Private Merriweather Talley

Woods-walker

First Sergeant
Forum Host
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.
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Side view

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Top view

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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.
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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.

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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.

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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.

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Richmond – Courtesy Library of Congress

1624398934008.png

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.

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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.
1624398857680.png

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
 
I did not remove the fabric but I did touch it. Oddly it felt more like cotton than wool but it was ruther thick. I presume it’s butternut.
I don’t mention it but the box has a typed note inside that the owner told me his mother typed. Talley also include a ring with the portion of uniform. The owner doesn’t know what happened to the ring but remembered seeing it when he was a child.
 
Very cool relic Dennis. Thanks for sharing it. And, as usual, excellent research to go with it. I'd be interested to know more about the fabric. @Package4 can you tell anything about the uniform from this little scrap of fabric?
Can't be sure, but looks like a satinette, which was a mixture of cotton and wool to imitate a pure wool product. The wool is seen on the face of the fabric while the cotton was the backbone or warp. The fabric in the post appears to have some remnants of wool and the cotton is easily seen in the picture.
 
Looking at this again, it might also be a piece of blanket material. Blankets were just as revered as uniforms, in fact blankets lasted longer than the average uniform and might have been with the soldier through much of the war. Southern soldiers were issued new uniform "pieces" approximately every 6 months, which gives one an idea of how long they lasted. Blankets lasted longer than that and were of a huge utilitarian use, it was used as a knapsack (blanket roll), overcoat, ground cover and shebang.
 
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.
View attachment 405602
Side view

View attachment 405603

Top view

View attachment 405604

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.
View attachment 405605
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.

View attachment 405606

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.

View attachment 405607

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.

View attachment 405608

Richmond – Courtesy Library of Congress

View attachment 405601
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.

View attachment 405600

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.
View attachment 405599
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
It should be noted that the fort enclosed 6 acres, but this was for the imprisonment of CS officers, as well as the guarding of the approach to Philadelphia, there was an additional stockade outside of the fort with barracks and a hospital for enlisted CS. More than half of the prisoner deaths were as a result of a Small Pox outbreak. The overall death rate was approximately 7.5% which for a Civil War prison was on the low side. Additionally over 150 Union guards and 40 civilians died, fairly consistent numbers overall for the time period.
 
It should be noted that the fort enclosed 6 acres, but this was for the imprisonment of CS officers, as well as the guarding of the approach to Philadelphia, there was an additional stockade outside of the fort with barracks and a hospital for enlisted CS. More than half of the prisoner deaths were as a result of a Small Pox outbreak. The overall death rate was approximately 7.5% which for a Civil War prison was on the low side. Additionally over 150 Union guards and 40 civilians died, fairly consistent numbers overall for the time period.
Your points sound reasonable but are not in line with Captain Swann’s firsthand account. We may never know the true story.
 
Merriwether Talley (variant spelling), as a private in Company G, 23rd Virginia, was marked present during the battle of Gettysburg. He came through the battle unscathed, but his company "sustained a heavier loss than any other company in the regiment" (Supplement to the Official Records). Company G lost one killed, four wounded (two of whom were subsequently captured) and three others captured while fighting on Culp's Hill, from the evening of July 2 until around noon on July 3. Among the casualties was a William O. Talley, who was wounded, and a Richard W. Talley, who was captured - possibly brothers or other kinfolk.
 
Your points sound reasonable but are not in line with Captain Swann’s firsthand account. We may never know the true story.
Captain Swann's account is probably accurate from his perspective, but the Federals kept copious records and Ft. Delaware was the most survivable major POW camp of the war, @ 7.5% death rate it was actually safer than an infantry regiment in the field. Compare the 7.5% to the 25% of Elmira or the 28% of Andersonville, so we actually do know. The records of Ft Delaware actually list a cause of death for each prisoner and the small pox outbreak was responsible for over 1/2 of the prison deaths.

At one time I was a member of the Friends of Ft Delaware and it was not a nice place to be, situated in the middle of the Delaware River, but in compare, was far better than those previously mentioned, as well as Libby, Johnson's Island, Salisbury and Marietta.

Ft Delaware, in other accounts was listed as the place to be, since visitation of friends and relatives was allowed at times and food was brought in by locals of Delaware City. The visitation and food allowance was certainly at the whim of the commandant and word of "atrocities" would curtail such.

Same can be said of other prisons, for example Point Lookout had a fearsome reputation as a hellhole in "firsthand" accounts, but the death rate was 8%.

Not trying to be argumentative, but stories seem to get in the way of facts and distort the view of history, it is certainly not unknown for soldiers on both sides to exaggerate their hardships for whatever reason.
 
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