WarrenTalk
Cadet
- Joined
- Dec 1, 2019
Our family has had no success in identifying the location of my GG Uncle's burial so I thought I might send out an inquiry.
I suspect that the odds are long, at best, of locating Nelson's final resting place, given the time and locale that this
occurred. Nelson died on the 10th of August, 1862 from "fever" in Columbus, KY. As many of you may already be
very familiar with, the WI 13th Regiment was nearly infamous for suffering an alarmingly high number of fatalities
due to "illness".
By the end of the war, the WI 13th Regiment lost 5 Enlisted men killed and mortally wounded and 188 Enlisted men
by "disease".
One Col. Maloney was held responsible for extremely poor handling of his troops, subjecting them
to exposure due to over marching and outpacing his supply wagons, resulting in setting camp minus tents, overcoats,
blankets etc., leading to overexposure to the elements and resultant illness, namely "Typhoid fever" and "Typhoid
Pneumonia". Nelson had been in hospital at Ft. Leavenworth due to illness prior their orders to march on to Columbus, KY.
While not completely certain, I suspect that Nelson may have died under similar circumstances in Columbus, KY (i.e., in
hospital rather than in the field, active duty). My father visited Columbus a few years back but could not locate anything
relative to Civil War era burials. He may have ended up simply buried in a common area, unmarked or otherwise and
considering the fact that Columbus, KY was a constant victim of flooding, it is highly possible that the burial location is
forever lost.
I just thought that I'd toss up one last Hail Mary and hope for the best. Like I said, long shot...
I suspect that the odds are long, at best, of locating Nelson's final resting place, given the time and locale that this
occurred. Nelson died on the 10th of August, 1862 from "fever" in Columbus, KY. As many of you may already be
very familiar with, the WI 13th Regiment was nearly infamous for suffering an alarmingly high number of fatalities
due to "illness".
By the end of the war, the WI 13th Regiment lost 5 Enlisted men killed and mortally wounded and 188 Enlisted men
by "disease".
One Col. Maloney was held responsible for extremely poor handling of his troops, subjecting them
to exposure due to over marching and outpacing his supply wagons, resulting in setting camp minus tents, overcoats,
blankets etc., leading to overexposure to the elements and resultant illness, namely "Typhoid fever" and "Typhoid
Pneumonia". Nelson had been in hospital at Ft. Leavenworth due to illness prior their orders to march on to Columbus, KY.
While not completely certain, I suspect that Nelson may have died under similar circumstances in Columbus, KY (i.e., in
hospital rather than in the field, active duty). My father visited Columbus a few years back but could not locate anything
relative to Civil War era burials. He may have ended up simply buried in a common area, unmarked or otherwise and
considering the fact that Columbus, KY was a constant victim of flooding, it is highly possible that the burial location is
forever lost.
I just thought that I'd toss up one last Hail Mary and hope for the best. Like I said, long shot...