Price was not a soldier, but a maker of high quality swords in New York City. Joshua Chamberlain of the 20th Maine reportedly carried one.]

During the dedication of New York Soldiers' Monument at Gettysburg on July 2, 1893, Tyler Paris of Branchport, New York found a Second Corps badge bearing the inscription "F. M. Rood, Co. E, 93d N. Y." (National Tribune, March 1, 1894, p. 6) [Comment: Frank M. Rood (variant Roode) enlisted at Hampton, New York, mustered in as a private of Company E on December 10, 1861, and later made corporal. He was wounded at the Wilderness on May 4, 1864 and mustered out in New York City on August 1, 1865. At Gettysburg, the 93rd performed provost guard duties at Meade's headquarters.]

 

[Peace Society]

Thank you for posting. I always enjoy good-news stories from such a bad-news conflict.