- Joined
- Jul 19, 2016
- Location
- Spotsylvania Virginia
There are only a few things in life that give me a more profound sense of admiration, than to hold in my hand, an item once belonging to a civil war soldier whom I know from research. As a “dinosaur” relic hunter, for the past sixty years I have excavated untold artifacts. Some I can pin down to a corps, brigade or even occasionally a regiment. But none to a specific soldier, except an occasional rare personal identification tag (i.e., “dog tag”).
Several weeks ago, a long-time friend stopped by my house with one of those rare “hold in my hand – sense of reverence items”. As we begin talking, he stated that his intentions for the visit were to show me an item belonging to his ancestor and to ask my help in researching his war service.
The item was a small handmade wooden box measuring 3 inches-long, 1 inch-wide, 1 1/4 inches tall. Inside the box was a piece of his ancestor’s uniform. My friend offered the box and piece of uniform to me, which I immediately declined, out of respect for him and his ancestor. But I was delighted to do the research he requested.
Side view
Top view
Open view from the top
Merriweather Tally was born in 1836 in Louisa County Virginia, the second of six children born to Merriweather Tally Sr. and Delilah Terrill. Louisa lies directly south-west of Spotsylvania county and about mid-way between Fredericksburg and Richmond. Among civil war buffs, Louisa is home to Trevilian Station, site of the famous 1864 cavalry battle.
Louisa County map courtesy Library of Congress
Merriweather worked as a laborer and married Malinda Keesaer on May 14 1855 in his birth county. When war came to Virginia, Merriweather traveled a little over a mile from his home to enlist as a private in Company G (Frederick’s Hall Greys) the 23rd. Virginia Infantry Regiment at the Tolersville Post Office on Monday March 10, 1862.
Enlarged portion of map above. Talley’s home is at the far right-center
The 23rd. Virginia Infantry was already a seasoned regiment by the time Merriweather enlisted. Organized on July 1,1861, under command of Colonel William B. Taliaferro its members were recruited from Richmond and in the counties of Louisa, Amelia, Halifax, Goochland, Prince Edward, and Charlotte.
William B. Taliaferro courtesy VMI Archives
Company A Louisa Rifles – Louisa County
Company B Jetersville Grays - Amelia County
Company C Amelia Rifles - Amelia County
Company D Louisa Grays - Louisa County
Company E Brooklyn Grays - Halifax County
Company F – “Goochland Grays” – Goochland County
Company G – “Frederick’s Hall Grays” – Louisa County
Company H – “Richmond Sharpshooters” – Richmond County
Company I – “Prince Edward Central Guards” – Prince Edward County
Company K – “Keysville Guards” – Charlotte County
Records indicate the regiment initially were issued flintlock muskets and drilled at “the old Richmond fair grounds”, but its not clear which “old fair grounds.” On the war-time Richmond map below, the area marked Public Square (center left) is the site of the current day Monroe Park in Richmond. It served as the fairgrounds from 1854 until 1858. The area marked Buckhannon Spring (upper left) served as the fairgrounds from 1859-1861. The Buckhannon Spring site is now home to the present-day Virginia Science Museum. Fairs ceased being held at the later site from 1861 until the duration of the war.
Richmond – Courtesy Library of Congress
Jackson’s Valley Campaign – Library of Congress
Prior to Talley’s enlistment, the 23rd. Virginia saw action at Laurel Hill, Corrick’s Ford and Cheat Mountain in western Virginia. In November of ’61 they were assigned to Taliaferro’s Brigade, Thomas Jackson’s Division. But at the time of Talley’s enlistment, history was yet to unfold with the now famous General Thomas Jackson’s Valley Campaign. On March 23rd. and May 25th., they took part in the battles of Kernstown, McDowell, and the Battle of Winchester. From June 25th through the end of December they took park in the Seven Days Battles, Gaines Mill, Malvern Hill, Cedar Mountain and at, Second Manassas. The 23rd. was with Jackson for the capture of Harpers Ferry (10-15 September) and arrived at Sharpsburg on the 16th. Early on the morning of the 17th, they received a major blow as Hooker’s I Corps attacked south through the “Cornfield”, resulting in 34% casualties. Captain Richard P. Jenning, Company E, later recalled his experience there:
I laid down by the lieutenant and Capt. [Thomas S.] Michaels, Co. F] on the other side [of a large old stump]. There was a corporal of some other company standing up by the stump loading and firing and we tried to get him to lie down. Soon a ball passed over my legs which I had down close to the ground and went through the lieutenant's knees and soon after a shot struck Capt. Michaels on the ankle, and then the corporal was shot dead and fell right over us, and as he dropped his hands scratched me in the face, and I said to Capt. Michaels "I am going out from here" and he said "Do not try it, Captain, you will be killed before you can reach the timber." I said I had as well be killed running as lying still, so I got up . . . and the balls flew around me like a swarm of bees, and I just let out and ran like a deer, and made it to the timber, but I was almost scared to death when I got there.
During the battle of Fredericksburg, the 23rd. Virginia was positioned along Prospect Hill and helped repulse George Meade’s near break-through at Slaughter Pen Farm.
At the opening of the 1863 campaign at Chancellorsville, the regiment suffered 68% casualties. They then went on to fight at the Second Battle of Winchester, Gettysburg, the Bristoe Campaign, Mine Run Campaign and Payne’s Farm.
With spring of 1864 came the start of the Overland Campaign, and a major turning point for the war and Talley. Following fighting in the Wilderness, Lee and Grant raced to Spotsylvania Courthouse. During heavy rains, Winfield Hancock marched his II Corps from the Union far right to the center-left during the night of May 11. Little known to the southern troops stationed at the tip of the “Mule Shoe”, their position was to become the thrust of the next Federal assault in the pre-dawn hours of May 12th. While the southerners slumbered in the pre-dawn rain with their rifles stacked, Union Generals Francis Barlow and Gershom Motts divisions of the II Corps struck the center and west face of the Mule Shoe salient. Alerted to the attack moments before hand, the southern men had made ready for the attack, but their rifles failed to discharge due to wet powder from their stacked rifles. The initial attack overran the southern position, and Talley was captured, along with over 1000 of his fellow countrymen including two generals.
Talley was sent along with other prisoners to the rear, and an area named “The Punch Bowl”, a Federal POW holding area just 20 miles east at Waugh Point, on the Potomac River, in King George County. From there, he was put on a ship and sailed down the Potomac, and up the Chesapeake Bay to Pea Patch Island, home of the infamous Fort Delaware.
Delaware Public Archives
At the beginning of the war, conditions at Fort Delaware were good. But by the time Talley arrived, the tiny fort held 13,000 POWs and conditions were gruesome.
General Albin F. Schoepf- Wikipedia
The prison commandant, Albin Schoepf, named “General Terror” by the inmates pushed the prison past its accommodation’s threshold. With so many prisoners living on just 6 acres, conditions deteriorated rapidly. Food became scarce, disease was spread, and soldiers were forced to sleep in rooms so overcrowded you could not see the floor. One of the prisoners was Confederate Captain John S. Swann, whose journals about his experience at Fort Delaware were later published. He wrote about the lack of food - telling about his daily meal being a small piece of bread or some crackers being paired with a tiny chunk of meat.
“General Terror” and his men seemed to take joy in the prisoners suffering. One such pleasure was a game called “rat throw”, where a live rat was thrown into a group of prisoners, resulting in the prison staff’s entertainment watching the prisoners fight over fresh meat. Under such harsh conditions, at least 2,500 POWs died of starvation, or disease. Talley was one of those statistics. After making his little box, placing a portion of his uniform in it and mailing it home, he died on February 2, 1865. His final resting place is unknown.
Sidebar: The conditions at Fort Delaware are a source of controversy. The harsh conditions were considered by some to be attributed to cramped conditions. Other sources contribute it to an intentional retaliation by the Federals for an alleged mass shooting unarmed US Color Troops (USCT) POWs by southern soldiers.
Suggested follow on reading: Delaware Historical Archives – Fort Delaware and Historical Sketch And Roster Of The Virginia 23rd. Infantry Regiment by John C. Rigdon
Several weeks ago, a long-time friend stopped by my house with one of those rare “hold in my hand – sense of reverence items”. As we begin talking, he stated that his intentions for the visit were to show me an item belonging to his ancestor and to ask my help in researching his war service.
The item was a small handmade wooden box measuring 3 inches-long, 1 inch-wide, 1 1/4 inches tall. Inside the box was a piece of his ancestor’s uniform. My friend offered the box and piece of uniform to me, which I immediately declined, out of respect for him and his ancestor. But I was delighted to do the research he requested.
Side view
Top view
Open view from the top
Merriweather Tally was born in 1836 in Louisa County Virginia, the second of six children born to Merriweather Tally Sr. and Delilah Terrill. Louisa lies directly south-west of Spotsylvania county and about mid-way between Fredericksburg and Richmond. Among civil war buffs, Louisa is home to Trevilian Station, site of the famous 1864 cavalry battle.
Louisa County map courtesy Library of Congress
Merriweather worked as a laborer and married Malinda Keesaer on May 14 1855 in his birth county. When war came to Virginia, Merriweather traveled a little over a mile from his home to enlist as a private in Company G (Frederick’s Hall Greys) the 23rd. Virginia Infantry Regiment at the Tolersville Post Office on Monday March 10, 1862.
Enlarged portion of map above. Talley’s home is at the far right-center
The 23rd. Virginia Infantry was already a seasoned regiment by the time Merriweather enlisted. Organized on July 1,1861, under command of Colonel William B. Taliaferro its members were recruited from Richmond and in the counties of Louisa, Amelia, Halifax, Goochland, Prince Edward, and Charlotte.
William B. Taliaferro courtesy VMI Archives
Company A Louisa Rifles – Louisa County
Company B Jetersville Grays - Amelia County
Company C Amelia Rifles - Amelia County
Company D Louisa Grays - Louisa County
Company E Brooklyn Grays - Halifax County
Company F – “Goochland Grays” – Goochland County
Company G – “Frederick’s Hall Grays” – Louisa County
Company H – “Richmond Sharpshooters” – Richmond County
Company I – “Prince Edward Central Guards” – Prince Edward County
Company K – “Keysville Guards” – Charlotte County
Records indicate the regiment initially were issued flintlock muskets and drilled at “the old Richmond fair grounds”, but its not clear which “old fair grounds.” On the war-time Richmond map below, the area marked Public Square (center left) is the site of the current day Monroe Park in Richmond. It served as the fairgrounds from 1854 until 1858. The area marked Buckhannon Spring (upper left) served as the fairgrounds from 1859-1861. The Buckhannon Spring site is now home to the present-day Virginia Science Museum. Fairs ceased being held at the later site from 1861 until the duration of the war.
Richmond – Courtesy Library of Congress
Jackson’s Valley Campaign – Library of Congress
Prior to Talley’s enlistment, the 23rd. Virginia saw action at Laurel Hill, Corrick’s Ford and Cheat Mountain in western Virginia. In November of ’61 they were assigned to Taliaferro’s Brigade, Thomas Jackson’s Division. But at the time of Talley’s enlistment, history was yet to unfold with the now famous General Thomas Jackson’s Valley Campaign. On March 23rd. and May 25th., they took part in the battles of Kernstown, McDowell, and the Battle of Winchester. From June 25th through the end of December they took park in the Seven Days Battles, Gaines Mill, Malvern Hill, Cedar Mountain and at, Second Manassas. The 23rd. was with Jackson for the capture of Harpers Ferry (10-15 September) and arrived at Sharpsburg on the 16th. Early on the morning of the 17th, they received a major blow as Hooker’s I Corps attacked south through the “Cornfield”, resulting in 34% casualties. Captain Richard P. Jenning, Company E, later recalled his experience there:
I laid down by the lieutenant and Capt. [Thomas S.] Michaels, Co. F] on the other side [of a large old stump]. There was a corporal of some other company standing up by the stump loading and firing and we tried to get him to lie down. Soon a ball passed over my legs which I had down close to the ground and went through the lieutenant's knees and soon after a shot struck Capt. Michaels on the ankle, and then the corporal was shot dead and fell right over us, and as he dropped his hands scratched me in the face, and I said to Capt. Michaels "I am going out from here" and he said "Do not try it, Captain, you will be killed before you can reach the timber." I said I had as well be killed running as lying still, so I got up . . . and the balls flew around me like a swarm of bees, and I just let out and ran like a deer, and made it to the timber, but I was almost scared to death when I got there.
During the battle of Fredericksburg, the 23rd. Virginia was positioned along Prospect Hill and helped repulse George Meade’s near break-through at Slaughter Pen Farm.
At the opening of the 1863 campaign at Chancellorsville, the regiment suffered 68% casualties. They then went on to fight at the Second Battle of Winchester, Gettysburg, the Bristoe Campaign, Mine Run Campaign and Payne’s Farm.
With spring of 1864 came the start of the Overland Campaign, and a major turning point for the war and Talley. Following fighting in the Wilderness, Lee and Grant raced to Spotsylvania Courthouse. During heavy rains, Winfield Hancock marched his II Corps from the Union far right to the center-left during the night of May 11. Little known to the southern troops stationed at the tip of the “Mule Shoe”, their position was to become the thrust of the next Federal assault in the pre-dawn hours of May 12th. While the southerners slumbered in the pre-dawn rain with their rifles stacked, Union Generals Francis Barlow and Gershom Motts divisions of the II Corps struck the center and west face of the Mule Shoe salient. Alerted to the attack moments before hand, the southern men had made ready for the attack, but their rifles failed to discharge due to wet powder from their stacked rifles. The initial attack overran the southern position, and Talley was captured, along with over 1000 of his fellow countrymen including two generals.
Talley was sent along with other prisoners to the rear, and an area named “The Punch Bowl”, a Federal POW holding area just 20 miles east at Waugh Point, on the Potomac River, in King George County. From there, he was put on a ship and sailed down the Potomac, and up the Chesapeake Bay to Pea Patch Island, home of the infamous Fort Delaware.
Delaware Public Archives
At the beginning of the war, conditions at Fort Delaware were good. But by the time Talley arrived, the tiny fort held 13,000 POWs and conditions were gruesome.
General Albin F. Schoepf- Wikipedia
The prison commandant, Albin Schoepf, named “General Terror” by the inmates pushed the prison past its accommodation’s threshold. With so many prisoners living on just 6 acres, conditions deteriorated rapidly. Food became scarce, disease was spread, and soldiers were forced to sleep in rooms so overcrowded you could not see the floor. One of the prisoners was Confederate Captain John S. Swann, whose journals about his experience at Fort Delaware were later published. He wrote about the lack of food - telling about his daily meal being a small piece of bread or some crackers being paired with a tiny chunk of meat.
“General Terror” and his men seemed to take joy in the prisoners suffering. One such pleasure was a game called “rat throw”, where a live rat was thrown into a group of prisoners, resulting in the prison staff’s entertainment watching the prisoners fight over fresh meat. Under such harsh conditions, at least 2,500 POWs died of starvation, or disease. Talley was one of those statistics. After making his little box, placing a portion of his uniform in it and mailing it home, he died on February 2, 1865. His final resting place is unknown.
Sidebar: The conditions at Fort Delaware are a source of controversy. The harsh conditions were considered by some to be attributed to cramped conditions. Other sources contribute it to an intentional retaliation by the Federals for an alleged mass shooting unarmed US Color Troops (USCT) POWs by southern soldiers.
Suggested follow on reading: Delaware Historical Archives – Fort Delaware and Historical Sketch And Roster Of The Virginia 23rd. Infantry Regiment by John C. Rigdon