William Gray (1829-1897) 13th WV Inf?

Kyle Kalasnik

First Sergeant
Joined
Aug 3, 2014
Location
Potter County, PA
I am researching my 3rd Great Grandfather. He was born in 1829 in England. He married Sarah Sheldon (1829-1881)in England and immigrated around 1850.

As far as I can tell in the 1860 census he was living in Scioto County, Ohio.

It appears he served in the 13th West Virginia Infantry, Company A.

His 1st wife Sarah passed around 1881 and he remarried Elizabeth Day in 1882. William passed in 1897 in Anstead, Fayette County, WV in 1897 in a mining accident.

Any information regarding this is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Respectfully,
Kyle Kalasnik
 
Well, there is certainly information about William Gray who served in the 13th West Virginia Infantry. Records show he joined the service August 15, 1862 in Charleston, VA for a period of three years. He gives Devon, England as his place of birth and his occupation is "miner." He was 32 when he enlisted, had "light" hair and blue eyes and stood 5 foot 2 inches tall. He was paid both a premium and a bounty. That December he was put on extra duty for twelve days - digging coal. He appears regularly on the rolls until February of 1864 when things take a turn.

He seems to have had some issues with authority which caused him to lose pay, spend time in confinement, and be dishonorably discharged. How much of that was him being bad or the authorities being rigid I can't tell. For instance - he was found to be absent without leave from 12/25/1863 to 12/29/1863. Maybe he just wanted to see his children for Christmas? A second period of time he was found AWOL was for two days - 1/22/64 to 1/24/64. But, the records also say he was found guilty of drunkenness and insubordination. His sentence stripped him of two months pay and required him to do "knapsack drill" for 6 hours daily for fifteen days. Lucky for him, there was a technical error in the court and he was "released and returned to duty." Then he was judged to be a straggler after he fell asleep and was left behind by his regiment. Next they charged him with drunkenness, again, this time combined with disrespectful language and "riotous conduct." For this he got six months hard labor in the prison at Wheeling, WV beginning February 14, 1865. However, August 24 of that year they released him with a dishonorable discharge and sent him home (without pay).

All in all it seems like the military life was not a good fit for him.
 
Wow what an embarrassment.

He is on Find a Grave. Although on the website it says 1927 for death not 1897. He has a veterans tombstone, listing Co A, 13th WV. How would he qualify for that?

Thank you for your help in this matter and providing information. Although disappointed in the conduct of service, it did make me laugh.

Respectfully,
Kyle Kalasnik
 
Wow what an embarrassment.

He is on Find a Grave. Although on the website it says 1927 for death not 1897. He has a veterans tombstone, listing Co A, 13th WV. How would he qualify for that?

Thank you for your help in this matter and providing information. Although disappointed in the conduct of service, it did make me laugh.

Respectfully,
Kyle Kalasnik

That does not mean he was a bad soldier , More of a character their were plenty of soldiers just like him , Being a miner from Devon would have made him tough as nails mainly Tin mining which was dangerous work so he was no coward take heart in that.
 
It's not a traditional record. But we're seeing it out of context here - it could be if we examined records for the whole regiment that one officer was a real stickler and many men were punished for minor infractions. William was a good soldier for a long time. Then something around Christmas of 1863 caused him to take a leave without permission. Could there have been a crisis at home and an unsympathetic officer refused to let him go help? Everything else seems to flow from that point. Obviously I'm speculating but I don't think that we can know the whole story just based on these records.
 
I appreciate your help in providing information and another insight into the matter.

It is possible that he had a stickler in his company or regiment. And was never cut a break when it was warranted?

When I was in the service, I can recall 2 or 3 people who were really good guys, and actually good Marines. But when faced with a family issue on the other side of the country, or even a spouse or child issue that lived on base, they were denied Emergency Leave or adequate time off. So they took matters into their own hands, and faced the repercussions.

This possibly could have been due to there status as a nonrate (Pvt, PFC, and LCpl). Where as I also saw the Chain of Command grant the same privileges to a Staff NCO or Officer.

Getting back to William’s behavior, whether possibly justified or out of line, there are two sides to every story, and consequences for every action.

Thanks again for your help.

Respectfully,
Kyle Kalasnik
 
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If you wanted to know more you could search for records that describe the experiences of that unit - letters, diaries, etc. Or, you could let it lie.
That was my plan to research the 13th WV and see how the outfit was run and what were the experiences of the other enlisted men.

Again, I appreciate all of your help. Thank you.

Respectfully,
Kyle Kalasnik
 
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