atom_okie
Cadet
- Joined
- Apr 14, 2021
Howdy!
I've been perusing my family tree and, to my surprise, found out that my paternal great-great-great grandfather fought for the Union in the 43rd Indiana Infantry as a private in Company H. One, evidently very young, William H. Parrish.
This was a real pleasant surprise, as I had been under the assumption that any of my ancestors present for the great American drama were Confederates. My family is all Southern (with the exception of a line that traveled with Brigham Young to Utah and did, well, whatever the Mormons did at the time) and we have ample records of Confederate fighters on my maternal line, but apparently my great-great-great paternal grandpa, despite being from central Tennessee, actually fought for the Union! Or, at least, his pension records show him as having done so.
I am bewildered by not just his place of origin, but also his age at the time. He was born in 1853, so would have been quite young during the War. I know it wasn't unheard of for there to be child soldiers, but at youngest he was 8 in 1861 and 12 by 1865. How feasible is this? I could understand drummer boy, but the record distinctly shows him as being a private in the regiment.
Not to accuse the ancestor of tomfoolery, but how feasible was it for one to game the system and claim involvement in the War for that sweet, sweet Union dosh? The fact an independent source, the accounting of the regiments doings by Colonel William E McLean for the 1902 reunion, causes me to rest assured that W. H. Parrish did, indeed, sign up for duty in the regiment.
But a considerably young lad from central Tennessee? For a regiment founded in Camp Vigo in Indiana?
I wonder, how deeper can I go? Is the roster and reminiscent regiment recollecting by Colonel McLean as far as I can go?
I'm disconnected from the family line - paternal grandfather ditched my Nana and his relatives ain't keen on any sort of contact, so at a bit of a stonewall right now.
Attached are the relevant documentation/source.
I've been perusing my family tree and, to my surprise, found out that my paternal great-great-great grandfather fought for the Union in the 43rd Indiana Infantry as a private in Company H. One, evidently very young, William H. Parrish.
This was a real pleasant surprise, as I had been under the assumption that any of my ancestors present for the great American drama were Confederates. My family is all Southern (with the exception of a line that traveled with Brigham Young to Utah and did, well, whatever the Mormons did at the time) and we have ample records of Confederate fighters on my maternal line, but apparently my great-great-great paternal grandpa, despite being from central Tennessee, actually fought for the Union! Or, at least, his pension records show him as having done so.
I am bewildered by not just his place of origin, but also his age at the time. He was born in 1853, so would have been quite young during the War. I know it wasn't unheard of for there to be child soldiers, but at youngest he was 8 in 1861 and 12 by 1865. How feasible is this? I could understand drummer boy, but the record distinctly shows him as being a private in the regiment.
Not to accuse the ancestor of tomfoolery, but how feasible was it for one to game the system and claim involvement in the War for that sweet, sweet Union dosh? The fact an independent source, the accounting of the regiments doings by Colonel William E McLean for the 1902 reunion, causes me to rest assured that W. H. Parrish did, indeed, sign up for duty in the regiment.
But a considerably young lad from central Tennessee? For a regiment founded in Camp Vigo in Indiana?
I wonder, how deeper can I go? Is the roster and reminiscent regiment recollecting by Colonel McLean as far as I can go?
I'm disconnected from the family line - paternal grandfather ditched my Nana and his relatives ain't keen on any sort of contact, so at a bit of a stonewall right now.
Attached are the relevant documentation/source.