John Rowan and the Battle of Gettysburg

Knowing so little about my Ancestors’ lives can be frustrating.  I am always looking to learn more, so, when small bits of information become available, I am very excited.

My paternal great great grandfather, John Rowan, fought in the Civil War. (see blog post The Civil War Record of John W. Rowan) After learning John was in the Civil War I wanted to learn more about his military service.  I learned John was a member of the 145^th NY Infantry and fought at the Battle of Gettysburg from July 1^st-3^rd in 1863.  John survived this horrific battle and was not reported injured during the battle.  How amazing!

While I have been to Gettysburg several times in the past, I wondered how the experience would change for me knowing that my Ancestor was there and part of the action?  This Summer, as part of a cross country road trip, I decided it was time to go back and see what else I could learn while there.

The first thing I wanted to do was find the stone marker for John’s 145^th NY Regiment.  I had been able to find a picture of it on the internet but the Battle of Gettysburg covered a large area.  Where was John physically during the 3 days of fighting?

Searching on the internet for the monument under The Battle of Gettysburg I learned the monument was located “southeast of Gettysburg on Culp’s Hill, on the east side of Slocum Avenue about 150 yards north of the intersection with Geary Avenue”. 

There it is!

"The granite monument is twelve and a half feet tall.  A circular bronze relief of the Seal of the State of New York and a bronze star symbol of the Twelfth Corps are on the front.  The monument was dedicated in 1890 by the State of New York."

Looking from several directions I can now see what the terrain was like:

From the account given by Col. E. Livingston Price, 14th New York Infantry, I have excerpted these pieces of his report to better understand how the battle progressed:

• "On the morning of July 1, my command moved from Littletown, PA., and halted about 2 miles from Gettysburg.

• About 4 o'clock on the morning of the 2nd instant, I received orders to be in readiness to move farther to the front, in order to take up a new line.

• At 6 o'clock I accordingly moved my command to the front by the way of the Gettysburg turnpike.

• About 12 m. I received orders to detach a company of my command as skirmishers.  ...a volley was fired directly in front of my command (probably by the enemy's skirmishers), wounding 2 of my men and causing some confusion; order was, however, quickly restored.  It was now 10.30 o'clock.  In this position my men rested on their arms during the night; nothing occurred.

• About 4 o'clock on the morning of the 3d, some twelve guns belonging to artillery, posted some 500 paces in rear of my regiment, opened upon the woods in front of my command, and skirmishers became briskly engaged.  The artillery opened upon the woods in my front, the shells of which barely cleared, the men of my command, who at that time were lying down.  Subsequently several of my men were wounded by the fire of our artillery, and, deeming it advisable and proper to report the facts to my commanding officer...  On the delivery of this message, the said Sergeant-Major Shanly was instructed by the commanding officer of the brigade to tell Colonel Price "not to fret."  Shortly after the arrival of this message, 3 more of my command were wounded, including a commissioned officer.

• My command was afterward moved forward to occupy the position of the day before, the enemy having been driven beyond the stone wall and breastworks before alluded to.  My command remained in this position, under a severe fire from the enemy's artillery, until 4.30 o'clock, when it was moved to the support of the center, but had hardly reached there before receiving orders to return to my former position on the right.  My regiment was afterward thrown forward into the first line, behind the breastworks, where it engaged the enemy's sharpshooters until darkness put an end to further operations. 

• Nothing unusual occurred during the night save teh alarm in the first line which caused it to fire.

• Thus for four days and three nights were the men of my command subjected to the severest hardships, besides trials and dangers of almost every description; yet throughout all I cannot speak int he highest terms of both the officers and men of my command.  All behaved with a nobleness of spirit well worthy of record; each and every one seemed aware of the great issues involved, and the importance of the struggle in which they were engaged."

       (Price's entire report can be found at The Battle of Gettysburg Official Report.)

John had already served for 11 months prior to this and fought in battles at Charlestown, Berryville and Chancellorsville.  John would go on to fight in additional battles before being wounded a little over a year later in Georgia.

Now I feel like by having walked in the area and read this document I have a much better idea of what these few days of battle were like for John.  At the time I also remembered that John was a young, unmarried man of merely 17 years.  I can only imagine the horror he felt.  I wonder if he questioned his decision to lie about his age and enlist so young?

While staying in Gettysburg I was able to take about a two hour horseback trail ride given by a park historian of some of the battlefields.  This was not the battlefield where John fought but somehow being on horseback and being on the grounds where men had fought and died also helped add to my understanding of what the experience must have been like for John.

There is so much to be gained by walking in my ancestors’ steps!  Whenever you can experience the areas where your ancestors lived and worked please do it.  Yes, I can learn a lot about the experiences of their lives from my computer but I assure you, even 158 years later, I can learn so much more by being there.

If you have any corrections or additions or stories to share I look forward to hearing them.

Enjoy the journey,
Debby

 

Civil War Record of John W. Rowan

A few weeks ago I told the story of my search for which of my paternal ancestors, based on a family story, had served in the Civil War.  (See blog posts  Who Was the Civil War Veteran? and Is it the right John W. Rowan, Civil War Veteran?.) After an extensive search I obtained Civil War Pension records for my paternal great-great grandfather John W. Rowan.  With thanks to my cousin Craig for reviewing and transcribing some of the original records and helping me with researching the Regiments John was in.  



From John’s Application for an Invalid Pension and additional research we have put together a better picture of what we believe happened to John during the Civil War:
21st day of August 1862 - John W. Rowan enrolled at New York City in Company “D” 145th Regiment of New York Volunteers, to ‘serve 3 years or during the war’.

emblem worn on the Civil War cap

11th day of Sept, 1862 - John mustered into service as a ‘Private’ at Camp New York, Staten Island, in Co “D”, 145th Regiment of New York Volunteers. 
From the National Park Service Battle Unit Details I was able to learn the following about the 145th Regiment:

• Regiment left New York in September for Washington, D.C.
• Duty at Bolivar Heights, Maryland until Dec. 1862. 
• Skirmishes at Charlestown and Berryville Dec 2-6. 
• March to Fairfax Station, Virginia Dec 10-14.  Remained until 19 January 1863
• Burnside’s 2nd Campaign, “Mud March” January 20-24.
• At Stafford Court House until 27 April.
• Chancellorsville Campaign 27 April until 6 May.  Including Battle of Chancellorsville May 1-5.  At the battle 5 enlisted men and 1 officer were killed, 28 men wounded.  2 officers and 50 men were reported missing after the battle.

26 June 1863 -  Reported ‘deserted’ on the roll for Sept & Oct 1863, reports him ‘straggled’ while on the March from Stafford, Virginia to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.  June 26, 1863 he returned to his company for duty.  In researching the term “stragglers” I learned they were generally thought to have been men who informally took time off to recover from fatigue or illness.  This seemed to have been a problem since men were not granted leaves during this time period.  I wonder if John had been injured and was hospitalized during this time period or was one of the 50 men reported missing after the Battle of Chancellorsville? 

• Gettysburg, Pa Campaign June 11-July 24.  Including Battle of Gettysburg July 1-3.  For the Battle of Gettysburg the Regiment brought 245 men.  1 man was killed and 9 were wounded.

photo from The Battle of Gettysburg (click on image to enlarge)

• Pursuit of Lee July 5-24. 
• At Racoon Ford, Virginia until Sept.
• To Stevenson, Alabama Sept 24- Oct 4.
• Duty along Nashville & Chattanooga Railroad until December.
• The regiment disbanded 9 December 1863.  Men were transferred to 107th, 123rd and 150th Regiments.

12 Jan 1864 - John is reported transferred to Co “H” 150 New York Vols. 

• Guard duty on line of the Nashville & Chattanooga Railroad until April, 1864.

      Atlanta campaign:

• Demonstration on Rocky Faced Ridge May 8-11.
• Battle of Resaca May 14-15.
• Near Cassville May 19.
• Advance on Dallas May 22-25.
• New Hope Church May 25.
• Battles about Dallas, New Hope Church and Allatoona Hills May 26–June 5.
• Operations about Marietta and against Kenesaw Mountain June 10–July 2.
• Pine Hill June 11-14.
• Lost Mountain June 15-17.
• Gilgal or Golgotha Church June 15.
• Muddy Creek June 17.
• Noyes Creek June 19.
• Kolb’s Farm June 22.
• Assault on Kenesaw June 27.
• Ruff’s Station,
• Smyrna Camp Ground, July 4.
• Chattahoochie River July 5-17.
• Peach Tree Creek July 19-20.

20 July 1864 John was wounded in action.  (More to follow on the battle he was injured in and his injuries in a future post.)

9 April 1865 - Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox
14 April 1865 - assassination of President Abraham Lincoln

8 June 1865 - John mustered out of Co H 150th Regiment New York Volunteers. 

28 June 1865 - John was honorably discharged at Washington, D.C.

I have not been able to verify yet all the battles John actually fought in that are listed above but it gives me an idea of what the Regiments went through during the Civil War.  Reminder, this was the first national draft in history.  I can’t imagine what it was like for this young man so far away from home and in the middle of War for so many battles.

The family story was that John enlisted at 14 and had a neighbor sign saying he was able to enlist.  Based on the records above it appears that John was 16 years old when he enlisted and 19 years old when he was discharged.  Still under the age of 18 which was the enlistment age.  I did find a listing that showed John W. Rowan and an aka James Rowan.  I would also like to investigate that name and see if that was the name he originally enlisted under since he was underage.

 If you have any corrections or additions or stories to share I look forward to hearing them.
Enjoy the journey,
Debby

Is it the right John W. Rowan, Civil War Veteran?

Last week in my post entitled Who Was the Civil War Veteran? I recounted my search to prove or disprove a family story about one of my ancestors on my paternal side being a Civil War Veteran.  I used the family story and research to determine which of my ancestors may have fit the criteria of the family story.  After I narrowed down my search to my paternal great-great grandfather John W. Rowan I then had to determine which of 4 John W. Rowan’s records to get.   All 4 men were listed as having served in Regiments from New York.  After additional research I decided to take the plunge and order copies of one of the John W. Rowan’s records.

You can buy services that will go to the National Archives in Washington, D. C., St. Louis or College Park and get scans of the records for you.  I used Twisted Twigs on Gnarled Branches Genealogy a service that offers NARA (National Archives and Records Administration) Record Retrieval Services.  It took me about 8 weeks to get my records instead of about 3-6 months through NARA.  A service I recommend if you are trying to get records.

YEA, the records have arrived!  How exciting but was it my John W. Rowan or someone else’s records that I ordered?  I downloaded the file of 81 pages and waited impatiently and with trepidation for the file to open…

I began scrolling slowly and there was a title page, … there was an Examining Surgeons Certificate (that states how, where and when John was injured, his height, weight, complexion and respiration), … some additional Surgeons Certificates and documents… and then on page 8… I see the following:



and I instantly know that this is the right record!  This is the record of my paternal great-great grandfather John W. Rowan because Mrs. Sadie King is my great grandmother and John’s daughter!  YEA!!! HAPPY DANCE!!!

Here is one of Sadie’s letter to the Veteran’s Administration in 1940:

(click on image to enlarge)

Transcription:

                                                                                                                                                                               June 17-40
Dear Sir,
I’m writing to you to find out about my Father’s pension, He was getting a pension for his service in the Civil War up to his death which was February 22^nd 1897. I have just found out that there was money coming to me. I was 17 years old when we lost him and as he told me before, I would receive the Pension money until I was 18 years old. He collected his last pension in December 1896-There is 3 months coming to him which should have been paid to me. His pension Number 128489. His name was John W. Rowan. He was a private of Co-H. I think because of pension paper being so old, was of the 150^th Regiment New York Vols. This pension being for gunshot wound in right shoulder. The time of my fathers death my brother being the oldest took everything over & as we have just lost my brother I have just found about the papers.
                                              Hoping I will hear from you in regards to this I remain
                                              Respectfully, Mrs. Sadie King
                                              653-53^rd St, Brooklyn, N.Y.
                                              Maiden name was Sadie Rowan
                               At time of my fathers death was living at No-10-43^rd St-Brooklyn, N.Y.

Wow!  What a treasure to have a copy of!  I am sure my family members will also enjoy reading this.  There is so much information here, some of which I already had but this is further conformation of where my great grandmother lived, etc.  I was only 2 years old when she died.  I have one vague memory that I can’t be sure is true of her reaching down to pick me up.  I had only heard my great grandmother referred to as ‘Nanny’ or ‘Mom’ and was surprised to see that she used ‘Sadie’. I never knew until this letter that the woman I knew from records as Sarah A. Rowan King used the name ‘Sadie’.  After finding this I asked family members and they all said yes, she used ‘Sadie’.  One of those things that you just don’t realize to ask about until you find something like the above letter.

My father and I went a few years ago and found where John Rowan is buried at Cypress Hills Cemetery in Locust Grove, Kings County, New York.  I was saddened by the fact that there was no headstone to identify where John is buried.  Now that I have identified him as Civil War Veteran I hope to petition the Veteran’s Administration for a headstone identifying John’s burial place and commemorating his Civil War service.  I’ll keep you informed and let you know if I am successful.

Now on to the other 80 pages of records in the record set I received.  How and where was John injured?  From the above letter I see he was shot in the shoulder and not in the leg as family members heard.  What battles was he in?  Did he enlist at 14 years of age?  Definitely more to follow on John W. Rowan, Civil War Veteran.

If you have any corrections or additions or stories to share I look forward to hearing them.
Enjoy the journey,
Debby

Who Was The Civil War Veteran?

A family story is always a great source of information about an ancestor, or is it?  How much of the story that has been passed down is based on truth?  We know as demonstrated by the game ‘telephone’ that we played as children that the story changes a little each time it is repeated but the main part continues.  Family stories give us a fabulous place to start but you need to be open to finding the little twists or inconsistencies in a story that has been passed down.

I decided to tackle a family story I heard from my grandmother Agnes King Warner when I was about 12-14 years old.

The family story I had been told was about an ancestor who served in the Civil War.  He was about 13-14 years old and wanted to fight in the Civil War.  He had a man from the neighborhood sign for him saying he was old enough to join the Civil War and he enlisted under an assumed name. He was believed to have been a drummer boy or a flag bearer in the Union Army.  My grandmother died when I was 16 years old so I was unable to ask her any further questions when I decided years later to see if the story was true and to determine who this veteran was in our family.  I wasn’t even sure years later if the mystery man was a direct descendant or the brother of a direct descendant.

I continued to wonder over the years about this mystery man.  I asked family members and was able to get a few more pieces of information which I filed away.  Someday I will have to figure this out.  Time passed but this nagged at me. 

First:  I looked at several lines on my grandmother’s side of the family and thought it might be one of her grandfathers.  I know the Civil War began on April 12, 1861 and the enlistment age was 18.  How old were my grandmother’s grandfathers?  Louis King, her paternal grandfather was born in 1843 so he would have been 18 at the start of the Civil War, so, maybe it was him.  My grandmother’s maternal grandfather John Rowan was born in 1846 so he would have been 15 years old.  That’s a little closer to the family story. Definitely more research needed. 

Next:  I wrote letters to several great aunts and cousins to see what they knew and asked other family members. Several thought it was John Rowan who had served in the Civil War.

Research begins:

• I researched the life of Louis Arthur King because I wanted to rule him out.  (See post Who Was Louis Arthur King)  I couldn’t find any reference to Louis having served in the Civil War.
• I spoke to Civil War experts. and asked how am I going to be able to find someone who enlisted under an assumed name?  I was assured that if my ancestor ever filed for a pension after the War they would link his name with the assumed name. But if he never applied for a pension I’d be out of luck trying to find him.
• I began to research the life of John W. Rowan.  I researched his mother Ann Meenan ( see post - A Lot More Questions Than Answers-The Life of Ann Meenan Rowan) and his father William Rowan (Using City Directories to Find William Rowan).  I know that John’s father and infant brother died when he was 4 years old and it was just he and his mother after that.
• I researched in New York for soldier’s named John W. Rowan that served in the Civil War and found four of them.  All I had were names and what Regiments they served with.  Hard to imagine that there would be 4 John W. Rowans.  UGH!
• I researched the Regiments that the 4 John W. Rowan’s belonged to.  Three of the units were from upstate New York and one was from Staten Island, New York.  Staten Island is a lot closer to Manhattan so, maybe that’s the right one?  Then I found out that the Staten Island Unit disbanded and was absorbed by one of the upstate New York units.  That narrows my list down to 3 possible John W. Rowans (Company H New York Infantry 150th Regiment, Company A 105th New York Infantry, Company D 145th NY Infantry). To get copies of the Civil War records for a soldier you need to visit Washington, D.C. or pay someone to locate them for you and send them to you.  Ordering 3 sets of records would be expensive.  Can I narrow this down further?
• I went back to some correspondence I had gotten years ago from relatives and reread it.  The following is an except from a letter my grandmother’s sister Anna King Earle sent to her niece Barbara who in turn shared with me in 2010:

Transcribed:  John Rowan –Sarah A. King’s father fought in the Civil War, joined at 13 under an assumed name-got a man to sign for him, was shot in the leg.  His family moved from New York to Brooklyn in 1896.

• There was another piece of information that might help me…he was shot in the leg.  Were any of the 3 John W. Rowan’s shot in the leg?  Will that narrow it down for me further?

Online in the New York State Military Museum and Veterans Research Center under the 150th Regiment Unit Roster I found the following:

WOW!  John W. Rowan and wounded in action and another name- James Rowan.  The NY 145th Infantry was from Staten Island and absorbed by the 150th Infantry.  I think I’m ready to take a chance and pay the money and get the records for this John W. Rowan.  I am so hoping he is the right one…

I sent for the records and just received them.  Are they the right ones?  I’ll let you know in my next blog post.

If you have any corrections or additions or stories to share I look forward to hearing them.
Enjoy the journey,
Debby

Sunday Obituary-Portis M. Coolbaugh, Civil War Soldier

This Memorial Day, as we remember those who have fought for our Country, I chose to remember my maternal 2x great-grandfather Portis M. Coolbaugh.   He served as a Union soldier from 26 February 1862 until 1 March 1865.

from the newspaper The Bradford Star Thursday, October 27, 1910

transcrition-

Mustered Out-

Portis M. Coolbaugh died Oct. 16, 1910 at the Women’s Relief Corp Home in Oxford, N. Y., of cancer of the liver, aged 65 years.  Deceased was a native of Monroeton, where he spent his early life and from which town in March, 1862, he enlisted in Company C, 107th P. V. and served until the close of the war.  He had for many years resided at Waverly and Lockwood.  He is survived by his wife, three sons and two daughters.  The remains were taken to Lockwood for interment.

Remember to look beyond your ancestors information.  On the same page in the newspaper I also found this add:  (click on images to enlarge)

Looks like this would be a very interesting read but it seems like there are only 5 copies at Libraries in the US-they are in the Library of Congress, the NY Historical Library, the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, one in Minnesota and one in Springfield, Illinois.  Ugh….Somehow I’ll have to see if I can see it one day and see if Portis is mentioned in it.
*I owe a big thank-you to the volunteers at the Bradford County Historical Society for finding this clipping and some other wonderful information for me.  Remember that a Historical Society is a great place to find things that you probably can’t find on the internet.  You can hire someone to help with your research when it isn’t possible for you to be doing it in person.

If you have any corrections or additions or stories to share I look forward to hearing them.

Enjoy the journey,

Debby

Civil War-Certificate of Disability for Discharge

So far, I know of 2 of my ancestors that served in the Civil War.  Knowing basically only their birth and death dates I am constantly trying to fill in more about their lives.  I recently sent for military records and this is what I found out about my maternal great-great grandfather Joseph Cornell of Alpine, New York.

 

This was one of several documents I received and here is what I was able to find out just from this document:

1.  My great-great Grandfather Joseph Cornell was a Private in the Union Army.

2.  Joseph was part of Company B of the 141st New York Regiment Volunteers.

3.  Joseph enlisted on the 22nd of August 1862 to serve for 3 years. 

4.  Joseph was born in Clinton, NY. (Interesting…my info says he was born across the state line in Clinton, Bradford County, PA)

5.  At the date of discharge Joseph was 26 years old, 5 feet 9 1/2 inches tall, with a dark completion, dark hair and dark eyes.

6.  When Joseph enlisted he was a ‘Sawyer’. (I did some research and found out that a ‘Sawyer’ generally ran the saw in a Mill and determined how to get the most wood/types of cut out of the log.)

7.  Joseph was discharged from the Army due to long standing chronic nephritis, contracted by injury and exposure while in the Service.  His degree of disability was 2/3rd.  He was Not Fit for Invalid Corps. 

These are the Battles of the 141st Regiment that Joseph probably took part in during his enlistment.

 

8.  Joseph was discharged on 2 January 1864 at the Convalescent Camp in Virginia. (When I did some research I found out that Camp Convalescent was near Alexandria, VA,  and was set up to house men not well enough to rejoin their regiments but not ill or wounded enough to take up a hospital bed.

(photo compliments of the Library of Congress)

 

9.  Joseph planned on returning to Trumbull’s Corner in Tompkins County, New York after discharge.

When I first looked at this document I really didn’t see the valuable information I had until I broke it down and made a list of what I saw within the document.  I also found great additional info on the internet about the Convalescent Camp and the 141st Regiment of NY that made this info even more interesting.  Now I wish I had a picture of Joseph in his uniform….

I would appreciate hearing any additional stories or information you might have to share.

Enjoy the journey,
Debby

Portis/Porter M. Coolbaugh

What I already knew:
My maternal grandmother was Nettie Emily Coolbaugh Cornell.  She was believed to have been born in Athens, Bradford County, PA in September 1882/1883.

Her parents were Portis/Porter M. Coolbaugh (b. 14 Nov 1844 Monroeton, Bradford, PA    d. 16 Oct. 1911  Oxford, NY).  (Porter’s first wife was Emily H. Arnout)

and Harriet Bowning Coolbaugh (b. about 1850 and died 1930)

I thought Portis was in the Civil War.  I was able to find on line a copy of his Application to the New York State Woman’s Relief Corps Home. Portis, at 66 years of age, filed his application in Genoa, Cayuga County, NY on 4 April 1910.  From that single document I was able to gather a lot of information. 
Portis  was a Private in Company C, 107th Pennsylvania Volunteers.  He enlisted on 1 Mar 1862 and was discharged at the end of his term 2 Mar 1865 at Hatcher’s Run, VA.   

From his application he stated he married Harriet on 22 June 1875 and they had 4 children: Max Morris 33 yo, Manda (Amanda) B. 30 yo, Netta E. 27 years, Charles D. 24 yo.  He stated he was born 14 Dec. 1844 in Town of Monroeton, Bradford County, PA.

He stated that while in the line of duty at Fetchers Chapel, near Falmouth, VA he was disabled after “contracted Pneumonia which left me with affected lungs and in the Summer of 1864 I had the second severe attack of Chronic Diarrhea which brought on Piles and disease of the Rectum which have troubled me ever since”.  “Since leaving the service he on July 1908 contracted by a fall was ruptured from which he is now suffering, and by reason of which he is unable to support himself by his own efforts and labor, that he therefore applies for admission to the New York State Woman’s Relief Corps Home.” (I was able to find information on the internet for the Battle of Fredricksburg, VA in December 1862.  Falmouth is across the river from Fredricksburg.)

The application states he did not own real estate or have a mortgage.  He had no yearly income.  He would start receiving a $14.00 per month pension, Certificate # 368477 payable at the Buffalo Agency commencing on the 12thg day of January 1910.
It looks like Portis and Harriet were both moving in to the Relief Corps Home.

The application also lists by great grandmother Mrs. Netta E. Cornell as a Patternmaker who lived at Atwater, NY R.D. 25

I also know by the application that my great great grandfather was able to sign his own name.

What I want to know:
What information would Portis’ Civil War Pension records have for me?  Ordered

Please let me know if you have any information that adds to my search.
Enjoy the journey,
Debby