Andersonville Prison today. (Credit: NPS)

Of the 5369 Union soldiers that were reported “missing or captured” at the Battle of Gettysburg[1],  most of the captured were processed through Libby Prison in Richmond and then Belle Island on the James River.  At least 303 of them eventually found themselves at the notorious Andersonville Prison in Georgia.  The Andersonville records are incomplete, however, so that number may be higher.[2]

Those 303 soldiers were of ages ranging from 17 to 42 and represented 68 different regiments from 12 States: IL (6), IN (7), MA (19), MD (1), ME (3), MI (24), NH (8), NY (107), OH (25), PA (50), VT (8), and WI (45).

There were 243 Privates, 30 Corporals, 23 Sergeants, 3 Musicians, 1 Farrier, 1 Teamster, 1 Wagoner, and 1 First Lieutenant.

Most (202) had been captured on the first day at Gettysburg, while 69 were captured on July 2nd, 25 on July 3rd, and 7 on July 4th.

Those 303 soldiers are listed below for the sake of researchers.

Special thanks to Kevin Frye, Andersonville Historian, for help with these records.  Kevin may have more information about a soldier that you find listed here so I encourage researchers to contact him on his Andersonville Facebook Page or at andersonvillehistorian@gmail.com.

Sources:
[1] John W. Busey and David G. Martin, “Regimental Strengths & Losses at Gettysburg,” 4th Edition (Highstown, NJ: Longstreet House, 2005).
[2] Kevin Frye, Anderson Historian, Andersonville Facebook Page or andersonvillehistorian@gmail.com

The newest additions to my collection.

The Confederate prison camp at Andersonville, Georgia, also known as Camp Sumter, was designed to hold a maximum of 10,000 Union prisoners.  At its peak, it held more than three times that number under horrific conditions.  During its 14 months of existence, Andersonville Prison held more than 45,000 Union soldiers, of whom 12,920 died, mostly of starvation and disease.[1]

On 29 April 1914, nearly 50 years after the prison’s liberation, survivors from New York State assembled on the grounds of the original prison to dedicate a monument to the roughly-2500 of their fellow soldiers from that State who had been imprisoned there.

The 144 aging veterans who made the trip were awarded this medal (left) by the State. They were made by Whitehead & Hoag Company of New York City and are engraved on the reverse: “Presented to (soldier’s name) by the State of New York in Recognition of his Heroism, Sacrifice, and Patriotism.”  (The engraving on the one in this photo does not include a soldier’s name.)  As you might guess, very few of these medals still exist, especially in this pristine condition.

The second medal – or badge – was issued to the guests of the Andersonville Monument Dedication Commission at that monument dedication. This badge is even more rare. In fact, I’ve never before seen one intact, much less in near-mint condition.  It was made by J. F. Neuman in New York City.

As mentioned in this post, 5369 Union soldiers were reported “missing or captured” at the Battle of Gettysburg and at least 303 were incarcerated at Andersonville.  107 of them served in a New York regiment but only two lived until 1914 and attended the monument dedication there.[2]  They were:

• – Private John Sears, Co. F, 119^th New York Inf.
• – Private Robert J. Woodward, Co. C, 154^th New York Inf.

The Guest badge is something of a mystery.  Its design and manufacture is mentioned in the Commission Report but, unlike the veteran badge, there is no depiction of it there.  And, while the report describes the ceremony in which veterans were awarded their medals, there’s conspicuously no mention of when or under what conditions the Guest badges were distributed.  

The report says, “The veterans having been assembled in military order within the prison stockade, the services of decorating them with the medals now occurred.”  The Chairman of the Commission is then quoted as saying, “Each comrade, when his name is called, will march to the front and receive his medal.”

This panoramic photograph in the report depicts the “Line Up at Andersonville for Presentation of New York State’s Commemorative Dedication Medal.” That photograph does not appear to include the wives and daughters of the veterans who were among the guests.  In the reception line at the center of the photograph are the Commissioners, the few female presenters, and a handful of other guests.  Some of them are wearing one type of badge or another but most are not. So the timing of the distribution of the Guest badges remains a mystery.

So how many of these medals were made?  According to the New York State Archives, no invoices or other records of the manufacture or engraving of the medals still exist. So we’ll have to make some guesstimates.

The Commission originally identified about 400 former New York soldiers who had survived Andersonville and were still living in the State at that time.  They were all were invited to attend the ceremonies at Andersonville at the Commission’s expense.  Each veteran was responsible for getting himself to New York City, however, where a special train would take them to and from Andersonville.  The veterans were also permitted to bring family and friends at their own expense, estimated by the Commission as $60 per person.

Of the 400 or so veterans that were invited, 248 expressed an intention to go.  As the date approached, however, that number twindled regularly due to the illness or death of some of the veterans.  By the time that the train left Pennsylvania Station, the passengers numbered just 222, according to the Commission’s report[3], including veterans and guests.  The latter group consisted of twelve Commission members (half of whom were veterans), two clerks, a stenographer, a nurse, a photographer, a few politicians and dignitaries, and “a goodly number” of wives and children. (But the final published list of attendees included 144 veterans and 79 guests for a total of 223.)

Contemporary newspaper accounts vary, however.  One newspaper reported that there were “262 in the party”[4] and another said that there were “162 survivors”[5] in the group.  These seem oddly specific, given that they conflict with the official report.

One veteran, Jacob D. Perkins, Private, 85th New York Infantry, reported that he received an engraved medal in the mail even though he did not attend the ceremony at Andersonville.  This suggests that he was among those who originally expressed an intention to go to the dedication but later bowed out.[6]

The Survivors medals would presumably have been ordered as soon as the original list of recipients was compiled (248), would have included a few extras, but would certainly not have exceeded the total number of eligible veterans (400).  So I estimate that between 300 and 400 were manufactured, with at least 248 being inscribed with the name and regiment of a specific veteran.

The order for the Guest medals would have been placed at the same time.  In the end, 79 guests attended the ceremony but there is no record of how many had originally expressed an interest to go.  That number is unlikely to be more than 105, however, accounting for a spouse for each veteran who had bowed out.  So even accounting for spares, it is unlikely that more than 150 of the Guest medals were manufactured.

Sources:
[1] Andersonville National Historic Site, https://www.nps.gov/ande/index.htm
[2] Kevin Frye, Andersonville Historian; Andersonville Facebook Page or at andersonvillehistorian@gmail.com.
[3] “A Pilgrimage To The Shrines of Patriotism: The Report of the Commission to Dedicate the Monument Erected by the State of New York in Andersonville, Georgia” (Albany, NY: State of New York & Andersonville Monument Dedication Commission, Printer: J. B. Lyon Company, 1916)
[4] Col. Samuel C. Pierce, Commander, Dept, of N. Y., G. A. R., Rochester, N. Y. in The Buffalo Enquirer, 11 May 1914.
[5] The Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Brooklyn, NY), 10 May 1914.
[6] Star Gazette (Elmira, NY), 28 Jul 1914

People ask me all the time what a “Third Cousin Twice Removed” (aka 3C2R) is, for instance.  The internet is full of “cousin charts” but I really don’t understand the point of them and I discourage their use. The rules to navigate the chart are more complicated than the rules to just calculate the relationship yourself! (And Step 1 is the same for both).

Spend 5 minutes to understand this chart that I made for a friend and you’ll never have to rely on this or any other chart again.

Right click and save to your computer. Then you can size it to your taste.

And, by the way, cousin relationships are reciprocal.  On my chart, for instance, John’s relationship to George is the same as George’s relationship to John (1C2R).  So don’t worry about whether your line goes on the left or right side.  And no, it doesn’t matter whether the two lines of ascent go through male ancestors, female ancestors, or both, to get to the common ancestor.  That doesn’t affect the cousin relationship. Finally, the two people only need to be descended from ONE common ancestor* and it doesn’t matter whether it is a male or female.

Now, it’s true that, unlike those “other” charts, mine doesn’t explain what a great-great-grandfather is.  And, among other things, it doesn’t explain what an uncle and a nephew is. But:

1. What adult doesn’t know this already??  Besides, you have to understand what a great-great-grandfather is already in order to use those other charts!
2. Unlike cousins, those other relationships are gender specific and not reciprocal. (i.e., uncle/aunt vs nephew/niece and g-g-grandfather/mother vs g-g-grandson/daughter). And there doesn’t seem to be any consensus on whether it is GREAT-uncle or GRAND-uncle, for instance.
3. Is it really worth making it soooo much harder to learn what a 1C2R is by having the chart get bogged down defining terms that most people already know?

Finally, if you know what a great-grandFATHER is and you know what an uncle is, then you should know what a great-grandUNCLE is.  If you don’t, then I can’t help you.

(Sorry, it’s 4am and I’m getting punchy…)

* Full disclosure: there are claims in some circles that a “cousin” requires a PAIR of common ancestors and that if there is only one, then they are “half-cousins.”  It is a tedious debate so I will merely quote the Oxford English Dictionary, the universally-accepted authority on the English language, and readers can judge for themselves:

“Cousin: (1) a collateral relative more distant than a brother or sister, (2) The son or daughter of one’s uncle or aunt, (3) first, second cousin, etc.; expressing the relationship between persons descended the same number of steps in distinct lines from A COMMON ANCESTOR.” (emphasis added)

Yesterday we had the honor of hosting Congressman Chris Stewart (R-UT) and his staff for a Segway tour of the Gettysburg battlefield. It was a beautiful day for a great group of folks to enjoy a fun and educational experience on the park! Thanks for coming!

The 46th Annual Gettysburg Battlefield Preservation Association Civil War Artifact and Collectibles Show in Gettysburg yesterday was the setting for a unique reunion.  For probably the first time in 81 years, the three known surviving examples of the Commissioner’s badge for the 1938 Gettysburg reunion were in the same room.

On the left is the badge worn by Pennsylvania Governor George H. Earle III (1890-1964). It is from the collection of the author, Bob Velke.

On the middle/bottom is the badge worn by Secretary of War Harry Hines Woodring (1887-1967).  It is from the collection of Kevin Himber.

On the right is the badge of Representative Harry Luther Haines (1880-1947) from Pennsylvania.  It is from Mickey McIntire’s collection. 

The gold and silver badges were made by Bailey, Banks & Biddle Co. in Philadelphia and each is engraved with the name of the recipient on the reverse.  The top bar of Representative Haines’ badge (on the right) is original while those of the other two are reproductions.  Apparently, over the years, the bar was easily detached and lost.

The collectors suppose that there were perhaps 15 or 16 of these badges originally.  They were presented to the 9 members of the Pennsylvania Commission, the 5 members of the Federal Commission, the Governor of Pennsylvania, and perhaps the Executive Secretary of the Commission, Rob. L. Roy.

What a beautiful sight!

While there are some wonderful free web sites (notably FamilySearch.org) from which you can access many online records, Ancestry.com and Fold3.com offer a wide variety of records that are not available anywhere else.  In fact, if you go to the National Archives in Washington D.C. to access the original microfilms for those records, you’ll be directed to Ancestry.com and Fold3.com instead. In order to access most of the records at Ancestry.com or Fold3.com from your home computer or laptop, however, you’d need to pay a subscription fee.  But there are many ways to access them for FREE.

• Many medium-sized and large public libraries have subscriptions to these services and you can access them from the computers in their research rooms.  Contact your public library or college/university library and you might be surprised!
• The National Archives in D.C. and more than a dozen of their branch offices around the country are equipped with research rooms and public-use computers with full access to Ancestry.com and Fold3.com.  To search for the closest National Archives Branch Office to your area, access this web site and then click on “Research Facilities”.
• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (aka the LDS Church) operates hundreds of “Family History Centers” around the U.S. and the world. You do not have to be a member of the church to make use of these excellent facilities.  The church also partners with a variety of “FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries.”  Not only do they have subscriptions to Ancestry.com and Fold3.com but they are staffed by very knowledgeable volunteers who can help you with almost any research problem.  Check this web site to find a LDS research facility in your area.
• The web sites in question sometimes offer “Free Access Weekends.”  Keep an eye on a genealogy newsletter or on the Facebook pages of Ancestry.com and Fold3.com for announcements.  You’ll need to register for a free basic membership to take advantage of these special offers.
• Both web sites periodically offer free trials.  The free trial for Ancestry.com is for 14 days while the one for Fold3.com is for 7 days. In each case, you’ll need to create a membership account and provide a credit card which will be charged if you neglect to cancel at least two days before the end of your trial period.

Finally, if you do a lot of research, then you may find that a subscription to these web sites is well worth the money.  At this writing (December, 2018):

• A “U.S. Discovery” Membership to Ancestry.com costs $19.95/month or $189/year.  Membership to Ancestry.com includes the option for $30 off an annual Premium Membership to Fold3.com.
• The standard price for a Premium Membership to Fold3.com is $7.95/month or $79.95/year.

The records that are available at Ancestry.com and Fold3.com are just too good to miss.

Photo from the author’s collection. Inset is the Kearny Medal.

Capt. Solomon T. Lyon of the 5th Michigan Infantry has been described as a recipient of the Kearny Medal and there is a photo that seems to prove it.  The trouble is that, not only was Capt. Lyon not on the official list of recipients, but he apparently didn’t qualify to receive the medal.  So what’s going on here?

The Kearny Medal was conceived and designed by the officers of the 1st Division, 3rd Corps, Army of the Potomac.  At a meeting on 29 November 1862, a committee of those officers set down the qualifications to receive it; to wit:

Resolved, That all officers, and soldiers who may be promoted
to the grade of commissioned officer previous to January 1st,
1863, and who have honorably served in battle under
Maj.-Gen. Kearny in his Division, and whose military record
is without stain, shall alone be permitted to wear
the “Kearny Medal.”

The trouble is that Capt. Lyon wasn’t even in the army in January, 1863 – much less as an officer serving under Gen. Kearny.  According to his Compiled Service Record (and as supported by his pension application and other documents), he mustered in as a 2nd Lieutenant of Co. E, 5th Michigan Infantry on 24 April 1864 – more than 15 months after the qualification period ended. He was promoted to 1st Lt. in July and to Captain in November of the same year.

There is evidence that a few other officers (and one woman) who were not on the official list of recipients were later awarded the medal. But they proved to meet the qualifications or they were awarded with some fanfare as a gift by the commanding officer, Gen. Birney, or (in the case of the woman) by a group of high-ranking officers.  No such evidence has been found regarding Capt. Lyon.  Furthermore, in stark contrast to most other recipients, there is no reference to the medal in his pension application, published biographies, contemporary newspapers, or his obituary.

As mentioned previously, a committee of officers designed the Kearny Medal and documented a list of the officers who were qualified to receive it.  But there is no evidence of a benefactor, sponsor, or fund that was developed to pay for its manufacture.  Rather, the evidence indicates that (with a few special exceptions), each qualifying officer was required to purchase his own medal.*  So perhaps Capt. Lyon simply purchased one?

It would seem not.  The committee of officers that designed the medal were specifically instructed to “take bonds from the manufacturers of the medal, sufficient to prevent them from disposing of the same to persons not entitled to wear it.”  In fact, even some officers who were qualified to receive the medal had difficulty in proving that they were entitled to it.  For instance, Lt. Robert McWade (40th New York) was required to provide a testimonial from his commanding officer before being allowed to purchase his medal because his name was written as “McQuade” on the list of qualified recipients.  So it seems unlikely that Capt. Lyon could have surreptitiously received one.

There are several known cases where an officer received more than one copy of the medal. Some were lost/stolen and replaced and one officer is actually listed twice on the qualifying list.  Perhaps Capt. Lyon received a duplicate medal from one of his fellow officers?

There are even some 19th-century companies that were known to offer forgeries of the Kearny Medal – but what self-respecting officer of that stature would subject himself to a charge of “stolen valor” from his peers?

Perhaps the medal on his chest in the photo isn’t a Kearny Medal after all?  The inset is provided for your examination.

I don’t have the answer.  Previous posts to this blog and to my Facebook page about the medal have inspired some living descendants and fellow researchers to contact me with details or photographs of a recipient.  Maybe this post will have the same effect.  Please contact me or comment below if you have evidence or even a theory that would explain this mystery.

-Bob Velke

*There was reportedly nothing to prevent an officer from paying more money to have gems inset into his medal or to customize the length of the ribbon, etc.  Presumably, an officer with lesser means might likewise forego the ribbon and top bar, for instance, in order to pay less money for his medal.  It is not uncommon, therefore, to see photos of the drop or planchet of the medal being worn as a pin – as in the photo above.

Annie Etheridge is one of at least four women who are known to have received the Kearny Cross.  And, although she never actually enlisted in the army (serving as a volunteer field nurse or “vivandiere”), she is frequently described as one of the very few female private citizens who received a pension for her service to the army. Until now, however, no strong evidence had been produced that she actually received such a pension.

Photo credit: Military Images Magazine

Much has been written about Annie Etheridge (née Blair), whose husband, James Etheridge, enlisted with the 2nd Michigan Infantry during the Civil War.  Annie followed the regiment (and subsequently the 3rd and 5th Michigan Infantries) throughout their service, tending to the wounded in the field and often being exposed to live fire.  She was wounded at least once, reportedly had two horses shot out from under her, and her dress was often described as being “riddled with bullets.” And yet “Gentle Annie,” as she was known by the many men in her Division who loved and respected her, never received any compensation for her service.

As evidence of the attempts to obtain a pension for Annie Etheridge (who by 1870 had divorced James Etheridge and married Charles E. Hooks), researchers often cite newspaper articles or quote from reports of the Committee on Pensions in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives where her fate was debated*.  But proof that the pension was actually granted has proved more elusive.

Here, in what is believed to be the first publication outside of the Congressional Record, is a copy of the Special Act of Congress that was passed on 19 February 1887 and signed by President Grover Cleveland, granting a pension of $25 per month to Anna Etheridge Hooks**:

Photo credit: FindaGrave.com

In the 1886 discussion in the House of Representatives, Annie is described as “poor and needy,” having “never recovered from the results of her long and arduous service.”  While she originally requested a pension of $50 per month, the final award of $25 per month (about $663 in today’s money) no doubt came as some relief to her in the last quarter century of her life.

Annie died on 23 Jan 1913 at the age of 73.  She is buried with her husband, Corporal Charles E. Hooks, in Arlington National Cemetery (Section 15, Lot 701).

UPDATE, 5 AUG 2019: Good news!  I found her full pension file (Cert #352510) at the National Archives in D.C.!  It is only 10 pages but includes a statement by Charles E. Hooks that the two were married by a Rev. Dr. Butler in Washington D.C. on 1 Mar 1870.  Dated 4 Jun 1898, the statement further asserts that he was not previously married and the couple had no living children.  Most notably, it confirms that Annie really did receive the money that was promised to her, the last payment to her being made on 4 Dec 1912.

Notes:

* The U. S. Senate report of the Committee on Pensions, 49th Congress, First Session, Report #1544, 22 July 1886.

   The U. S. Senate report of the Committee on Pensions (revised), 49th Congress, First Session, Report #1599, 30 July 1886.

   The U. S. House of Representatives report of the Committee on Pensions, 49th Congress, Second Session, Report #3763, 26 January 1887.

** “An Act Granting a Pension to Mrs. Anna Etheridge Hooks”, Ch. 155, 24 Stat., 903 (1887).

In “The Battle of Gettysburg Discussion Group” on Facebook, Jessie Weedleton pointed to an article in the The Gazette of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, which said that a memorial to Civil War soldiers in the city cemetery in Lisbon, Iowa included a large boulder that had been moved from the battlefield at Gettysburg.  According to the article, “The blue granite stone chosen was removed from a spot along the Baltimore Pike, near where the right flank of Gen. George Meade’s army fought. The boulder measured five feet by six feet and was three feet thick. It weighed about four tons.”

Although the monument was apparently intended to be to all Civil War soldiers from Iowa, it was placed in the cemetery adjacent to four (later seven) veterans who “served in Meade’s army” and, in light of the boulder, presumably served at Gettysburg.  Jessie wondered in which regiments those soldiers had fought.

My first reaction was to point out that the 11th U.S. Inf. was raised in part from Des Moines County, IA and the 12th U.S. Inf. was raised in part from Dubuque County IA.¹  But the article in The Gazette mentioned seven soldiers by name.  I did a little online research about them and, while they each died in Iowa, none of them lived there at the time of the war.

In fact, they were all born in Pennsylvania and they all (with one possible exception) fought for a Pennsylvania regiment!

This is for you, Jessie:

Josiah Richard is something of a mystery.  The article suggests that he died in 1911.  But the Josiah Richard who is buried in that cemetery and died on 11 Aug 1911 was born on 21 Feb 1855, according to his tombstone, and is unlikely to have served in the war at the age of 6-9.

His father, “Josiah Richard” aka Reichert/Reichart, was born on 6 Aug 1831 in Pine Grove, Schuylkill County, PA and died 18 Feb 1901 in Lisbon and is buried in the same cemetery.  The Linn County Death Records say that a Josiah Richert born ca. 1831 died on 3 Apr 1901.  Anyway, the Iowa GAR Membership records say that he mustered into Co. G, 173rd PA Inf. on 2 Nov 1862. But that regiment was in the 7th Corps of the Department of Virginia and on 1-3 July 1863 was on provost duty in Norfolk, VA.  On July 9th, the regiment was transferred to the 1B, 2D, 11th Corps, Army of the Potomac and Richert mustered out of that regiment five weeks later, 18 Aug 1863.  Despite the discrepancies with his name and death year (apparently confused with his son’s), this is probably the veteran to which the article refers.  He did indeed serve “with Meade’s army” — but only briefly and not at Gettysburg.

Dewalt Shontz Fouse was born 15 Nov 1840 in Huntingdon County, PA and died 13 Mar 1912 in Lisbon, IA.  He enlisted as a Sergeant in Co C, 53^rd PA Inf. on 16 Sep 1861, was promoted to Lt. on 1 Dec 1862, served at Gettysburg, and was discharged as a 1st Lt. on 8 Oct 1864.  According to his obituary, he had been a minister in the Reformed Church for 45 years and the general superintendent of the board of home missions for 20 years.  His name is on the Pennsylvania State Memorial at Gettysburg.

David Christian Bruch was born 10 Jan 1833 in Northampton County, PA and died on 30 May 1915 in Linn County, Iowa.  (His pension records says that he died on the 29th in Cedar Rapids). He enlisted on 25 Sep 1862 as a Private in Co I, 153^rd PA Inf., served at Gettysburg, and was discharged on 24 Jul 1863. His name is on the Pennsylvania State Memorial at Gettysburg.

Benjamin Shirey Rowe (aka Row) is another mystery.  According to his tombstone and Iowa GAR records, he was born 12 Jan 1837 in Leigh Co., PA and died 8 Apr 1916 in Lisbon, IA.  However, his obituary (Lisbon Herald, 16 Apr 1916) gives his birth date as 12 Dec 1836.  In any case, he first served as a Private in Co. A, 8th Indiana Infantry which was a 3-month regiment (Jun 19-Aug 6, 1861).  Then he re-enlisted 24 Aug 1861  in the 3rd Battery, Indiana Light Artillery and was discharged as a Sergeant.  His obituary gives that date of discharge as “1863” but the Adjutant General of Indiana reported that Rowe re-enlisted on 30 Nov 1863 and was finally discharged on 21 Aug 1865.  As we will see below, that potentially leaves a short window in mid-1863 during which we cannot account for his whereabouts.

But neither the 8th Indiana Infantry nor the 3rd Battery, Indiana Light Artillery was ever in “Meade’s army.” Interestingly, however, the Pennsylvania State Memorial at Gettysburg lists a “Private Benjamin S. Rowe” in Co. F of the 26th PA Emergency Infantry regiment which mustered in on 22 Jun 1863 and out on 31 Jul 1863.  While the 26th PA Emergency Infantry wasn’t technically part of the Army of the Potomac, it was a Union regiment that fought at Gettysburg.  Could Rowe have been discharged in 1863 (as his obituary says), moved back to his state of birth, served during the short span of the the 26th PA Emergency Infantry, and then re-enlisted in the Indiana Artillery? Perhaps but we will likely not know until someone examines his complete pension file at the National Archives (Appl. #711271, Cert #826453).  Failing that, we have no explanation for him having been described as a veteran of “Meade’s army.”

Daniel Stahl was born in 21 Feb 1841 in Jonestown, PA and died in 16 Jan 1927 in Lisbon, IA.  He enlisted as a Private in Co. G, 96^th PA Inf. on 23 Sep 1861. The Iowa GAR records claim that he was in the Battle of Gettysburg but he is not listed in that regiment on the Pennsylvania State Memorial at Gettysburg. He was wounded in the left thigh at Spottsylvania Court House on 10 May 1864, transferred to Co. G, 95th on 18 Oct 1864, and was discharged on 17 Jul 1865.

William L. Barnicle (aka Barnacle) was born on 18 Jan 1838 in Huntington County, PA and died of a cerebral hemorrhage on 28 Feb 1927 in Cedar Rapids, IA. He enlisted in 30 August 1861 as a Private in Co. D, 49^th PA Inf.  He transferred (during consolidation) on 11 Jan 1863 to Co. C of the same regiment and was discharged on 23 Oct 1864 (or 15 Jul 1865, according to a different source).  The regiment fought at Gettysburg but his name is not listed on the Pennsylvania State Memorial.

Conrad Bowers (aka Bauer) was born 2 May 1835 in Northampton County, PA and died 14 Dec 1929 in Lisbon, IA.  He enlisted on 25 Sep 1862 as a Private in Co. I, 153^rd PA Inf. and was promoted to Corporal on 16 Oct 1862.  He fought at Gettysburg and mustered out on 24 July 1863.   His name is listed as “Conrad Bauer” on the Pennsylvania State Memorial at Gettysburg.

I know – that’s more than you wanted to know, Jessie

It is interesting to note that 364 Civil War veterans who were living in Iowa in 1913 — maybe including some of those above — came to Gettysburg to attend the 50th anniversary of the battle.  46 attended the 75th anniversary in 1938.

Sources: Ancestry.com, Fold3.com, FindAGrave.com, Newspapers.com, Familysearch.org, CivilWarData.com, and NPS.gov.

¹ Pocket Gettysburg citing Edmund J. Raus, Jr., “A Generation on the March: The Union Army at Gettysburg (Gettysburg, Thomas Publications, 1996).

Gen. Birney wearing his own Kearny Cross

As some of you know, I’m writing a book about the Kearny Cross: a medal which was awarded by Union General David B. Birney (and named in memory of his predecessor) to members of the First Division, Third Corps, Army of the Potomac.

There were two versions of the medal: the “Kearny Medal of Honor” for officers and the “Kearny Cross of Valor” for enlisted men. They’re often referred to collectively as the “Kearny Cross.” Although they were actively awarded over the course of at least two years (Dec ’62-Dec-’64), the only published list of recipients of the Kearny Cross was issued by Gen. Birney in the form of General Order #48 following the Battle of Chancellorsville in early May, 1863. That order identified 454 “meritorious and distinguished non-commissioned officers and privates, selected for their gallantry” and lists the recipients by name.

An unusual characteristic of this order is that it included two women – volunteer field nurses or “vivandiers” named Anna Etheridge and Mary Tepe who were noted for their bravery because they went onto the battlefield to tend to the wounded of both sides, even as bullets flew all around them.

But my research has uncovered at least two more women who received this medal. I thought that I would relate the story of my efforts to track one of these previously-unknown female recipients of the Kearny Cross.

I first encountered a reference to Charlotte E. McKay in a book that was published just two years after the end of the war called Woman’s Work in the Civil War: A Story of Heroism, Patriotism and Patience by L. P. Brockett, M.D., and Mary C. Vaughn. In it, the authors said about Charlotte:

“The officers and men who had been under her care in the Cavalry Corps Hospital, presented her on Christmas day, 1864, with an elegant gold badge and chain, with a suitable inscription, as a testimonial of their gratitude for her services” and “a magnificent Kearny Cross, with its motto and an inscription indicating by whom it was presented.”

I’m wary of any new source, however, and had not found any previous reference to Charlotte E. McKay as a recipient of the medal. I also know of several instances where a soldier claimed years later to have received a “Kearny Cross” but it turned out to be another kind of medal or even a souvenir badge or replica purchased from a sutler. So I decided to dig a little deeper into Charlotte’s story.

The book said that Mrs. McKay, “a resident of Massachusetts, had early in the war been bereaved of her husband and only child, not by the vicissitudes of the battle-field but by sickness at home.”

With the wonders of online search engines, it didn’t take long to find Charlotte’s tombstone in San Diego, California, giving her lifespan as 1818-1894. A few minutes later, I found Charlotte’s record in the 1860 Federal Census which showed her living alone with her then-5-year-old daughter, Julia L. McKay. With a little persistence, I was even able to find a copy of the last will and testament of “Charlotte Elizabeth McKay” among the Massachusetts State Probate Records. In it, she named her deceased husband as William P. McKay.

The beginning of Charlotte Elizabeth McKay’s last will and testament

Most interestingly, she made a point in her will to bequeath to a nephew “my gold chain watch and my cavalry medal.” The Kearny Cross wasn’t a “cavalry medal” but you’ll recall that the book quoted above claimed that it and an “elegant gold badge and chain” were given to her by her patients at the Cavalry Corps Hospital – so it makes sense that Charlotte would refer to the medal as a “cavalry medal.” But it still wasn’t necessarily a Kearny Cross.

That initial source, the book Woman’s Work in the Civil War, related another interesting detail about Mrs. McKay. It said that “she witnessed the bloody but successful assault on Marye’s Heights, and while ministering to the wounded who covered all the ground in front of the fortified position, received the saddening intelligence that her brother, who was with Hooker at Chancellorsville, had been instantly killed in the protracted fighting there.”

I thought it was odd that the book didn’t name the brother or his regiment. If I could resolve those details, I thought, it would help to convince me that the source was also reliable when it identified Charlotte’s medal as a Kearny Cross.

Back to her last will and testament, I find that she referred to two living brothers – “J. S. Johnson” and “F. A. Johnson” – and two deceased ones – “T. S. Johnson” and “H. Johnson.” The soldier wasn’t necessarily one of the latter two (i.e., she may have had other dead brothers who were not mentioned in the will) but clearly, her maiden name was Johnson.

Continuing to dig, I found that the 1885 book History of the One Hundred and Forty-First Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1862-1865 by David Craft expressed that regiment’s appreciation for the nurses who tended their wounded. This book included just two sentences about “Mrs. Charlotte E. McKay.” There was no mention of her receiving a medal but the second sentence was this:

“Mrs. McKay had a brother in the Seventh Maine Regiment, who was killed at Chancellorsville, and she while the battle was still raging went fearlessly upon the field to care for him, and others who were wounded.”

Now I had a surname and a regiment! I happened to have the 1863 Adjutant General’s Report from the State of Maine on my bookshelf so I hurriedly flipped through the list of men in the 7th Maine Infantry looking for a soldier named “Johnson.” You can imagine my disappointment when I found that there were only two and they had both survived the war.

Shucks! If the story about the brother was wrong, then maybe my initial source’s description of her medal as a “Kearny Cross” couldn’t be trusted either.

I needed more supporting evidence – and a search of GoogleBooks produced it in the form of an even older book called Women of the War by Frank Moore. This book, published in 1866, said that Charlotte E. McKay “had received a magnificent Kearny Cross, with the front inscription, ‘Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori;’ and on the reverse, “Presented to Mrs. C. E. McKay, by the officers of the Seventeenth regiment Maine volunteers, May, 1863.”

The Latin inscription translates to “It is sweet and glorious to die for one’s country” which is the correct inscription for an authentic Kearny Medal (the officers’ version)!

The book goes on: “Early in January, 1863, she was, after much difficulty, furnished with a pass which admitted her within the army lines at Falmouth, where the army was encamped. She spent several days in visiting her brother and other friends in the Seventeenth Maine volunteers” So her brother was in the 17th (not 7th!) Maine Infantry.

And then the authors related this little anecdote which happened after the brother’s death:

”We have lost too much to give up now; we have something to revenge,” said Captain F., her brother’s friend and tent-mate, as he stood one evening in front of her tent, just ready to mount his horse and ride away. He was very pale, and there was a gravity in his manner quite unnatural, for he was usually gay, and apparently light-hearted. A few weeks later, and he lay writhing in pain, and dying on the bloody field of Gettysburg.”

It is worth noting that an enlisted man would not likely be bunked in the same tent as a “Captain F.” Charlotte’s brother was almost certainly an officer.

So, I thought, now I have to find an officer named Johnson in the 17th Maine Infantry who was killed at Chancellorsville and was in the same company with a Captain whose last name started with F. and died at Gettysburg. Back to the Adjutant General’s report…

And there it was:

An excerpt from the 1863 Report of the Adjutant General of the State of Maine

“Oh, Dudley,” I cried out, “I’ve been looking for you, buddy!” The tent-mate was Captain Almon A. Fogg and their fates described in the right-hand column were a perfect match.

But as exciting as that was, the connection between Charlotte and this Dudley H. Johnson was still just a theory. I needed to prove a direct connection between them. But then I noticed that Dudley’s marital status is given as “M.” While Dudley didn’t survive to collect a pension, maybe his wife did!

Oh so conveniently, Fold3.com includes full digital copies of Civil War widows’ pension files online. And sure enough, on 23 June 1863, a Sarah Marie Johnson filed for an army pension citing the service of her deceased husband, First Lieutenant Dudley H. Johnson, Company H, 17th Maine Infantry who “was killed by a bullet wound at the Battle of Chancellorsville on the third day of May, 1863.” The pension was granted with minimal paperwork.

Sarah Marie Johnson’s pension application

Ten years later, however, Sarah applied for an increase to the pension amount. In the interim, she had moved to New Brunswick, Canada – a decision which greatly complicated the matter. Suspicious government investigators insisted that, unless she could prove that the dead soldier had been a U.S. citizen, Sarah might lose her pension altogether. What followed was a flurry of correspondence and affidavits as Sarah tried desperately to justify her pension. I’m sure that it was a time of great stress for poor Sarah – but it was a blessing for me.

Her pension file became thick with documentation and on the very last page (of course!) was a witness’ affidavit in support of Sarah. The witness’ testimony began:

“Dudley H. Johnson was my youngest brother. Said Dudley was a citizen of the United States. I was twelve years old at the time of birth of my brother, Dudley H. Johnson, and I have a distinct recollection of the same in Sullivan, Hancock County, State of Maine.”

At the bottom of the page was the witness’ signature:

And so the circle of evidence is complete and I think that Charlotte can join the very short list of women who received a medal for bravery during the U.S. Civil War.

Now if only I could find a photograph of her!

The only official published list includes 454 recipients of the Kearny Cross. But so far, my research has identified 804 recipients, culled from hundreds of sources, including regimental histories, diaries, newspaper accounts, unpublished manuscripts, and obituaries, among others. In addition to a comprehensive list, I hope in my book to present a short biography in tribute to each recipient.

1 down, 803 to go.