behind AotW

These excellent photographs are of Albert S Hatch and Maria Miller Hatch. They were married in about 1859 and had a daughter, Marietta in 1860 (d. 1953).

Albert enlisted in the 16th Connecticut Infantry in August 1862, was wounded at Antietam a month later, and was wounded again on the Overland Campaign in Virginia in May 1864. He went home disabled by illness, and probably never really recovered.

Maria died in November 1865 and Albert, of tuberculosis, in May 1867.

This photograph in left profile is of Dr. Franklin R Garlock and was taken in 1905. It’s now in the collection of the Wisconsin Veteran’s Museum.

He was Corporal Garlock, Company A, 108th New York and a rookie soldier when he was horribly wounded at Antietam on 17 September 1862. He lost his right eye to a gunshot through his face and head, and another bullet took his right index finger.

But that was obviously not the end of his life story. He graduated from medical school in 1870 and practiced for at least 40 years in New York and Wisconsin.

Henry L Pasco was a Captain commanding Company A of the 16th Connecticut in their first action at Antietam on 17 September 1862. Here he is wearing Major’s straps, probably photographed soon after his promotion in June 1863.

This photo is from the MOLLUS Massachusetts Collection (Volume 113, pg. 5815), at the US Army Heritage and Education Center, Carlisle, PA.

Private George Washington Pancoast of the 9th New York State Militia (83rd Volunteers) was wounded by two bullets at Antietam in September 1862 but survived to have a long and productive life afterward.

This fine post-war photograph was kindly provided by his great-great-grandson Scott McGurk.

What you can’t see in the picture, though, is that George lost his left arm at the elbow to amputation due to one of those Antietam bullets. Here’s a clinical summary of his ordeal, from the Medical and Surgical History of the War of the Rebellion (Pt. II, Vol. II, pg. 856; 1877), online from the National Library of Medicine (click to enlarge).

I was surprised to learn just how many arms Army surgeons amputated during the war due to gunshot wounds: at least 5,456. I’ve seen a large number of cases, but had no idea. Here’s a table from the same volume of the MSHWR with some survival statistics.

Joseph A. Grosvenor and his brother Samuel E. Grosvenor came to America from England with their family as very small boys in 1845, and both enlisted in the 16th Connecticut Infantry in August 1862. In their first battle, at Antietam a month later, Joseph was killed and Samuel was wounded.

Samuel survived his wound and also a stint as a prisoner at Andersonville in 1864. But, in April 1865, on his way back to his regiment after convalescing, he drowned when his transport collided with another vessel on the Potomac River off Southern Maryland. As many as 87 men died that morning; he was one of the 7 soldiers from the 16th Connecticut who drowned, out of the 13 aboard.

That clipping is from the front page of the New York Times of 27 April 1865. Click to see the whole piece.

Here are Lieutenants Alonzo G. Case (left) and Ariel J. Case. They were First and 5th Sergeants, respectively, of Company E, 16th Connecticut Infantry in their first action in farmer John Otto’s cornfield at Antietam on 17 September 1862.

Afterward they had the horrible task of burying their younger brother Oliver Cromwell Case on the field after the battle. He was killed while a Private in Company B, 8th Connecticut Infantry, in combat not far from his brothers.

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The photograph of Alonzo was kindly provided by James Silliman from his collection. That of Ariel is from the Connecticut Historical Society.

See a lovely account of Oliver’s death and burial from Colonel John P. Rogers, on his blog Oliver Cromwell Case.

Richard Henry Lee, who probably went by Henry, was 2nd Sergeant of Company E, 16th Connecticut Infantry when he saw his first combat in farmer Otto’s cornfield at Antietam on 17 September 1862, where his

Here he is a few months later after he was promoted to First Sergeant in March 1863.

This lovely photograph kindly provided by great-great-grandson James Silliman, from his collection.

Romaine Ballard Hart was a 17 year old Private of not quite two month’s service with the 108th New York Infantry when he was wounded in the thigh at Antietam, and his military career seemed to be over. But he did recover, enlisted about a year later as a Sergeant in Company B, 22nd New York Cavalry, … and had his picture taken.

Thanks very much to Kathy Jerrow for the pointer to Hart, his bio, and his photograph. This copy from the Historical Data Systems database, contributed by Ron Erwin.

21 year old Richard K Fox from Philadelphia enlisted as 2nd Sergeant of Company K of the 2nd Delaware Infantry in September 1861 and was First Sergeant a year later when he was probably killed at Antietam.

I say ‘probably’ because he was reported missing there and never heard from again. This document from his Compiled Service Records actually has nothing to do with his being a prisoner of war, he wasn’t, but seems to have been a convenient form for a War Department clerk to use.

It shows the result of an audit of his records done by the Army Adjutant General’s Office in May 1889, possibly in an effort to finally determine his fate. All they could say was No record subsequent to Sept 17 1862.

This in contrast to the case of the other Richard Fox in my database. He was a Private in Company H of the 4th Texas Infantry, and several prominent authorities thought him killed at Sharpsburg. He wasn’t. He was sent to the rear, sick, on 16 September 1862 and was in Richmond hospitals and on furlough in Texas to at least November 1863. Here’s a government form from his CSRs:

He may not have survived the war, but he didn’t die in September 1862.

James Monroe Polk was a Private in Company I of the 4th Texas Infantry and was at the battle at Gaines’ Mill, VA on 27 June 1862. He later wrote

He had recovered by 1 September and left Richmond to rejoin his Company. He caught up with them at Frederick, MD on 11 or 12 September 1862 and was in action with them at Fox’s Gap and Sharpsburg.

He was wounded again about a year later at Chickamauga, GA on 20 September by a bullet that entered his head at his right temple and was later removed from the back of his skull. Amazingly, he came back rapidly from that wound, and in December 1863 was the subject of the extraordinary correspondence seen here:

front/body

back/enclosure

Extraordinary mostly because of the 3 signers: the writer, Major General John Bell Hood, the reviewer/endorser, President Jefferson Davis (who mentions interest from members of Congress), and the approver, Secretary of War James Alexander Seddon.

In summary: General Hood wrote this note to Secretary of War Seddon on 7 December 1863 recommending Private Polk for a promotion because he was a “good & gallant” soldier.” The President concurred and the Secretary of War approved.

Hood, Davis, Seddon

Obviously there was more to it than that. This note seems to be a formality; probably referring to a more detailed conversation or conversations General Hood had previously with the Secretary of War and the President.

I think while he was recovering in Richmond, Polk proposed a scheme for raising Confederate units from men recruited behind the lines in Missouri, a place he knew well from his youth and young manhood. He had the ear of General Hood – also in Richmond recovering from a serious Chickamauga wound – and perhaps some in the Confederate Congress, as well. The Confederacy was in desperate need of new soldiers, and such a plan would have been attractive.

I’ve read a fair amount about Polk now, and haven’t found anything about him that would have stood out to these senior Confederates, except an unusual ability with language. He was an ordinary man and soldier with no apparent political or financial connections. And yet … he convinced the General, President, and Secretary of War to give him a Captain’s commission and go West to recruit. He later wrote

That he wasn’t hanged as a spy when he was, in fact, caught recruiting behind enemy lines in Missouri in 1864 is yet another miracle in this man’s life. What a life.

__________________
Transcription
[front]

Richmond Va
Dec 7 1863

Sir
I have the honor to state that Private J.M. Polk of Co “I” 4th Tex Regiment was wounded at Gamis Farm [Gaines’ Mill] on the 27th of June 1862. And at Chickamauga on the 20th of Sept 1860.
I know him to be a good & gallant Soldier. He has always done his duty and is worthy of promotion.

Respectfully
Your obt svt
J B Hood
Maj Genl

To
The Sec of War
Richmond
Va

[back]
Secty. of War,
the within communication and verbal assurance of members of Congress, convince me of the fitness of Mr Polk for promotion. He hopes to be able from men not liable to conscription [there?] and within the Enemy’s lines to raise a company.
He will further explain his [?] and is commended to your kind attention.
– Jefferson Davis
Dec. 17, 1863

Granted Dec 18/63 [probably by a clerk to the Adjutant General]

A.G. [Adjutant General Samuel Cooper]
Authorize to raise a Company of Cavalry for the Prov [Provisional] Army in the Cavalry of [?] Kansas [between?] the Enemies Lines
JAS
Dec 17 63

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Notes
The picture of Polk and the quotes above are from his book The North and South American Review, published in 1914, available online from GoogleBooks.

The letter is in his file among the Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers, Record Group No. 109 (War Department Collection of Confederate Records) in the US National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), Washington. I found it via fold3 (subscription service).