General Information

Old (but new) soldier images added to the site

by  • 

Sometimes you never know what you might find when you’re cleaning out the closet. Back in the early days of this website I asked for and received permission to use a couple of images…one that had been in the collection of someone I knew (Bill Gladstone), and one in the collection of someone who had authored many books I had read (William Frassanito). Both images were held by the US Army Military History Institute (now the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center). Both were gracious enough to grant permission to get copies and use them. I even have the letters (remember the days before email?).

Being preoccupied with things like work and family, once received they were put somewhere safe until I had the time to scan and upload them. Really safe. Fast forward over 20 years and I finally found where I put them. So – at long last – there are a couple of new images online of Sergeant Abraham Worden (Company I) and Private Frederick Wakeman (Company E). It was a good day of cleaning.

In that way that things come full circle – Wakeman is actually related to me (his son was my great granduncle). I don’t think I knew that back then (thank you ancestry.com!).

Finally, an image from my own collection of Private Melvin Bachelder (Company D) has been posted. He was the brother of Sergeant Cyrus Bachelder (same company), who also has his image on the site.

General Information

Scenes From a Quick Visit to Gettysburg

by  • 

It’s been a while since the last visit here – time for a quick trip. Not too many people between the heat (close to 100 degrees) and humid, COVID and mid-week, but that means a lot of space in the places I like to visit. A few different views this time around…I realized that I’ve got close to 40 years of the same photo locations!

Downtown at sunset
It was a nice sunset last night over Chambersburg Street!
Christ Lutheran Church
Nice time of the night to get a photo of the Lutheran Church on Chambersburg Street
Flowers in the orchard
Hot day in the orchard!
Apples
Apples getting big and ripe in the Rose Farm Orchard
Fawns on Barlow Knoll
Some unexpected visitors today…
Rainbow
Post-thunderstorm rainbow seen from Unity Park (peach ice cream time!)
General Information

“Civil War Sailor’s Gravestone – Corrective Action”: Request for Help

by  • 

Last week I received the following email from long-time visitor Charlene Henderson:

“For the past few months, I’ve been working with Bob Rosati in updating the (Find-A-Grave) memorials (webmaster note: this is the source of the 17th CVI Burial Sites section). While Bob created many memorials, or now maintains them, not all of the 947 memorials fall into these two categories.

As you know, one of the last three members of the 17th Association was Charles A. Jennings. Who died January 15, 1933, nearly at the age of 91, and is buried in Branchville Cemetery, Ridgefield.

Years ago, I found a gravesite with a private gravestone and a Civil War military stone for Charles E. Jennings with the military record for Charles A. Jennings. Charles E. died March 27, 1865 at the age of 17 years. He’s buried a few miles north of Charles A. in New Florida Cemetery.   

The quest: To place a military footstone with the corrected record at the base of the incorrect large upright Civil War stone. However, the Department of Veteran Affairs will not issue a military stone because the gravesite has a privately purchased headstone. Therefore, they consider it marked.

Not willing to give up, I started a GoFundMe page “Civil War Sailor’s Gravestone – Corrective Action” to purchase a military footstone.”

Well, this seemed like a worthy thing to put out to those who visit the site. Here’s the link to the GoFundMe page:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/civil-war-sailor039s-gravestone-corrective-action

And here’s what you need to know:

Needed: $ 25.00 from 52 people or $20.00 from 65 people or $10.00 from 130 people, any amount will help.

Along Rt. 7, just north of Branchville, Connecticut, thousands of commuters pass an old cemetery, unaware of the story that lies within the stonewalls enclosing the old burial ground known as New Florida Cemetery. 

Two headstones, roughly three and a half feet in height, standing one in front of the other, within inches. In the rear, slightly taller, a private headstone. Inscribed in small letters, near the base, “In sacrifice to his country”  words chosen by or suggested to a windowed mother. In front, a military headstone for a Civil War Soldier. Charles E. Jennings had just turned seventeen, four days, before. The date, March 27, 1865. Oh, so very close to the end of the Civil War.

For years, the private headstone stood alone, when and a well-meaning person or group wanted to place the military stone at the gravesite which reads: SGT. CHARLES E. JENNINGS  Co. G 17TH C.V.I.  DIED MAR. 27, 1865 AE. 17.

All would be well and good except the stone is a mismatch of two different people. Charles Edgar Jennings did die on March 27, 1865, on board the U.S.S. Massachusetts, in Philadelphia Navel Yard, four days after his 17th birthday. He was a Landsman in the U.S. Navy.

Charles Augustus Jennings, Sergeant Co. G, 17th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry, died January 15, 1933, at the age of 90 years, 10 months, 15 days. He’s buried in Branchville Cemetery, a few miles south of New Florida Cemetery, both cemeteries are in Ridgefield, Connecticut.

Each person has memorials on Find A Grave, Jack Saunders, a retired newspaper editor and Ridgefield historian, maintains the memorial for Charles E. Jennings. Together, we sought to have a flat corrected military footstone placed at the base of the upright military stone.

Jack contacted Donna Barber, the sexton of St. Mary’s Cemetery. She graciously offered the services of St. Mary’s grounds crew for all necessary work needed at the gravesite. With all aspects coordinated, the last part of the project, apply to the Department of Veteran Affairs for a footstone.

The application was denied because a privately purchased stone marks the gravesite. The Department of Veteran Affairs, by law, can only issue a “second marker” if the veteran died on or after November 1, 1990. If the gravesite were unmarked, a military stone would have been issued, anywhere in the world, at no cost.     

The purpose of this Go Fund Me campaign is to place a military regulation styled footstone, at the base of the incorrect military headstone. Charles E. Jennings gave his life for his country. Shouldn’t a military stone give the correct details of service?

For Charles E. Jennings on Find A Grave: 

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/36399790/charles-edgar-jennings

For Charles A. Jennings on Find A Grave:

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/68917217/charles-augustus-jennings

General Information

20 years!

by  • 

Hard to believe, but this is the 20th anniversary of the 17th CVI website. It’s come pretty far from its humble beginnings as a free AT&T WorldNet website. Thank you to all those folks who have contributed their time, effort and information for everyone who has an interest in honoring those who served.

This is also the 130th anniversary of the dedication of the 17th CVI monument on East Cemetery Hill (a couple of months and a couple of days early, to be exact). I’ll be in Gettysburg for a few days this week showing my son-in-law the battlefield, of course spending extra time with the 17th CVI.

The October 1889 dedication of the 17th CVI monument on East Cemetery Hill
General Information, Veterans

A new image and a question

by  • 

A few months ago I received an email from a visitor to the site who was the great-great-grandson of Marcus Comstock, Company A. He had a hardcover copy of Benson J. Lossing’s A History of the Civil War. This copy was issued by the War Memorial Association in New York in 1912 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Civil War.

Hand colored postwar image of Marcus Comstock, Company A.

On the inside cover is a hand-colored image of Comstock (post-war). I’ve seen 3 of these now – some have post-war images, one has a war-time image, all hand-colored. The majority of this set seems to be found in the original, 16-part softcover set that seems to have been issued on a weekly basis. I’m guessing that it was through a subscription since the Catalogue of Copyright Entries issued by the Library of Congress in 1913 shows these parts being issued each week during summer 1912.

Hardcover “A History of the Civil War” by Benson J. Lossing, published by the War Memorial Association, 1912.

So here’s the question, for anyone who might read this and be able to shed light on it: is it possible that these hardcover copies with the hand-colored and lettered images inside the front cover were done as part of a subscription/sales effort to increase the sale of the bound version? It makes sense – if I were a veteran of the war or the relative of one, this would make the book that much more interesting to me.

If you know, leave a comment. Thanks to Ed Comstock for sharing it with me.