Thursday, December 30, 2010

Edward W Revel, bugler 3 KY Cavalry

Headstone in Union soldiers' plot in Evergreen Cemetery

 Edward W Revel served as bugler of Company H in the 3rd Kentucky Cavalry during the Civil War.

This unit had been formed in western Kentucky late in 1861, and remained in the western theater. It participated in battles such as Shiloh, Corinth, Stone's River and then in William T. Sherman's Atlanta campaign and March to the Sea.

Here is a link to information about the Soldier's Home in Dayton, Ohio, where he passed away.

KY Times-Star – December 31, 1917
The funeral of Capt. Edward W. Revel, 77, was held Monday afternoon with services at the chapel in Evergreen Cemetery. The body was received by Charles A. Smith and Sons, funeral directors of Newport, from the  Soldiers’ Home at Dayton, Ohio, where Revel died Friday. His son, Charles E. Revel of Mineola, Texas, arrived at the home a short time before his father passed away. Capt. Revel had charge of the paint shop at the military home for several years. When a resident of Newport, he was engaged in the tobacco business on York street. He was a member of H Company, Third Kentucky cavalry, during the Civil War.

Rest in peace, soldier

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Rudolf (or Rudolph) Kroger, 18 Independent Battery, Ohio Light Artillery

Monuments in St Joseph Cemetery - the pillar spells his name "Rudolf" and the stone "Rudolph"

It is (mostly) coincidence that I post about a man named "Rudolph" so near Christmas, as I feel his story deserves a telling. His injury sounds very painful and agonizing, though I cannot quite picture in my mind the type of machine that injured him. Was it a horse-pulled device, perhaps one for mowing hay, or was it something intended for a yard? I've tried to look up information about mowers during this time period but found nothing conclusive about what this may have been.

 This obituary is from the Kentucky State Journal of February 23, 1891.

Cold Spring  “Mr. Rudolph Kroger, who was so seriously injured by a mowing machine on last Saturday a week ago died at his home on Monday afternoon at 3 o’clock after nine long days of intense suffering,  Blood poison was the cause of death. Mr. Kroger leaves a widow and five children, two boys. His funeral took place from the Cold Spring Catholic Church Wednesday morning at nine o’clock. Funeral services were conducted by Father Hunt."


He was buried in St. Joseph's Cemetery in Cold Spring and I believe the church mentioned is now known as St Joseph Catholic Church.

He was a member of the 18th Independent Battery, Ohio Light Artillery. This unit remained in the western theater, and participated in campaigns and battles such as Chickamauga and Nashville.

Unfortunately, I cannot read the writing on the bottom of the pillar. It is in German, and I could not even guess at the letters and words when I tried to view it in person. Maybe someone familiar with that language can do so better than I, but the only word I could make out was "kinder" which apparently means "kid" so I presume this was an inscription about his family (there are a couple other "Kroger" headstones like his near the tall monument).

The link below states that he and his wife were both from Germany, so perhaps that is what the writing says.

cemetery link

Rest in peace, soldier. 



Thursday, December 16, 2010

William A. "Uncle Billy" Sprague, 53 KY Infantry

Headstone in Oakland Cemetery, Grant's Lick, KY

William A. Sprague was born April 15, 1843 and passed away May 1, 1932. He enlisted in the 53rd Ky Infantry on September 15, 1864 and was discharged, apparently with a disability according to the 1890 Veterans Census, on September 15, 1865. He resided in Grant's Lick.

Below is an obituary I found for him. The 53rd Kentucky Infantry regiment was formed in September 1864 in Covington. It served in the central part of the state before taking part in General George Stoneman's Raid on Saltville. This raid occurred  in December 1864 against one of the Confederate's primary sources of salt, which was especially valuable in those days when the use of salt was the primary way of preserving meat. 


Rest in peace, soldier


KY Post  5-3-1932
Funeral services be held for William Alfred “Uncle Billy” Sprague., 89, Civil War veteran, Tuesday at 2 p.m. at the First Baptist Church Grant’s Lick, KY. Burial also will be at Grant’s Lick.

“Uncle Billy” was a member of the 53rd Mounted Infantry, Company C. He took part in the Stoneman raid and the Saltville expedition to Abbingdon and Bristol, VA.

Sprague is survived by five sons, Daniel Sprague, Dry Ridge, Ky.; Ross, William M. and Shirley Sprague, all of Persimmon Grove and Henry Sprague, Pond Creek, Ky, and two daughters, Mrs. Robert Smith, Dayton Ky., and Mrs. Thomas Darlington, Persimmon Grove; 31 grandchildren and eight great grandchildren; two sisters, Mrs. Nellie Grant and Martha Rebell, both of Newport, and a brother, Taylor Sprague, Mentor, Kentucky.

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Samuel Combs, 36 OH Infantry



Headstone in Evergreen Cemetery, believed to be section 28

At the age of 24, Samuel Combs enlisted as a private in Company H of  the 36th Ohio Infantry, which was organized at Marietta, OH, in 1861. This unit served in both the Eastern and Western theaters. Among the battles and campaigns it participated in were Second Bull Run and Antietam in the east and Chickamauga in the west. (Additional information about this regiment can be found here and a picture of its monument at Antietam is here.)

Combs died at age 75 in Newport, Kentucky of Bright's Disease in June of 1912 and is buried in Evergreen Cemetery.

Rest in peace, soldier

Friday, December 3, 2010

Eugene Handlan, U.S. Navy



Headstone in Section 4,
Evergreen Cemetery, Southgate, KY



Kentucky Post
March 6, 1929 

Funeral services for Captain Eugene Y Handlan, 89, Civil War Veteran and steamboat captain, will be held Thursday at 2:30 p.m from the Charles A Smith Sons’ funeral home, 325 E Fourth-st., Newport. Burial will be in Evergreen Cemetery. Handlan, formerly of Newport, died Monday at the home of his daughter, Mrs. David C Spaulding, Cleveland, O." 

Rest in peace, sailor