- Joined
- May 23, 2018
I always find the stories about everyone's military ancestors fascinating, and it's one of my favorite aspects of learning about the war. But I also find it interesting to see what people who weren't enlisted were doing. @Schwallanscher suggested starting a thread on the topic, and here it is!
My contribution is my maternal g-g-g-g-grandfather Arnold Potter, who was a bit preoccupied starting his own unsuccessful cult (which was apparently noted for its questionable fashion sense).
A distant cousin has written about Potter, but apparently during the Civil War, Potter and his offshoot Mormon sect were living in Independence, Missouri. He ran afoul of a Union soldier who shot at him, so he decided to curse the Union and prophecy the Confederacy would win. That didn't work out so well, so he eventually relocated to Iowa, where he finished out the war . . . and the rest of his life (in a failed attempt to ascend to heaven in 1872).
So, what was your ancestor doing during the war instead of fighting and soldiering?
My contribution is my maternal g-g-g-g-grandfather Arnold Potter, who was a bit preoccupied starting his own unsuccessful cult (which was apparently noted for its questionable fashion sense).
A distant cousin has written about Potter, but apparently during the Civil War, Potter and his offshoot Mormon sect were living in Independence, Missouri. He ran afoul of a Union soldier who shot at him, so he decided to curse the Union and prophecy the Confederacy would win. That didn't work out so well, so he eventually relocated to Iowa, where he finished out the war . . . and the rest of his life (in a failed attempt to ascend to heaven in 1872).
So, what was your ancestor doing during the war instead of fighting and soldiering?