Serving under an alias

[Mike Serpa]

My great great grandfather Mitchell LaBute served in the 39th NY. He was Canadian and his records show him as Mitchell LaBute .However , in family correspondence he was also called Michael Legree. I assumed the name change might have been because he was a bounty jumper. However he is in a newspaper photo with his fellow GAR members in Bad Axe , Michigan . In the description he is listening as " Mitchell LaBute ( Michael Legree)".So he was known as both and didn't try to hide it. Since he was French Canadian it is possible that his first name was actually Michael which I believe is pronounced Michelle in French. So I can understand a recruiter thinking his first name was Mitchell. As far as the last name I have no idea. He is buried as Mitchell LaBute.

Memorial Book of Huron County Boys in Blue, 1939
Wisner G.A.R. Post 70

Is this the same photo as in the newspaper?

Memorial book of Huron county boys in blue / Compiled by Chet Hey

 

[Kurtlg]

Memorial Book of Huron County Boys in Blue, 1939
Wisner G.A.R. Post 70

Is this the same photo as in the newspaper?
View attachment 540999

Memorial book of Huron county boys in blue / Compiled by Chet Hey

Yes, Thank you. I have an old photocopy that is of very poor quality.

 

[Kurtlg]

Memorial Book of Huron County Boys in Blue, 1939
Wisner G.A.R. Post 70

Is this the same photo as in the newspaper?
View attachment 540999

Memorial book of Huron county boys in blue / Compiled by Chet Hey

I actually met his widow at my grandfather's funeral in 1963. I was 10 and Mitchell was actually from my grandmother's side. Mitchell's first wife died and , like other elderly vets, he married a much younger woman to take care of him and in return she would get survivors benefits. He died in 1930 and his widow made it to the 1970s. At the time I knew nothing about him or his Civil War service.

 

[tomlamarcooughlin]

Colonel Eugene Lamar, probably serving under an alias, was tried and convicted as a Confederate spy and was to be hung but following his escape from Ft. McHenry in 1864 he shows up nowhere. I can't find him under the name Eugene Lamar anywhere before the war nor after the war. I suspect he was given that name by Longstreet's staff.

If any researcher comes across it in some papers, please let me know.

 

[Story]

Colonel Eugene Lamar, probably serving under an alias, was tried and convicted as a Confederate spy and was to be hung but following his escape from Ft. McHenry in 1864 he shows up nowhere. I can't find him under the name Eugene Lamar anywhere before the war nor after the war. I suspect he was given that name by Longstreet's staff.

If any researcher comes across it in some papers, please let me know.

Let me give you a leg up with a link to your old thread, so folks can see where you've been already

Spy or deserter-Lt. Col. Eugene Lamar sentenced to be hung, escaped Ft. McHenry | Other Soldiers, Politicians, & Men

Did he desert or was he a spy? His escape was recorded in a Baltimore Sun news article and on the record I've located, it says Lt. Col., 14th La. Inf. Reg. (RCS IX, p. 276 only). On the back of the card is says "disguised as a civilian and without permit or proper authority". He's never found...

civilwartalk.com

 

[debwallsmith]

There are several Millen/Camp Lawton POWs with aliases. The one that immediately comes to mind is Albert Gilkerson Perry. He was drafted into Co D 83 Pennsylvania. His alias was John Anderson. I can't find any obvious reason he might have used an alias. He certainly wasn't too young. His headstone/obit show he was born in 1843. Any suggestions?

 

[DixieRifles]

I've seen a dozen or more soldiers who fought under an alias in my research. Almost all did so to hide prior service under another name, usually service that ended in a desertion.

I've seen that too.
One example was someone who enlisted in a Southern state, likely for 90 day or 1year. They either deserted or their service commitment ended and they chose to go North to enlist. By changing his name, it may keep him from bring identified.

 

[DixieRifles]

While studying the USCT soldiers who fought at Fort Pillow, I also found some stories of ex-slaves who changed their names when they enlisted.
Many slaves had taken on the name of their owner. So they changed their name upon enlistment. It seems some chose a new name but others may have been given a new name by the recruiter.
I was always puzzled by the service record I found for a USCT soldier named "Shelby County", which is the county containing Memphis were some ex-slaves were inducted.

 

[lupaglupa]

There are several Millen/Camp Lawton POWs with aliases. The one that immediately comes to mind is Albert Gilkerson Perry. He was drafted into Co D 83 Pennsylvania. His alias was John Anderson. I can't find any obvious reason he might have used an alias. He certainly wasn't too young. His headstone/obit show he was born in 1843. Any suggestions?

View attachment 572766

I'd guess he had either served or enlisted under his own name and needed a new name for the bounty.