John Clark, part 4 (final)

 Part 3

 (Thanks to a reader who forwarded me this picture. John Clark is on the left)

John was married to Catherine Cummins, with whom he had eleven children. In the mid 1890s he then married Nettie Sarl (or Sorrell) and had seven more children.  Several of his children died at young ages, and more than one was born a mute.

After the war, he returned to rural Bracken County, in the district of Berlin and resumed life on the farm. In 1867, white burley tobacco was produced for the first time, occurring in this very same Bracken County. John may have harvested that new crop in the following decades.

By 1935, he was living in Campbell County and an article in the Kentucky Times Star of May 15 noted the celebration of his 92^nd birthday, with fifty family members and friends gathering in his house on Licking Pike. It noted “In spite of his advanced age, Clark enjoys excellent health and makes frequent trips to Newport to visit his daughter.” Music was courtesy of the “Red-Headed Music Makers” and “the aged veteran took an active part in the festivities.”

 I have found no record as to if  he was involved in reunions such as the GAR. A September 19, 1913 article in the Kentucky section of the Cincinnati Times Star did report that, sadly, “so rapid has been the onslaught of death on the veterans of the Tenth and Sixteenth Kentucky regiments that it is probable there will be no more reunions of the old soldiers.” It is very possible that he had attended at least some of these reunions in the Maysville area, one of which occurred on November 30, 1892, and for which a local railroad offered discounted fare for veterans attending the reunion.

 This article reported the following statement issued by Mrs. C.C Degman, wife of the late secretary of the association:
           
“The surviving comrades of the Tenth and Sixteenth Kentucky regiments are requested to meet at G.A.R. hall in Maysville on Wednesday, September 24, for a re-organization and considering the rapid depletion of the ranks and a final roll call before ‘crossing the bar.’ During the past year so many members of the association have died that it is impossible to get enough members together to hold a reunion. There were only about thirty members left in both regiments.”

 Time stands still for no-one, not even the brave soldiers of the Civil War, and on April 26, 1940, John Clark passed away, a few days shy of his 97^th birthday.

According to the Kentucky Post of the next day, he was the last surviving Civil War veteran in Campbell County. The article includes a picture of him, with his white mustache and carrying a cane, and says that he had participated in Newport’s 1939 Memorial Day Parade and had planned to do so again in 1940.
           
 At his death, he was survived by his wife Nettie, seven daughters, three sons, thirty-two grandchildren and thirty great-grandchildren.

He was buried in Oakland Cemetery in Grants Lick, Kentucky, with a headstone proudly listing his unit information. In 1960, his wife passed away and a newer headstone was placed at the gravesite, but the original headstone also remains.

John Clark lived through a remarkable era in American history. To borrow a description from James Robbins’ book Last in Their Class, they “had lived through an age in which the United States and the world had seen dramatic changes...The era of the musket and the cavalry saber had given way to the machine gun, the tank, the aircraft carrier and the strategic bomber.” Inventions like the automobile, telephone, electric lights, radio and more had transformed the way many Americans lived. World War I had come and gone, and by the time John passed away, this nation that had been “conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal” was soon to face a conflict that would help make this nation a world superpower. It was an amazing century through which he had lived.

Sources for my original paper, most or all of which should be applicable to this article

   E.E. Barton Papers on microfilm at the LDS Family History Center, Lakeside Park, Ky.

     http://www.mt.net/~mtsysdev/civilwar/history.htm

  http://www.rootsweb.com/~kymercer/CivilWar/Union/16inf/

             http://www.itd.nps.gov/cwss/index.html  (This link appears to be no longer valid)

             http://www.rootsweb.com/~kybracke/

  http://vitals.rootsweb.com/ky/death/search.cgi

       http://www.mt.net/~mtsysdev/civilwar/16thkyinf.htm

   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jefferson_General_Hospital

   http://battleoffranklin.wordpress.com/2010/11/24/or_104th/

    Military records from the National Archives

      Last in their Class: Custer, Picket and the Goats of West Point by James S. Robbins, © 2006, Encounter Books, New York

John Clark, part 3

(Link to part 2 , which includes a link to part 1)

In the aftermath of this victorious campaign, Sherman split his troops, keeping some to go on the "March to the Sea" but sending others to chase down John Bell Hood’s Confederates as they marched westward into Tennessee. The 16^th Kentucky, with John Clark, was among the units assigned to head west.

On November 30, Hood ordered his troops to attack the Union Army at Franklin, resulting in defeat for the Rebels, whose losses included several generals. This was a crucial loss for the Southern army, and the 16^th Kentucky played an important part, according to (now) Brigadier-General J.W. Reilly in his report in the Official Records: “The line was rapidly rallied by their officers and with the assistance of the Sixteenth Kentucky, that at this moment led by Lieutenant-Colonel White, who…gallantly ordered and led his regiment forward to the breach before orders to that effect could reach him. That portion of the enemy who had gained inside our works were either killed or taken prisoners. The enemy made various and continued assaults upon the line, but were each time repulsed with fearful slaughter.”

The fascinating and informative Battle of Franklin blog, in its 11/24/2010 entry entitled “Franklin after-battle report, 104^th Ohio Infantry” publishes a report from Colonel Oscar W. Sterl. Among its information is the following linee describing some of the action in which the 16^th Kentucky took part:

Sixteenth and Twelfth Kentucky rushed from the second line simultaneously with them, and joined them and the One hundredth Ohio, on the first line, from which (having overcome all the rebels who had crossed the works) they kept up a constant and destructive stream of fire, cutting down by hundreds the rebels who had accumulated and massed in the ditches and immediately in front.

During this battle, John Clark became a casualty of war, suffering a flesh wound in his left thigh. He was admitted to Jefferson General Hospital in Jefferson, Indiana on December 5. He remained there until discharged on July 29, 1865, when he was ordered to rejoin his company near Louisville. It was in Louisville where he was officially mustered out of service on August 1, 1865.

Jefferson General Hospital, courtesy wikipedia.com

John's military records provide some information about his pay situation. His discharge card noted $26.64 was still owed to him. Earlier hospital records had noted when he received other payments.

On the company muster-out roll, dated July 15, 1865 in North Carolina, remarks indicate John had received $160 in bounty money, with $240 more being due. He had been paid through April 30, 1865 by this point in time, and this form mentioned “no discharge furnished” after noting his injury. At the bottom of the page, however, a note reported: “Mustered out, August 1, 1865” by the “report of Chf. M. and D.” 

During his time in the hospital, John missed out as his comrades took part in more crucial action before the close of the war as the 16^th Kentucky participated in the Union route of the Confederates at Nashville. This regiment then traveled east and some of its members were the first troops to enter Wilmington, North Carolina, the final Atlantic port open to the Confederates, after Fort Fisher had fallen to the Yankees.

This unit remained in North Carolina on garrison duty at Greensburg until July.

John Clark, part 2

See part 1 right here.

After the repulse of the Rebels at Knoxville, the 16^th 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 16^th Kentucky and then re-enlist into the 16^th 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 16^th 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 16^th 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 16^th 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 16^th 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 16^th remained busy, as on the 19^th 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 16^th Kentucky provided more details, including a July 14^th 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 16^th 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.

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 16^th 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 16^th 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 16^th 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.