Tuesday, May 31, 2011

John Clark, part 2

See part 1 right here.

After the repulse of the Rebels at Knoxville, the 16th Kentucky and John Clark remained in eastern Tennessee, fighting in the battle at Mossy Creek. More importantly, though, it was here that members of this unit re-enlisted in the Union Army on December 27, earning the much-desired title of “Veteran Volunteers.” This meant the regiment had met the quote of re-enlisting required to earn that designation, a sign that the men were committed to fighting until the war’s end

According to information in his military papers, John had to officially muster out of the 16th Kentucky and then re-enlist into the 16th Kentucky Veteran Volunteers.  At this time, he was owed $8.48 in pay, with another $100 due in bounty money.

On the re-enlistment paper containing his agreement to re-enlist, John simply left an “X” as his mark where his signature was requested.  This form also included a section to be signed by a recruiting officer, with one of the pre-printed lines stating: “he was entirely sober when enlisted.” I guess this was an important point to record when trying to meet the various quotas the regiments and states faced.

Even better than the Veteran Volunteer title, however, was the 30 day furlough which came as a reward for re-enlistment. During early 1864, the soldiers of the 16th Kentucky took advantage of this precious time off, and John’s return to Bracken County must have been a joyful occasion, though his paperwork does not show exactly when he was back home.

“Time flies when you’re having fun,” however, and no doubt that is how these men felt about their furloughs. By mid-April, they had been ordered to Camp Nelson in Central Kentucky, but soon thereafter headed back through Knoxville, before joining with General William Sherman’s forces in Red Clay, Georgia where they joined what would become Sherman’s Atlanta campaign.

The 16th Kentucky took part in several of the skirmishes and battles of this campaign over the next few months, including Rocky Face Ridge, Resaca and New Hope Church, among others.

On May 14, Colonel J.W. Reilly noted in his report that during the battle at Reseca: “The Sixteenth Kentucky Veteran Infantry…being in front line of the brigade, passed up the slope over the crest and the rifle pits without a perceivable halt in their lines more than was unavoidable from the character of the ground. The front line of the brigade moved to crest of the ridge immediately in front of the enemy’s batteries, located in their second line of works. The brigade, particularly the first line, was exposed to a very severe fire of musketry and canister after passing first the enemy’s pits, while advancing to second crest and during the greater portion of the time they held the position.”

In another report, he noted that on May 22, several regiments, including the 16th Kentucky “were ordered to and did proceed to the Etowah Mills, some five miles from camp, and destroyed the mills containing large quantities of corn, flour &c., and other buildings connected therewith, skirmishing slightly with the enemy while in vicinity of river.” Not only was this a fight against the enemy army, but, now also against anything, such as food supplies, that might aid the Confederacy.

On June 2, the brigade moved to Brownlow’s Hill, and the 16th Kentucky was among three regiments that “charged across the creek and field, and drove the enemy into their works on crest of hill, occupying and holding possession of the position from which enemy were driven, constructing temporary works during the night.”  (Even after winning a fight, they got no rest, as that night was spent building defenses against a possible enemy attack.)

The 16th remained busy, as on the 19th of June, they “made a reconnaissance on Marietta road some two and a half miles, driving enemy’s skirmishers rapidly across Noyes’ Creek on that road, capturing some 19 prisoners.”
The report from Major John White of the 16th Kentucky provided more details, including a July 14th storm “during which a tree was blown down and Adjutant Dudley was instantly killed,” showing that battle was not the only danger these brave men faced.

As the weeks passed, the campaign continued.

On August 6, the 16th Kentucky “was placed on the right with orders to drive a body of the enemy” and “this regiment fully obeyed their orders, and rendered a very important service in protecting the main column” from enemy artillery fire which had been annoying the Union forces, according to Colonel Reilly.

On September 1, Major White noted: “our brigade tore up considerable of the railroad” before moving towards Jonesboro.

The Confederates finally abandoned Atlanta on September 1st.


Saturday, May 28, 2011

Memorial Day

As this holiday for remembering and honoring our nation's fallen soldiers approaches, I wanted to share these photographs of a couple areas in Evergreen cemetery in Southgate Kentucky. One of them is the plot where over 70 Union veterans of the Civil War are buried (this plot is the background image for this blog), while another is a military section with soldiers from various wars buried there. I have also included a picture of Battery Shaler, a Civil War battery located in Evergreen Cemetery as well as one soldier who actually served at that battery during the war. His is a story I will tell in the future.



Union soldiers' plot

Cannon on a corner of the Union plot

Union soldiers' plot from behind




List of Union soldiers in plot





Part of Battery Shaler


2nd view of Battery Shaler, flagpoles now added for each military branch
Gazebo marks the location of powder magazine in the battery


Louis Mullich, who was stationed at Battery Shaler temporarily
View of military plot



Thank you, and rest in peace, soldiers.

 
  







Tuesday, May 24, 2011

John Clark, 16 Kentucky Veteran Infantry, part 1



Oakland Cemetery, Grant's Lick KY
             
Microfilm records, KY Post, April 27, 1940

This entry is taken from a talk on two local Civil War soldiers I had researched over the last couple of years. This one is likely to be much longer and more thoroughly researched than other entries on this blog (thus I will post it in multiple parts), but this is one of the main reasons I developed such an interest in researching headstones.


John Clark was born in Rock Spring, Bracken County, KY, on May 1, 1843, the son of Englishman William Clark and Kentuckian Elizabeth “Betsie” Frakes. The Clarks were a farming family, though William died while John was very young.

They lived in Bracken County, a rural county in a slave state. Bracken County borders the Ohio River, which was one of the main national dividing lines of slave states from free states. Stops on the Underground Railroad were also scattered throughout the region. The Clarks did not own slaves from what I have found, but in the area in which they lived, their feelings towards that institution are impossible to ascertain.

In October of 1861, John, age 18, enlisted in Company D of the 16th Kentucky Regiment. At the time, he stood 5 feet 10 inches tall, with dark complexion, black eyes and black hair.

His trip to enlist was the first time he had left Bracken County, according to a 1937 interview. The unit he joined had been formed at Camp Kenton, in Maysville, Kentucky, by Colonel Charles A Marshall, nephew of former Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall.

The 16th Kentucky fought in its first battle before being officially mustered into service, participating in the fight at Ivy Mountain on November 8, 1861, and then mustering in on January 27, 1862.

At the end of 1861, this unit had 780 volunteers, according to the Official Records and early in 1862 an order from Major-General Don Carlos Buell announced: “The Sixteenth Kentucky Volunteers (Colonel Marshall) is attached to the Eighteenth Brigade, Colonel Garfield…” This “Colonel Garfield” was, of course, the same James A. Garfield who would later become President of the United States.

Throughout the rest of 1862, the 16th Kentucky remained in its home state, serving in towns and cities like Covington, Louisville, and Bowling Green, among others. From late December to early January 1863 these men campaigned against Confederate General John Hunt Morgan. After this assignment had ended, they remained in the southern and western region of the state, before again campaigning against Morgan, during his famous “Great Raid” in July 1863.

By August, this unit, which now consisted of 870 volunteers, had joined Ambrose Burnside’s campaign to east Tennessee and Knoxville. Late in the year, the Confederates attempted to lay siege to that city, but the Union forces prevailed.





Thursday, May 19, 2011

New info on Samuel Sarver

A couple of weeks ago, I posted an entry on Samuel Sarver who had been a member of the 59th Ohio Infantry.

A reader found some a brief mention of this soldier and was kind enough to share it. I've pasted it below.

Dies of a Broken Heart.

Newport, Ky., March 11--Samuel Sarver, a well-known pioneer riverman, died of a broken heart. His venerable wife had passed away less than a week ago, and grief in losing his companion of almost a half a century caused his own death.

(Berea Citizen. Ed:  03-16-1905, pg. 7, col. 6)

 

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Sergeant Francis Winters, Co. E US Artillery - controversy at funeral

Headstone in Union Plot at Evergreen Cemetery
Francis Winters was in Company E of the 2nd Regiment of Artillery in the U.S. Regular Army. This unit participated in the spring 1862 Peninsula Campaign in Virginia, and battles at Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, as well as many of the battles in the 1864 Overland Campaign and the Siege of Petersburg, as well as the campaign that ended at Appomattox in April 1865. It was present for Lee's Surrender and took part in the Grand Review of Armies in Washington DC in May of that year

KY Post – 8-28-1905 p.5
Fought Indians – Francis Winters, Who Campaigned Against the Seminoles, Is Dead
            Francis Winters, 80, a veteran of Indian Wars, died yesterday at the home of his daughter, Mrs. M. Young, 816 Central-av., Newport. Winters enlisted in 1854 and served throughout the campaign against the Seminole Indians. He then served in the War of the Rebellion and was under fire no less than 42 times. He leaves two children. The funeral will take place tomorrow morning, with services at the Church of the Immaculate Conception. He was a member of the GAR and the old veterans, with a detachment of the regulars will attend the funeral. The members of William Nelson Post, GAR, will meet at their hall at 9 a.m. to attend the services.

This next story strikes me as being very unusual and especially sad. It may even be termed  "disappointing" to let such politics affect the honoring of a former comrade.

KY Post – 8-29-1905, p. 5
Vets Refused to Follow Regulars – Members of the G.A.R. Declined to Attend Funeral of Comrade Because Firing Squad Marched in Front

Members of William Nelson Post, G.A.R., of Newport, KY., angered because they could not march directly in front of the hearse, refused to participate Tuesday in the funeral of Francis Winters, 80, veteran of several wars. A firing squad of 15 soldiers from the Fourth Infantry, of Ft. Thomas, insisted on marching in front of the hearse, and, as Uncle Sam’s warriors were in position first, the G.A.R. men marched back to the hall before the funeral procession started.

Winters enlisted in the Seminole War in Florida in 1854, fought Indians in the West and again enlisted in the Civil War.

He was noted for having been under hot fire 42 different times, and was considered by some as possessed of a charmed life.

The body was taken from the home of Mrs. M. Young, 816 Central-av., Newport, Ky., to the Church of the Immaculate Conception, and after the funeral service was buried in St. Stephen’s Cemetery, back of Newport. The squad from Ft. Thomas fired a volley over the grave of the departed veteran.

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

John J Caldwell, 53 KY Infantry

Headstone, section 28, evergreen Cemetery

John J Caldwell was a member of Company C of the 53rd Kentucky Infantry. This regiment formed in September 1864, served at various places in Kentucky, then participated in the December 1864 raid at Saltville. This unit mustered out in September 1865.

Kentucky Post, January 14, 1905
John J Caldwell, 66, died at his home 225 East Eighth St yesterday. The funeral will take place Sunday afternoon from the residence. Burial will be at Evergreen Cemetery
         
The 1890 Campbell County Veterans Census shows that he enlisted on September 15 1864 and mustered out exactly one year later. His residence was at 342 Monmouth Street in Newport, Kentucky.

Rest in peace, soldier

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Joseph Butler 175 OH Infantry

Headstone, Oakland Cemetery
I had previously posted this a couple of weeks ago,  but deleted it by mistake.


Joseph Butler was a member of the 175th Ohio Infantry unit, which mustered in in October 1864. This unit served in the Nashville campaign late in that year, participating in the battles at Franklin and Nashville. It remained in Tennessee until mustering out in June of 1865.

Buter died on August 27, 1931 in Campbell County, Kentucky, at age 86.

His obituary is below.

Kentucky Post August 29, 1932, p. 1
Final rites for Joseph S. Butler, Civil War veteran, Grants Lick, Ky., who died Thursday at his home will be held Sunday at 3 p.m. at Grants Lick Baptist Church. Burial will be in Oakland Cemetery, Grants Lick.

Butler, known as “Uncle Joe,” formerly conducted a grocery in Newport. He removed to Grants Lick about eight years ago.

Besides his widow, Butler leaves two daughters, Mrs. Grace Clos, Grants Lick and Mrs. William Oberly, Long Beach, Cal.

Rest in peace, soldier

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Gabriel Price, 53 KY Infanry

Headstone, section 28, Evergreen Cemetery
Gabriel Price was a member of Company D of the 53rd Kentucky Infantry, a regiment formed in late 1864. It served throughout Kentucky, then participated in the raid on Saltville in late 1864. It mustered out of service in September 1865.

Kentucky Post July 13, 1905   
Dayton “Gabriel Price, 71, who died yesterday, will be buried tomorrow at 10 a.m. from the home of his daughter, Mrs. Hutchinson, of 734 Third-av.

Rest in peace, soldier