How many Tnet members have family that fought in the Civil War?

MuckyBottles

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Jun 19, 2013
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Doing some family research on who was who in my family, found some interesting info. My Great Great Grandfather was a Captain in the Union Army,
Captain Charles H. Calkins:

ST. CLOUD TRIBUNE, Thursday, December 27, 1917, pg. 8

"CHARLES H. CALKINS
All that was mortal of Capt. Charles H. Calkins passed into immortality December 17th, at his home in St. Cloud, Florida. He was born September 10, 1831, at Covington, Pa. He enlisted in April, 1867[sic], from Passaic County, N. J., the state quota being filled, his company went to New York City and were sent to Camp Scott, Staten Island, and there mustered into the United States service, June 10, 1861 in Company I, 70th Regiment, New York; belonged to Foxes' 300 fighting regiments. This regiment served in the Army of the Potomac; was actively engaged in most all the battles of the Potomac. He was constantly with his regiment and was in all its campaigns and battles until June 30, 1863. He was promoted for meritorious service to corporal, thence to fourth sergeant then to first orderly sergeant. On January 31, 1863, he became Captain of Company H, 25th Regiment New Jersey Volunteer Infantry.
On May 4th, 1863, at Suffolk, Va., while (several words unreadable) The enemy's position a (unreadable) battery opened with a volley immediately in front of Company H. With his company he immediately charged the Confederate works and in a few minutes was in possession of the battery of six pieces.
He was mustered out with his regiment June 20, 1863.
He served as grand marshal at the first Decoration Day ceremonies at Paterson, N. J. He was a charger member fo [sic] Butler Post No. 35, Department of New Jersey. He served twice as commander, six terms as adjutant. He came to St. Cloud November 3, 1909, and built a cozy home where he has since lived. He leaves a widow, son and daughter to mourn his loss. The funeral services took place Saturday afternoon at 2 p. m. The services were in charge of the Episcopal rector, Capt. Calkins having been a member of the Protestant Episcopal church.
Deceased was a man of sterling character and beloved by all who knew him. Final interment was in Mt. Peace cemetery."

Furthermore research shows that he was in the 70th NY 1st regiment Excelsior Brigade (Sickles brigade) before becoming captain of the 25th NJ. Lastly, I come to find out that he attended, befriended and was on the same church council with Samuel Colt of Patent Arms...


That being said, I am curious about your stories..
 

GGGgrandfather was exempt from Confederate draft of 1862, but was paid by a rich man to be his substitute. He was KIA Nov., 1863 at Missionary Ridge, serving in the GA 47th. Another GGGrandfather was in the 10th Alabama, captured at Gettysburg, POW at Ft. Delaware, galvanized to 1st Conn. Cav. as a blacksmith in Nov. 1863, deserted with a horse and full accounterments in Sept. 1864. My Great Uncle was a scout in Forrest's Cavalry, captured after the battle of Nashville. Lot's of stories passed down through the family, all saw extensive combat. Other ancestors that I am still researching their involvement in The War of Northern Aggression. Cheers!!
 

Yep,, I do,,,

As a matter of fact I have had "relatives" in EVERY major war up to the Middle East fiasco.
Our family came here in the late 1600s in the New Jersey area,, Egg Harbor,,TOWNSNDS INLET,,
My father did years worth of research on our lineage,, supposedly the family had the original land grant for Washington County a bit later on too.
There is some country club where the homestead used to be but the springhouse is still there. This is my fathers side.

My mothers side was Huntington County S'crora indian. My great grandpa was full blooded from what I was told.
Their homestead is still standing too. I really NEED to get out there when I get more proficient with my detector.

Hit
 

My great grandfather was in the 45th PA volunteer infantry, and was wounded at Spotsylvania Courthouse. His brother made it to the rank of Brevet Brigadier General. A couple other great, great uncles in various Union units as well. One thing I discovered when I started doing genealogical research was that almost all of the old family stories handed down were wrong! There may have been something to the stories originally, but they kind of altered over the years with all the retellings.
 

Yep,, I do,,,

As a matter of fact I have had "relatives" in EVERY major war up to the Middle East fiasco.
Our family came here in the late 1600s in the New Jersey area,, Egg Harbor,,TOWNSNDS INLET,,
My father did years worth of research on our lineage,, supposedly the family had the original land grant for Washington County a bit later on too.
There is some country club where the homestead used to be but the springhouse is still there. This is my fathers side.

My mothers side was Huntington County S'crora indian. My great grandpa was full blooded from what I was told.
Their homestead is still standing too. I really NEED to get out there when I get more proficient with my detector.

Hit

Likewise, we have been able to track part of our family back to the first voyage of the mayflower to a man named Resolved White...like your family, mine fought in every war except Korea.

Good stuff..thanks for sharing
 

I have done quite a bit of family research and have five ancestors who served in the civil war, all from Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin. The most interesting of them, though, was a great great grandfather, a black and Native American who was a Wisconsin volunteer soldier during the last year of the war. He was the descendent of former slaves who ran away from their slave owners in New York and joined the Indian community there in 1800.

I have other ancestors who were in the Vermont and New York areas who served in the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812.
 

I have done quite a bit of family research and have five ancestors who served in the civil war, all from Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin. The most interesting of them, though, was a great great grandfather, a black and Native American who was a Wisconsin volunteer soldier during the last year of the war. He was the descendent of former slaves who ran away from their slave owners in New York and joined the Indian community there in 1800.

I have other ancestors who were in the Vermont and New York areas who served in the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812.

Nice Susan, the Wisconsin relatives were probably part of the "Iron Brigade"..
 

Here's some of my relatives that fought in the CW. Sorry for the crappy pics. By the way, totally enjoyed this thread Mucky! relatives 001.JPGrelatives 002.JPGrelatives 003.JPGrelatives 004.JPG
 

If you do have Civil War ancestors, one thing you should do is to order their military and pension records from the a national Archives. It used to take months to get them, but the set I recently ordered came in about 3 weeks. The military records tell you where they served, if they were injured, what they were paid, when and where they mustered out etc. if they received or applied for a pension, these records often provides genealogical information on the soldier and his spouse and where the family lived before and after the war.
 

Great Great Grandfather....

POW Release.jpg

Abram H. Robertson was indeed from Patrick County, Va. He enlisted 4/1/1862 in Patrick County as a Private and was assigned to Turner's Company of the Goodrich Light Artillery of Virginia.
On 10/9/1862 he transferred into the Orange [county] Light Artillery of Virginia.
He was wounded in action at the battle Chancellorsville on 5/3/1863
He was captured at Gordonsville, Va. on 4/15/1865 as the war in Virginia was ending, and was confined at Newport News, Va. prison.
He took the Oath of Allegiance on 6/14/1865 at Newport News.
He was described as being 5'7", blue eyes, and dark hair.
 

If you do have Civil War ancestors, one thing you should do is to order their military and pension records from the a national Archives. It used to take months to get them, but the set I recently ordered came in about 3 weeks. The military records tell you where they served, if they were injured, what they were paid, when and where they mustered out etc. if they received or applied for a pension, these records often provides genealogical information on the soldier and his spouse and where the family lived before and after the war.

Good to know..may do some more research. .shame they didn't have DD214's back then..lol
 

I do. I don't know what skirmishes they may or may not have taken part in if any during their service, but they 'were' part of the war in one form or another. Of the three I am posting about, all were on my father's side. There are more, just couldn't find the information right off. There were numerous ancestors involved in every war up to the Vietnam War(my father in particular, Medic, 44th Medical Brigade, Saigon.) All six uncles, of thirteen great aunts and uncles, on my mother's side, were enlisted in every branch, some serving under notable titles. Anyway, the following is about three of my ancestors:

GGG Grandfather, Reece Woolfe:

"In 1862 when the call came for more soldiers for the Civil War, Reece answered the call. The enlistment requirements were changed during this time, allowing for men from 47 to 60 to join. Reece joined the 37th Iowa Infantry on 22 October 1862 at the age of 47. These older enlistees were referred to as "Greybeards". The "Greybeards" of "K" company, the company that Reece was attached to, were mustered on 12 November 1862.

Reece's unit was sent to Alton, Illinois and assigned to guard Confederate soldiers there. While stationed at Alton Prison, Reece contracted small pox and died 3 September 1863 at Alton, Illinois.

Thanks to the wonderful members of Jefferson Barracks, Reece Woolfe finally received a memorial marker in March of 2013."


Author/Source: Shawn West, Find-A-Grave Memorial

GGG Grandfather, William H. Kerns, Sr.:

"He was a blacksmith. Mustered in the Civil War on February 29, 1864, serving in Company B, 3rd Iowa Cav. Severely injured while shoeing a vicious horse, on July 14, 1865, at Newnan, GA, owned by his Capt. Capt. Samuel Irvin McKee, of the 3rd IA Cavalry. He mustered out August 9th, 1865 at Davenport, IA. Returned home under the care of his brother-in-law Samuel Bishop and a colored man by the name of Elijah Crawford, a free man. We owed both these men, for his safe return back to his family in Athens."

Author/Source: Shawn West, Find-A-Grave Memorial

GG Grandfather, Thomas J. Weatherwax:

"Thomas and family were comfortably settled on their farm at the beginning of the Civil War. At this time, Thomas enlisted in Co. A, 37th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, as a Private. The 37th was mustered into service on 15 December, 1862, and came to be known as the Graybeards Regiment, because all members were over 45 years old. They served primarily at Garrisons which served as P.O.W. camps, and they were the only such Regiment in the Union Army. Thomas served until 30 November, 1864 and was then discharged due to disability."

Author/Source: Kenneth C. Weatherwax/Weatherwax Cousins-Ancestors and Descendants of Thomas Weatherwax 1809-1884, Copyright 1991.

Thanks for posting this thread.

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Brantley, James A.- private July 15, 1861. Appointed 4th
Corporal November 30,1862. Surrendered, Appomattox, Va. April 9,1865.
(Born in Hancock County, Ga. August 23,1844.)

Brantley, Lewis- private July 15,1861. Surrendered,
Appomattox, Va. April 9,1865.

Brantley, Benjamin D. - private May 8, 1862. Surrendered at
Appomattox, Va. April 9, 1865. (Born in Washington County, Ga.
in 1846.)

Brantley, Benjamin T. - private - private May 8, 1862. Transferred to Co.
H, 28th Regiment Ga. Inf. December 25, 1862. Wounded in arm,
necessitating amputation, at Bentonville, N. C. March 19, 1865.

Brantley, James L. - private May 8, 1862. Transferred to Co. H,
28th Regiment Ga. Inf. September 1, 1863. Admitted to Hospital #4, at
Wilmington, N. C. December 28, 1864. Returned to duty January 14, 1865.
No later record.

Brantley, John- private September 29, 1863. Captured at Knoxville,
Tenn. December 9, 1863. Sent to Military Prison Hospital and died
there of typhoid pneumonia, December 30, 1863. Buried in City Cemetery.

Brantley, John A. - Enlisted as a private in Captain Horatio N.
Hollifield's Battery Light Artillery, Ga. State Troops, February 22,
1862. Mustered out at Savannah, Ga. May 1862. Enlisted as a private
in Co. D, 59th Regiment Ga. Inf. May 8, 1862. Captured at Wilderness, Va.
May 6, 1864. Released at Elmira, N. Y. June 19, 1865.
(Born in Ga.)

Brantley, Thomas J. - private June 15, 1862. Surrendered at Appomattox,
Va. April 9, 1865. (Born in Johnson County, Ga.)

Brantley, William M. -private May 8, 1862. Roll for February 1865,
last on file, shows him present. No later record.

General William Felix Brantley. Led his regiment (now part of the Army Of Tennessee) during the Battle of Chickamauga from September 19—20, 1863, and then with distinction in the Chattanooga Campaign that October and November.

and this one, my Great grandfather ...

CivilWar.jpg
 

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37th Arkansas Infantry. Not by choice, just you gotta go. And my great-great grandfather and his brother are listed as deserted about 2 months after enlistment (conscription). Just not really our fight. All I know about my family's involvement in the war between the states is from research. Not one story was passed down by my family about that particular part of history. A lot of them lived in Indian Territory at the time, which was horribly violent, and the others lived in the post war reconstruction south, which was just about as bad, so I guess they were happy it was over and didn't care to talk about it.
 

Great Grandfather, I. N. "Newt" Truesdale, 181st Ohio Infantry, (OVI). I have a pistol he carried as ay young private. A little underpowered .32 caliber Smith and Wesson revolver, which was no doubt a hide out gun, and I'm sure he thought he was well armed. However, if he'd ever had the misfortune of shooting a confederate soldier with it, and the Reb found out about it, I'm sure my great grandfather would have been wearing the pistol. It's an unshootable relic now, but fun to own.
 

My Father's Grandfather (Levi Pearsall) was in the 9th NY Heavy Artillery. He has cousins Henry, James & John that served. John was in the 16th Connecticut and survived Andersonville Prison.

Levi's NY belt plate.
DSCN0176.jpg

Levi (and Sarah) much post-war.
Levi_and_Sarah_photo.jpg

The Long Island part of the family put out a lot of soldiers and officers. At one point my brother - our family geneologist - had documented 40 Union Pearsall's (and one Confederate!) from the NY/Long Island/Connecticut part of the family. We are the poorer central NY: Auburn, Ithaca, Moravia branch and had four.

Part of the family was southern (my middle name is "Lee") and we had about an even split of N. vs. S. One cousin - Aleck Pearsall - was a NY surgeon at the outbreak and went to Richmond, Virginia to serve as a surgeon for the Confederacy.

Aleck T. Pearsall - in the middle - 1st baseman for the Excelsior Club of Brooklyn in 1860.
brooklyn-excelsiors-1860.jpg
 

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Charlie, that is suweeetttt!!!! Lost my GGG Grandfather at Shilo...d2
 

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