'The Marching Twelfth'

 

Herman (Heinrich) Roesch, my 2nd great uncle was born in Baden, Germany on July 8, 1845. He sailed to America with his parents and sibling in1857 on the William Nelson. They settled in Potosi, Wisconsin. He was one of four brothers who served as union soldiers in the Civil War.

Herman was paid $600 as a substitute soldier and entered into service on October 15, 1864 at the age of 19.The Twelfth, known as “The Marching Twelfth”, was formed under the command of Colonel George E. Bryant of the 1st Wisconsin Infantry Regiment. Herman joined General Sherman when Sherman took his army along with the now ‘Fighting Twelfth, ‘to march to the sea in November of 1864.

 The12th Wisconsin participated in the occupation of Savannah. The Twelfth's last battle was at Bentonville, N. C. in March of 1865 to end their participation of the War. Herman was in the March from Atlanta to the Sea and attended the Grand Review in Washington, D.C.  He mustered out of service in Louisville, Kentucky on June 16^th, 1865 serving for a total of eight months. 

In 1910, when he was 65 years of age, he entered the United States National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers suffering from asthma and bronchitis. On the 23rd of August 1919 at the age of 74, he died from Interstitial Nephritis, a kidney disorder in which the kidneys become unable to filter waste materials and fluid properly, which brought on acute cholecystitis, a sudden inflammation of the gallbladder that causes severe abdominal pain. Acute cholecystitis causes bile to become trapped in the gallbladder. The build up of bile causes irritation and pressure in the gallbladder. This lead to bacterial infection and perforation of the organ.

 Herman was described as five feet five inches tall, having gray eyes and gray hair, a farmer by trade.  Nine years later on August 23 1919 he died of renal failure. Herman was collecting a pension of $32 a month at the time of his death.  His personal effects totaled $590.25. He bequeathed this money to his youngest brother, John who was living in Potosi, Wisconsin with his wife Susan Taylor, son Lake and daughter Iona

 Herman was buried in the Danville National Cemetery in Danville, Illinois.

Rowland Ward - Battle of Wilderness

 

When I first saw this picture of Rowland Ward, I was confused by his appearance.  It looked as if his beard was growing out of his mouth. Who is Rowland Ward?

Rowland was born on March 31, 1818 in Briggs, Lincoln, England, Wrawby Parish. He first married Alvria Vedder who was 14 years younger than he in 1846. They had two daughters, Harriet and Eva. Rowland became a Naturalized citizen of the United States in 1854. By 1860 we see Ward, a farmer, with milking cows, sheep and grew wheat, corn and oats. Alvira died on March 7, 1888.

One year and one month later on April 8, 1889, he married Amelia Benson, my 2nd gr grandmother's (Eliza Benson) sister. It appears it was her first marriage.

Rowland joined the army, Private 4th Heavy Artillery, September 1862 and became a Union soldier serving in the Civil War. He served in the bloody Battle of the Wilderness from May 5 1864 to May 7, 1864. Then on August 24, 1864 he was badly wounded at Ream's Station, Virginia that disfigured him for life. His lower jaw and chin were completely blown off, destroying the floor of his mouth along with the soft tissue right down to his neck and carrying his teeth away. Horrifyingly, leaving nothing to hold his tongue in his mouth, only left to hang down his neck.

Rowland was admitted to the Lincoln Hospital in Washington, D.C. Many surgeries were performed by military surgeons who said, "It was the most severe injury sustained by any soldier during the war." Ward was photographed at the Army Medical Museum by the order of the Surgeon General, George, A Otis. Three busts were made of his head that remain on display at the museum. Rowland was discharged from the army on June 23, 1865. His speech was always difficult to understand. He returned home to his wife, Alvira.

Rowland went back to farming living in Hunt, Levingston, New York. In 1886, fire destroyed his home caused by a defective chimney. If not for the banging on their door that awakened them, they were able to escape. Everything was lost.

It was reported in the Nunda, New York newspaper on May 28, 1898, Rowland who was now 80 years of age had become incompetent and no longer able to manage his affairs. That it was unknown what he was doing with his $50 a month pension. A jury was summoned to his small farm. After hearing a number of witnesses, Ward was declared incompetent.

Amazing that Amelia would marry a man with such disabilities, yet she cared for him until his death on June 17, 1898. He is buried in Hunts Hollow Cemetery in Portage, New York.

Opium and Southworth Gammons

Southworth Gammons, my 4th great grandfather was born in Middleboro Massachusetts in 1769.  He died on July 25, 1827, suddenly, it is written, by opium. Now that caught my attention and I just had to learn more.

At the beginning of the 19th century, opium was used as an everyday remedy for common ailments. Even President Harrison was treated with opium in 1841.  During the Civil War the Union Army used opium, a predecessor to morphine. They treated conditions such as malaria, known as "ague".

My 2nd great grandfather, Philip Roesch, who served in the Civil War wrote in his diary that he suffered from the ague and was put on a ship with others that were sick.  He wrote, "The person at my head,  and to the left and right side of me rolled over in death, yet I continued to get well".   Now I realize that he too was most likely treated with opium.

Other ailments treated with opium included rheumatism, diarrhea, excessive drinking, and even childbirth.  So now I can include my great grandmothers and great aunts for they too might have treated? Opium was known as "God's Own Medicine".

I wonder how many ancestors were treated with opium and perhaps even died because they became addicted?

The acceptance of opium was so general that societies gave awards for growing the poppy and medical practitioners were among the prize winners. It wasn't until 1879 that a growing number of doctors documented the dangers of addiction with opium use.  It wasn't classified as a dangerous drug until 1920.

So where does this lead us?  Remember the Wizard of Oz and that massive field covered in poppies.  Poor Dorothy, the lion, and the scarecrow all fell asleep. I guess they had a massive overdose of opium. That witch really was wicked. The book was written in 1900, 20 years before opium was declared a dangerous drug. 

Oh well, the Wizard of Oz is still a good movie.  Just close your children's eyes and ears as Dorothy and the gang run across the opium field.

Where Are You Mr. Jones?

Samuel Jones, Jr., a farmer, was born in Bridgewater, Ma on March 25, 1823.  He was the son of Samuel Jones and Abigail (Nabby) Benson.  On September 16, 1862 he enlisted to serve in the Civil War.   He joined Company K 3^rd Massachusetts Infantry in Middleboro to serve for a period of nine months.  He was sent to Camp Joe Hooker in Lakeville, MA, then mustered into service on 23rd of September 1862.

Samuel was sent to Fort Totten in Newbern, North Carolina to maintain control of the area.  The fort was built in 1862 after occupation of the city. The fort would help the soldiers gain control of North Carolina’s sounds, coast, and the Neuse River. The strategy gave the Union a strong base to launch further attacks into the state. The plan proved successful and the Union held control of the sounds and coast until the end of the War. 

Samuel became ill and was transported to the Foster General Hospital in Newbern where he died of disease on May 26, 1863, just 30 days before his tour of duty was to end. I found his gravestone in Harlow Cemetery on Cherry Street in Bridgewater, MA resting beside his parents and siblings.  Or was he?

Today, August 15, 2011, I discovered an article in the Middleboro Gazette dated June 20, 1863, page 2:  "The company (k 3rd infantry) speaks in terms of the highest comendation of Mr. Jones who was strictly temperate, a highly agreeable companion, and a brave man.  His body was buried in the Newbern National Cemetery. Every grave is marked with a marble headstone engraved with the name of the soldier.

I now understand that many soldiers that died fighting in the Civil War were never returned home to their loved ones.  Samuel was one of many who never came home, but his family who erected a stone in his memory loved him.

The commonwealth errected a monument in 1908 in memory of Massachusetts’s soldiers and sailors who died in North Carolina during the Civil War.

Sherman's Boys In Blue



Philip and his wife Helen
wearing their medals

 This poem was written by my 2nd great-grandfather, Philip Roesch.  He was born in Baden, Germany and sailed to America on the William Nelson at the age of 14 with his parents and siblings.  He celebrated his 15th birthday in the middle of the ocean.  They settled in Potosi, Wisconsin.

In 1862 he enlisted as a Union soldier to serve in the Civil War. Three of his brothers also joined.  Philip kept a diary of his three years of service.  This diary, handwritten in German, was translated and published in Midland, Michigan, by R. K. Long in 1979.  The original and the translated version are in the Library of Congress. When he returned from the war, he married his sweetheart, Helen Cardey. She worked for the Women's Relief Corp of the Grand Army of the Republic while waiting for Philip to return home. They both received medals for their service. 

I feel privileged to share his poem with you.

Sherman's Boys In Blue

by Philip Roesch

T'was the twenty-second of July in eighteen sixty-four,

that round the doomed Atlanta our cannon loud did roar.

Our drums did beat to arms, and our bugles wildly blew,

the soldiers fixed their bayonets for the signal well they knew.

The Rebels rapidly advanced and soon came full in view

with musket, sabre and the lance before our boys in blue.

Still forward came the charging host, their courage well we knew.

We met them as the rocky coast meets the troubled ocean blue.

Our Sherman brave was in command with lips compressed he stood,

And Logan boldly meeting there the rushing charge of Hood.

Oh! What a charge--the crash the yells that rent the air!

Let other pens describe the scene, but your humble band was there.

The baffled Rebels did retreat, and from the strife withdrew,

and falling back, they left the field to Sherman's "boys in blue".

And, now long life to Sherman, and  all his boys so true.

who held aloft the stars and stripes and wore the suit of blue.

Little Girl Lost

I was doing some research on Mary Ann Besse, my 2nd great grandmother.  She was born in Wareham, Massachusetts on the 19 day of May 1845.  She married Thomas Warren Pierce of Middleboro, Massachusetts on May 27, 1865.  Her husband owned a successful business in town named for him, "Pierce Hardware Store". 

They had five daughters, Cora, Dora, Ida, Maude, and Grace, and one son, Carl.  More about the lives of these children another day.   

I was preparing to join the Mayflower Society as a descendant of Myles Standish.  I needed the birth, death and marriage certificates for a number of generations to prove lineage.  It was the marriage certificate of Mary Ann Besse and Thomas Warren Pierce, that took me by surprise.  It stated that this was a second marriage for Mary.

I researched further to discover that her first husband was Andrew E. Thomas.  Rev. George H. Winchester married them in the town of Middleboro on September 29, 1859.  It appears they had a child together, a daughter, born on August 25, 1860.  They named her Joanna, after Andrew's deceased mother. 

At the onset of the Civil War, Andrew joined the ranks of the 4th Massachusetts Infantry as a Union soldier for a period of nine months on September 19, 1862.  It was in the battle at BRASHEAR CITY, LA, June 23, 1863 where Andrew was severely wounded, captured, and taken prisoner on June 23, 1893.  Two days later the confederates released him, for they knew he would not survive. Two days later on June 27, 1863 he died from his injuries.  He was only two days shy from completing his nine months of service and returning home to his family.

The mystery that I am left with is what happened to the little girl named Joanna.  There seems to be no further trace of her.  I will continue my search to find this little girl lost.