Seldom-seen circa-1877 photo of Main Street in Sharpsburg

Left half of William Tipton stereoview of Sharpsburg, Md., shot from national cemetery lodge.
(American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, Mass.)
(CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE.)

Google Street View: A comparable present-day view from near ground level.
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A cropped enlargement may show the
belfry of the German Reformed Church
on Main Street. The building was
used as a makeshift hospital after the
Battle of Antietam.

Best known for his battlefield images at Gettysburg, William Tipton also photographed Antietam late in the 19th century. For example, see this image, probably taken in 1894, of the 16th Connecticut monument in The 40-Acre Cornfield. About 1877, Tipton photographed Burnside Bridge and a bullet-riddled Dunker Church as well as Antietam National Cemetery, which had been dedicated in 1867.

The Gettysburg-based photographer also shot an image of Main Street in Sharpsburg from near the top of the national cemetery lodge, probably during the circa-1877 visit. This seldom-seen view, shown at the top of this post in the left half of a stereoview, includes rich detail: an unpaved dirt road; seven recently planted trees outside the national cemetery fence; a field of corn by an old stone wall; and a barely visible church belfry, perhaps of the old German Reformed Church, which had been used a hospital after the battle in the fall of 1862. (Services are still held in the small, brick church on Main Street.) In the far left background, near the tree line, Robert E. Lee made his headquarters during the Battle of Antietam.  An ink inscription below the image, copyrighted in 1877, reads: “View of Sharpsburg, Md., near battle-field of Antietam, looking west.”

What else do you see in the images? E-mail me here, jump into the comments section below or add your two cents on my blog Facebook page.

The Tipton stereoview of Sharpsburg is in the vast holdings of the American Antiquarian Society in Worcester, Mass. The Society's impressive collection of hundreds of Civil War stereoviews, including rare battlefield images, may be viewed online here.

Ink inscription on stereoview notes it is a "View of Sharpsburg, Md., near battle-field of Antietam."
(CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE.)

Stone wall and cornfield on Main Street in Sharpsburg.

Recently planted trees near the national cemetery fence.

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Then & Now: General James Longstreet at Gettysburg

EARLY JULY 1888: JAMES LONGSTREET AT GETTYSBURG.
(CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE.)

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APRIL 28, 2017: PRESENT-DAY SCENE.

In July 1888, 25 years after the Battle of Gettysburg, former Confederate Lt. General James Longstreet posed on horseback with Daniel Butterfield (on second horse from right in top image), George Meade's former chief of staff, near the summit of Little Round Top. The 155th Pennsylvania monument appears in the right background. In late April 2017, I did my best to match the scene in the long-ago image by Gettysburg-based battlefield photographer William Tipton. Brush, trees and incompetence prevented me from producing a spot-on present-day photo.

Sometime after the 155th Pennsylvania monument was dedicated on Sept. 17, 1886, regiment veterans had a statue added to it. Read more about Longstreet's 1888 Gettysburg visit here on my blog.

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For large-format Then & Now images, go to my blog here.

Face of the Civil War: Remembering Nancy Campbell

A daguerreotype of Nancy Campbell. (National Park Service collection)

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During visits to Sharpsburg, Md., more than a decade ago, I was fortunate to spend time with Earl Roulette and his wife, Annabelle, at their ranch house on Main Street, near Robert E. Lee's headquarters site during the Battle of Antietam. 

While Annabelle rocked in her chair in the living room, Earl and I chatted about the Civil War in a small backroom. Earl especially enjoyed showing off Civil War artifacts he had found while farming in the area for more than 50 years. His great-grandfather's farm, which bordered Bloody Lane, was scene of horrific fighting during the battle.

During one visit, Earl reached into a small box for a photo of a woman named Nancy Campbell. 

My friend Richard Clem, a lifelong resident of Washington County (Md.), picks up her story. 

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Richard E. Clem

By Richard E. Clem

Maryland's 1860 census for Washington County lists a “Nancy Campbell” as a servant living with the Roulette family in the Sharpsburg District. History reveals little about this small, black slave. The first the author heard the name mentioned was in Sharpsburg while visiting dear friends Earl and Annabelle Roulette. In his normal high-pitched voice, Earl handed me an old daguerreotype in its small, protective case and with pride explained: “This is Nancy Campbell; she was my great grandfather’s house servant.” Earl’s ancestor was William Roulette, whose farm suffered great damage on Sept. 17, 1862, during the Battle of Antietam – the bloodiest day of the Civil War. From the very moment I examined Nancy’s image, I was determined to cast light on the life of this virtually unknown woman.

The name “Nancy Campbell” first appears on a Certificate of Freedom recorded in the Washington County Court House in Hagerstown, Md.:

Nancy Campbell toiled for 
William Roulette, whose farm was scene
 of terrible fighting at the Battle of Antietam 
on Sept. 17, 1862.

At the request of Nancy Campbell, the following deed was recorded June 14, 1859, by Andrew Miller of Washington County, Maryland. I do hear-by set free my Negro slave, Nancy Campbell, her freedom to commence from the year eighteen hundred and fifty nine.

The document was witnessed and signed by Justice of the Peace Thomas Curtis McLaughlin and Andrew Miller – Campbell’s former owner or, as referred to in the South, her “master.”

Andrew B. Miller was born March 24, 1826, in Washington County, Md. At an unknown date, he purchased a 50-acre farm in Tilghmanton, where his wife, Heaster Ann (Smith) Miller, gave birth to at least three children. Tilghmanton is a small town (population today, 465) on the Sharpsburg Pike, 8.5 miles south of Hagerstown and about the same distance from Sharpsburg.

When Andrew’s father, Peter Miller, passed away, his will provided his son with a servant named “Nancy Campbell,” described as: “One Colored Woman, 5 feet 1 ½ inches high, worth $250.00.” With this appraised value, Miss Nancy was worth as much as a good horse.

It was against the law to teach a slave how to read or write, so no record exists to state where Campbell was born or who her parents were. Even the date she was acquired by the Peter Miller family is unknown. Along with being a house servant, Nancy would have also taken care of the younger children as a “nanny.” When not occupied with the kids, she would have been required to do cooking as well as other household chores and perhaps tend to the vegetable garden.

Freedom and New Home

William Roulette's springhouse, where the farmer's African-American field hand, Robert Simon,
is believed to have lived. (Photo: Richard E. Clem) 

Looking to take life easier, Andrew Miller sold his Tilghmanton property in 1859, just prior to outbreak of the Civil War.  Now with no need for a slave, the retiring farmer decided to grant Miss Campbell her freedom. But without a home or education and no way to support herself, what would happen to the 46-year-old black servant trying to survive in a world among white strangers?

Less than one year after being freed, she not only had a new home, but would receive wages for her labor. It is believed this freed slave first met the Roulettes through William’s marriage (March 4, 1847) to Margaret Ann Miller. In April 1853, Mr. Roulette bought the farm of his wife’s father, John Miller. John’s brother, Peter Miller, Nancy Campbell’s first owner, was an uncle to Mrs. Roulette. So it's very possible Campbell knew the Roulettes before she went to live with them.

When Miss Campbell began working for William and Margaret Ann, they were the parents of five children. Their need for a good, experienced nanny was great. Although Mr. Roulette owned no slaves, he employed and paid for the services of Nancy and a 15-year-old boy named Robert Simon.

The new nanny occupied a small room over the Roulette’s kitchen, while Robert was employed as an “African American field hand, resided somewhere on the property.” Evidence clearly shows Roulette’s springhouse once had a third floor; some historians speculate this upper room was occupied by Simon. Soon after Nancy’s arrival, Margaret Ann gave birth (Feb. 23, 1860) to her third daughter, Carrie May.

Manor Church, where the Roulette family is believed to have been sheltered 
during the Battle of Antietam. Nancy Campbell attended services here. (Photo: Richard E. Clem)

In the late 19th century, William Roulette and his close neighbor, Samuel Mumma, were considered the most prosperous farmers in the Sharpsburg District, raising mostly corn, oats and barley in their fine limestone soil. And then the War Between the States came to Maryland! According to William’s History of Washington County, the day before the Battle of Antietam, William Roulette “took his family six miles north to the Manor Church where they were sheltered by Elder Daniel Wolf, a minister of that church.” Campbell and Simon probably joined the Roulette family at the Manor Church. The Mummas also evacuated their farm and sought protection at the Manor house of worship.

While living at Tilghmanton, Miss Campbell, a member of the mostly white Manor congregation, probably heard Reverend Daniel Wolf’s sermons against the evils of slavery. If you owned a slave or slaves, you were not allowed to be a member of this church. Locals called this sanctuary the Manor Dunker Church or “Tunkard” in German. Built in 1830, this meeting house just east of Tilghmanton was the mother church of the now-famous Dunker Church on the Antietam battlefield. (Services are still held every Sunday in the old limestone structure that now has a large, brick addition and is known as the Manor Church of the Brethren.)

War Hits Home

                 PANORAMA: William Roulette farmhouse and barn (pan to the right).
        PANORAMA: Roulette's farmhouse and barn were used as makeshift hospitals
          during and after the battle.  (Click at upper right for full-screen experience.)

Early on the misty morning of Sept. 17, 1862, General George B. McClellan, commander Army of the Potomac, launched a series of assaults on General Robert E. Lee’s formidable left flank. When these attempts failed to dislodge General Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson’s veterans from the West Woods, another attack on the Rebel center was made at 10 a.m. by General William H. French’s division. The 5,000 mostly untested Yankees marched blindly toward a Southern line concealed in a sunken farm lane referred to as Hog Trough Road. Directly in the path of the Federal advance stood the Roulette farm.

While the Battle of Antietam raged, William Roulette
found shelter in his cellar.

With his family safe in the Manor Church, William Roulette returned to protect his farm, spending most of the day of the battle in the cellar but at least once sticking his head out and cheering on the Union infantry. (Some historians claim the Roulette family stayed in their cellar day of the battle, too.) Following the firestorm, one Federal soldier remembered, “Around the surgeon’s table in the Roulette barn amputated arms and legs were piled several feet deep.” Another witness later recalled the damage to Roulette’s property, “The buildings were struck by shot and shell of which they still bear the marks. One shell pierced the southern end of the dwelling, went up through the parlor ceiling and was found in the attic.” (The Samuel Mumma family, however, lost far more during the battle -- their house and barn were burned and destroyed, leaving only smoldering ruins.)

The Roulette family must have been devastated and disheartened to see their home and barn converted into a field hospital filled with bloodied, dead and wounded soldiers. Just south of Roulette’s lane, Confederate dead and wounded were stacked in the sunken road, now better known as Bloody Lane. One report stated at least 700 dead were buried on the Roulette farm. Crops about to be harvested were ruined and the farmer's fields were strewn with canteens, blankets, guns, knapsacks and countless other implements of war. According to a damage claim filed by Roulette, his house was “stripped during the battle of furnishings and floors were left covered with blood and dirt from being used as a hospital.” The Federal government compensated Roulette $371 toward an estimated claim totaling $3,500.

Like most residents of the Sharpsburg area, Campbell, Simon and the Roulettes pitched in to bring comfort and relief to thousands of bloodied humanity. Adding grief to misery, on Oct. 21, 1862, just 31 days after the battle, the Roulettes' 20-month-old daughter, Carrie May, died from typhoid fever. The toddler may have contracted the fatal disease from exposure to wounded soldiers. Nancy Campbell, Carrie May’s nanny from birth, surely suffered from the death of the little girl.

Final Homecoming

Nancy Campbell attended the one-room Tolson Chapel on High Street in Sharpburg, Md. 
 (Photo: Richard E. Clem)

In 1887, William Roulette turned over the farm to his youngest son, Benjamin Franklin Roulette, and the 63-year-old farmer moved into a smaller house in Sharpsburg. By this time, Nancy was getting up in years herself and only able to do “light” work, but the caring Ben Roulette let her stay on at the old homestead. William Roulette died Feb. 27, 1901. Margaret Ann had passed away 18 years earlier, on Feb. 19, 1883. Both are buried in Mountain View Cemetery on the eastern edge of Sharpsburg.

There is no doubt Miss Campbell was respected and paid decently for her household labor. At an unknown date, she had her picture taken, perhaps by a professional Sharpsburg photographer. The dress she wore in the image appears to be of fine material. (In a velvet-lined case, the photograph is now in the collection of the National Park Service at Antietam, courtesy of Earl Roulette.)

Miss Nancy was set free “forever” on Jan.  5, 1892, at age 79. On Jan. 20, 1885, seven years before her death, she had recorded a last will and testament with the Register of Wills in the Washington County Court House. It was rare for a slave, freed or in bondage, to have a will or a significant amount of money.

Combining cash in the bank with “cash in the house,” her estate value totaled $867.04, not including Nancy’s personal property. The will gives testimony to where this one-time slave placed her trust: “I give and bequeath to the Manor Church of the Tunker denomination to which I belong in Washington County, Maryland, the sum of Fifty Dollars.” The Afro-American Methodist Church in Sharpsburg also received $20 along with her personal Bible. Still standing and recently restored, this one-room log church was built in 1866 by Rev. J. R. Tolson for slaves and their children freed after the Civil War. Campbell attended Tolson Chapel while staying with the Roulettes, and the gift from her will is another example of the value she placed on spiritual guidance and worship.

Nancy also remembered with fondness her former master: “I give and bequeath to Andrew Miller, my chest, my trunk and my stand.” The will also provided $25 each to three of Miller’s children, Hamilton, Thomas and Susan. Heaster Ann Miller passed away March 11, 1899, and her husband, Andrew, was placed at her side in the Manor Church Cemetery on Dec. 8, 1910.

The will also reveals one of Roulette’s daughters was highly thought of by her nanny. “And unto Rebecca Roulette, daughter of William Roulette," the document reads, "I give the sum of One Hundred Dollars together with all my personal effects.” When Nancy went to live with the Roulettes, Susan Rebecca was only 5. It is evident the bond of affection and love between these two individuals was strong.

Nancy Campbell's gravestone in Manor Church Cemetery. Her last name is misspelled "Camel."
(Photo: Richard E. Clem)

As executor of the Campbell estate, Ben Roulette was responsible for paying the deceased’s burial expenses. For a coffin of “rough lumber,” J. L. Highberger, a Sharpsburg blacksmith, was paid $46. Samuel Line was paid $2.50 for hand-digging the grave. A member of the Manor Church congregation, Nancy was entitled to burial in church cemetery. Unknown for years, her tombstone remained face down. It was recently accidentally discovered and set erect by the cemetery caretaker. The stone is inscribed:

NANCY CAMPBELL
BORN
OCT. 15, 1813
DIED
JAN. 5, 1892
AGED
78 Ys 2 Mo & 20 Ds

At the bottom of the well-worn stone are these words from Scripture: “Blessed Are The Dead Which Die In The Lord.” Revelation 14:13.

Annabelle and Earl Roulette.

Records do not exist as to who furnished the gravestone or why the last name is spelled “Camel.” The same spelling, however, is found on several other legal documents for Nancy. But because she had no known relatives, perhaps it is understandable why the stone engraver inscribed it as he did. Even Miss Campbell, not being able to write, wouldn’t have known the correct spelling of her last name, which also explains why she signed her last will and testament with an “X.”

The life story of this humble yet “blessed” servant is dedicated to the lasting memory of Earl and Annabelle Roulette. The author will always cherish their warm, Christian friendship and hospitality given on a fall afternoon in Sharpsburg.

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Have something to add (or correct) in this post? E-mail me here.

SOURCES:

• Bailey, Ronald H., The Bloodiest Day: The Battle of Antietam, Time-Life Books Inc., Alexander, Virginia, 1984
• Ernst, Kathleen A., Too Afraid to Cry: Maryland Civilians In The Antietam Campaign, Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg, Pa., 1999
• Frassanito, William A., Antietam: The Photographic Legacy of America’s Bloodiest Day, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1978
• Morrow, Dale W., Washington County, Maryland Cemetery Records – Volume 1, Family Line Publications, Westminster, Md., 1992
• Maurice, Henry J., History of the Church of the Brethren in Maryland, Brethren Publishing House, Elgin, Ill., 1936
• Murfin, James V., The Gleam of Bayonets, Thomas Yoseloff Publisher, Cranbury, N.J., 1968
• Reilly, Oliver T., The Battlefield of Antietam, Hagerstown Bookbinding & Printing Co., Hagerstown, Md.,1906
• Schildt, John W., Antietam Hospitals, Antietam Publications, Chewsville, Md., 1987
• Sears, Stephen W., Landscape Turned Red, Ticknor & Fields, New Haven and New York, 1983
• Williams, Thomas J. C., History of Washington County, Maryland, Regional Publishing Company, Baltimore, Md., 1968.
• www.findagrave.com.

Antietam Then & Now: William McKinley monument

HOVER ON IMAGE FOR "NOW" PHOTO

 THEN image: Library of Congress collection, 1925 | NOW image: John Banks, April 1, 2017 (Sorry, hover effect does not work on phones, tablets.)

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Grave matters: Meet the man who helps make a great site go

"I've been fascinated and immersed in learning history," says Russ Dodge, a senior administrator
for the Find A Grave web site.

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For Civil War researchers, there's plenty to like online. Digitized regimental histories, glass-plate images from the Library of Congress, fabulous war-time newspaper accounts from the New York Times, widow's pension records and much more are available in seconds at our fingertips.

Among my go-to online sources for information is Find A Grave, a contributor-based web site that documents, often with photographs, the final resting places of thousands associated with the Civil War. Digging into Find A Grave led to my published accounts about a 54-year-old Connecticut private who was killed at Antietam and a Confederate soldier who wrote a beautiful, haunting post-war letter to his sister. Using the site, I contacted their descendants, who generously shared letters, photographs and other information with me about those Civil War soldiers. (I am also a big fan of Find A Grave's searchable, aggregated information for cemeteries -- especially this one for the national cemetery at Antietam.)

Find A Grave was founded in the mid-'90s by Jim Tipton.

A Find A Grave member since 2008, I have been curious about the site's inner workings and who was behind it. So I contacted Find A Grave senior adminstrator Russ Dodge, who got involved with the site soon after its creation in the mid-'90s. A longtime history buff, Dodge figures he puts in 20 hours a week working on the web site and other history-related projects. (In his day job, the 48-year-old New Jersey native works for a chemical trucking firm.)

"I've been fascinated and immersed in learning history," Dodge told me, "with Civil War history being my favorite topic." Of course, he also enjoys visiting cemeteries, especially the historic Laurel Hill Cemetery -- an "underground museum," he calls it -- high on the banks of the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia.

Dodge, who lives in Conshohocken, Pa., recently answered my questions about Find A Grave, Laurel Hill Cemetery, what beverage he would raise at the grave of his favorite Civil War soldier and more.

For the uninitiated, tell us what Find a Grave is and how it came about.

Dodge: Find A Grave is a contributor-based gravesite documentation web site. That’s its main purpose, which has not changed since its inception. Over the years, it has evolved two secondary purposes – as a memorial site to those who have passed and as a genealogical resource.

Jim Tipton started it in the mid-1990s as a venue for his hobby, which was seeking out and photographing the final resting places of famous and infamous people. Once people like me starting finding it, he started accepting contributions from other grave photographers. It grew to a point where he expanded it to include anyone who has lived and died. He opened it up to direct contributions from anyone who cared to register and contribute to it in 2001, and the rest, as they say, is history. There are now over 162 million names on the site. (Here's the site's FAQ.)

Russ Dodge (far left) pursues his passion for history during a tour of Laurel Hill Cemetery
 in Philadelphia. Here, he is at the family plot for Union General George Meade.

How did you get involved with Find A Grave?

Dodge: I sent in a pack of photos in October 1996, which he accepted and put on his site. That started my now 20+ years' association with Find A Grave. For a while, he had a small group of “power users,” which he granted limited autonomy in contributing to the database. When he made the 2001 switch to allow anyone to contribute, it quickly grew to point where he couldn’t run it by himself anymore, so in April 2002, he asked me and another well-regarded contributor, A.J. Marik, to become site administrators. For a good portion of the 2000s, it was just us three. Together we formulated standards and policies that for the most part are still in place today, and have seemed to serve the site well so far.

What's your favorite Civil War-related story regarding Find A Grave?

Dodge's efforts led to a new marker for the grave of
71st Pennsylvania Sergeant Albert Gesner Bunn,
who was killed at Gettysburg.
(Photo: Russ Dodge)

Dodge: There are too many to count. I thoroughly enjoy coming across a grave, and finding out their Civil War service through research. I guess my favorite is when I discover a Civil War veteran’s unmarked grave, and that information I discover leads to that veteran finally getting a grave marker. In Laurel Hill Cemetery, I discovered the grave of Sergeant Albert Gesner Bunn of the 71st Pennsylvania Infantry, who was killed manning an artillery piece near the copse of trees during Pickett’s Charge. He had lain unmarked for 148 years. After I put all his information on Find A Grave and created a memorial to him, the cemetery was able to get a marker for him, which was dedicated during a Memorial Day ceremony. I was glad to be a part of getting him the honors and recognition his sacrifice deserved.

PANORAMA: George Meade's gravesite at Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia.

(Click at upper right for full-screen experience.)

Union General George Meade, who lived in Philadelphia after the Civil War, died there in 1872.

You give tours of the vast, historic Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia. It's the final resting place of Union General George Meade and Confederate General John Pemberton of Vicksburg infamy, among many others with ties to the Civil War. What makes that place special to you?

Confederate General John Pemberton,
vanquished at Vicksburg in 1863,
is buried in historic Laurel Hill Cemetery
in Philadelphia.

Dodge: It’s truly an underground museum, just seething with history known and yet to be discovered. There are over 700 known Civil War veterans there, from buck privates to high-ranking generals – all of whom have a story under their stones. Name a theater of operations during the war, there is a veteran buried in the cemetery who served there. I feel like I'm walking in the footsteps of the history I love when I'm there.

As a cemetery expert, what advice do you have for amateurs?

Dodge: Be prepared. Have a camera handy, a notebook, water, and during the summer, sunscreen and bug spray. Learn to read a cemetery – they have patterns and “flow” that develop over the vast years that are only apparent after a long stretch of time. Doing so will help you find what you are looking for if it's something or someone specific. Be cautious and especially be respectful, and always remember someone’s loved one’s physical remains are under your feet. We are the custodians of their memory – always try to honor that.

I have found that Find A Grave is an excellent Civil War research tool. Give us three tips for using it for Civil War research.

Dodge: Get to know the three main web sites outside of Find A Grave that have an incredible amount of Civil War information at your fingertips – ancestry.com, Fold3.com and Genealogybank.com. People are put off by them because they are all for-profit pay sites, but I've found that the ease of information access is worth the price for me (Full disclosure: ancestry.com bought Find A Grave three years ago, so now via Find A Grave, I am an employee of Ancestry.) Information found on the site can really help you either flesh out a biography of a Civil War veteran you would like to add to the Find A Grave database, or it can help you determine if a Find A Grave memorial with scant info on it is indeed a Cvil War veteran.

Understand that there can be many variants of a soldier’s or sailor’s name, due to the unregulated record keeping of the time period, the lack of universal literacy amongst the general populace, and the very common use of aliases during service. Often the soldier you are looking for can be found if you spell his name in a different way. Don’t give up right away if you at first can’t find the name in the database.

Use the “Virtual Cemetery” aspect of Find A Grave to gather memorials together for easy reference. I have a “virtual cemetery” for every New Jersey Civil War regiment, so if I stumble upon a New Jersey Civil War veteran memorial, I have a place to add them to where I can easily find if needed.

Russ Dodge would enjoy raising a craft porter
or stout to the memory of Philip Kearny,
who's buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

To honor Civil War soldiers, some people place a penny (Lincoln side up) or a small pile of rocks on a headstone. Do you do anything special?

Dodge: I do indeed. After photographing and noting a Civil War veteran grave, I briefly touch the marker (depending upon its condition) as my way of silent saying, “I was here visiting you, and I am remembering you.” I also give a thanks for their service.

Ever been creeped out walking through a cemetery?

Dodge: Only by human neglect and human indifference to the memory of those buried there. It still astounds me that some places and some cemeteries are treated as badly as they are by the local populace.

Finally, if you could raise a pint of your favorite beverage at the grave of a Civil War soldier, whom would you choose and why?

Dodge: It would probably be a good craft porter or stout, and it would be at the grave of General Phil Kearny in Arlington National Cemetery. I feel he was personally the bravest general to serve in the Union army, and had he not died at the Battle of Chantilly on Sept. 1, 1862, the war in the East might have gone much differently.

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Antietam Then & Now: 16th Connecticut monument dedication

HOVER ON IMAGE FOR "NOW" PHOTO

THEN: Unknown photographer, Oct. 11, 1894 | Courtesy Gil Barrett via Stephen Recker,
Rare Images of Antietam And the Photographers Who Took Them.
NOW: John Banks, July 2, 2017. (Sorry, hover effect does not work on phones, tablets.)

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In its first battle of the war, the 16th Connecticut was routed in a field of head-high corn at Antietam on Sept. 17, 1862,. Here's an excerpt from the moving dedication speech for the regiment's monument at Antietam by former 16th Connecticut Lt. Colonel Frank Cheney, who was severely wounded during the battle. He was discharged for disability on Christmas Eve 1862. In the "Then" image above, Cheney may be the second man to the right of the monument.

QUOTE/UNQUOTE: "The general history of the Battle of Antietam has been written many times, and rewritten in all of its details. Just and unjust praise has been bestowed for what was done, and vain regrets wasted over what was left undone. The part of its true history which comes home to us to-day is that in which this small remnant of our regiment and our dead comrades were a part. The story of each man’s own life is the only atom of history he has knowledge of at first hand — what he knows about himself and his companions in arms; how they came to be soldiers; how they lived and looked in camp and on the march, in winter and summer, in storm and sunshine, at rest and in the thick of the fight alive; — full of courage and high hopes; then, dead on the field, or sadder yet, in the hospital; the hurried burial, or the slow funeral march; the last volley over the grave, and the march back to quick time. These war scenes come rolling over you with those of that bloody day at Antietam thirty-two years ago."

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Can you unlock secrets to Antietam's 'Amos Humiston' story?

A close-up of the face of the young woman in the CDV below.

CDV of an unknown woman with a tie to the Battle of Antietam.
 (Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library.
 "Woman" The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1827 - 1934.)

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The young woman in the plaid dress, hands folded in her lap, elbow resting on a small table and hair pushed back in a popular Civil War-era style, stares intently at the cameraman. Apart from her hauntingly sad eyes, the image itself is unremarkable -- hundreds of  thousands of cartes-de-visite like it were produced during the Civil War. What makes this CDV noteworthy -- and mysterious -- is what we find on the reverse (see photo below):

 CDV of a Union officer found in the Ezra Carman Papers
with the image of the young woman in this post. 
(Manuscripts and Archives Division, New York Public Library. 
"Soldier" New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1827 - 1934.)

"Copied from an ambrotype found in the grave of an Unknown soldier, on the Battle Field of Antietam."

At an unknown date after Antietam, fought Sept. 17, 1862, in the farm fields and woodlots near Sharpsburg, Md., the ambrotype was copied and made into a CDV by Bascom William Tell Phreaner, who ran a photography business in Hagerstown, Md., from 1864-1907. In addition to shooting images of the Antietam battlefield, Phreaner was a portrait photographer.

That one line on back of the Phreaner CDV prompts scores of questions, among them:

Who is the young woman?

What is the "unknown" soldier's name? Was the woman his wife or sweetheart?

Was the ambrotype found in the grave of a Confederate or Union soldier?

Where on the battlefield was the image found?

When was the photograph found? Many remains of Union soldiers who died at Antietam were moved to the national cemetery in 1867; others were removed and buried in hometown cemeteries. In the years immediately after the Civil War, remains of Southern soldiers were removed from the field and often re-buried in the Confederate section of Rose Hill Cemetery in Hagerstown or Elmwood Cemetery in Shepherdstown, W.Va.

Was the copy of the image part of a publicity effort to discover the identity of the woman and the soldier? If so, did stories about it appear in publications in Maryland, or was a national effort made to discover the identity of the soldier and the sad-eyed, young woman? What was published about this image, if anything? A initial search of  Maryland newspapers of the era available on newspapers.com provided no clues.

A close-up of the officer in the CDV above.

This tale, of course, could be the Amos Humiston story of Antietam. One of the enduring stories of Gettysburg is the discovery on the battlefield in July 1863 of an ambrotype of three children with the body of a Union soldier. He had no identification. That soldier, 154th New York Sergeant Humiston, was finally identified by his widow, who learned of his death after reading a detailed description of the image in a publication.

Adding another twist to our photo mystery, the image of the woman was found with a CDV of a Union soldier in the Ezra A. Carman Papers in the New York Public Library by preeminent Antietam historian Tom Clemens. Is the officer part of this story? Could his identification lead to solving the mystery? Perhaps the badge (see enlargement below) could be a clue to his identity.

Could this badge on the officer's chest be a clue to unlocking 
our mystery? This is a cropped enlargement 
of the photograph above.

(Carman, a Union veteran who served at Antietam, collected reminisces and much more from veterans of both sides to create the ultimate account of the battle and the Maryland Campaign. He served on the Antietam Battlefield Board from 1894-98. In a terrific effort, Clemens edited Carman's papers, provided context and had published a three-volume series on the Maryland Campaign. You can purchase those books on amazon,com here, here and here.)

This post is sprinkled with clues. Our hope is Civil War brainpower around the world can lead to identification of the soldier and woman. Photographs in this post may be downloaded at the New York Public Library site here, here and here. And, by all means, please share this post on social media.

My deep-dive into this story has officially begun. Let's solve a Civil War mini-mystery.

The reverse of the carte-de-visite of the young woman with the sad eyes. 
 (Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library. "
Woman" The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1827 - 1934.)

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'Bloodstains' and earthworks: Living with history underfoot

Dave and Laura Rowland at the now-capped well where a Confederate soldier is believed to have 
been  killed by a Union artillery shell that crashed through their house, killing two other soldiers.
(CLICK ON ALL IMAGES TO ENLARGE.)

In a small front room in the Rowlands' house, the floorboards have dark stains. Is it blood? 

Laura Van Alstyne Rowland talks about the history of her house.
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Near Laura and Dave Rowland's cozy house on East Main Street in Sharpsburg, Md., Civil War history abounds.

The national cemetery -- the bucolic, eternal resting place for scores of Union soldiers killed in the fields and woodlots at Antietam -- is a five-minute walk away. Mount Calvary Lutheran Church once stood across the street -- its belfry was an observation point for Confederates and its sanctuary a makeshift hospital for the Federals’ V Corps. In the fall of 1862, 20 paces or so from the Rowlands' front door, Alexander Gardner captured that battle-scarred church and houses in the village of Sharpsburg beyond it in a well-known photograph. (See a Then & Now of the church on my Civil War photography blog here.)

A close-up of the dark stains on the floor.

But Laura and Dave – you can also call him  “Bear” -- don’t even have to leave the house they rent to step back into time.

During the Battle of Antietam on Sept. 17, 1862, a Union artillery shell crashed through their house, killing three Confederate soldiers, longtime battlefield chronicler O.T. Reilly wrote in 1906. One victim apparently was in the backyard, where he was drawing water from the well. The demise of the other victims came in the kitchen, where one of them was found clutching a bunch of onions.

That soldier was "literally torn to pieces," Reilly wrote in The Battlefield of Antietam. "There have been Union soldiers who visited the battlefield since the battle who remembered seeing the sight just mentioned."

On Saturday afternoon, Laura moved pieces of furniture and lifted a braided rug to reveal possible evidence of the long-ago tragedy: massive, dark stains on the polished, brown floorboards. Is it really blood? Perhaps we'll leave the definitive answer for a future episode of Forensic Files.

In the video above, Laura, who had an ancestor killed at Gettysburg, talks about the “bloodstains” and history of the beautiful house, used as a hospital at Antietam. The residence, built in the late 18th century, is known locally as the Mary Hill House.

        GOOGLE STREET VIEW: The Rowlands' house was built in the late-18th century.
                                         (Click at upper right to explore the area.)

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  Dan Goldstein talks about Union earthworks behind his house.

Remains of Union earthworks in Dan Goldstein's neighborhood.

War-time Mineral Springs Road winds through the Estates of Chancellorsville neighborhood.

Dan Goldstein, whose ancestors fought for the Confederacy, lives with Civil War history in his backyard – literally. When the Union army was flanked by Stonewall Jackson during the Battle of Chancellorsville on May 2, 1863, panicked Federals fell back toward Mineral Springs Road, where the Yankees dug in for an expected assault. The remains of the XI Corps’ long-ago earthworks may be found in the fringe of woods behind Goldstein’s two-year-old house, about 25 yards from the end of his driveway.

In a nod to the neighborhood's history, 
street names are Civil War-related.

On a sultry Monday afternoon, the former director of development for the Fredericksburg (Va.) Area Museum pointed out remains of earthworks as we walked on the war-time road that winds through woods behind houses in the recently developed Estates of Chancellorsville neighborhood. Goldstein also showed me where earthworks were recently destroyed, a victim of a developer who paved a street called Second Corps Drive right through them. A historic easement wasn't good enough to save a chunk of history.

Goldstein has mixed feelings about living in the Estates, where many of the streets have Civil War-related names (“Fifth Corps Lane,” “Irish Brigade Court,” “General Sykes Circle”). Adjacent to the Chancellorsville battlefield, the neighborhood of upscale houses with spacious lots is a nice place to raise a family. On the other hand, battlefield land -- once National Park Service property -- was carved up to create the community that, according to its web site, “greets you with a stone entry feature and dual carriageway entrance lined with distinctive, period split-rail fencing.”

As our walk in the woods neared an end, Goldstein and I wondered about the Union soldiers' state of mind as they hurriedly built the defenses in early May 1863. "They must have been terrified," said Goldstein, who talks about the remains of the earthworks in his backyard in the video above. (Note: The reference in the video to "late May" should be "early May." We blame the heat.)

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Letters after Gettysburg: 'Your sainted husband fell asleep ...'

The Wheatfield, where 27th Connecticut officer Henry Merwin was mortally wounded July 2, 1863.

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After battles ended, the families of the fallen typically received the news from a commanding officer, another comrade or the regimental chaplain. As in the case of Confederate General Paul Jones Semmes -- who suffered a mortal wound at The Wheatfield at Gettysburg -- a stranger delivered the news. Condolence letters could be short and short and matter of fact. Others went into great detail about a soldier's death, even noting the gruesome nature of wounds. Below are three Gettysburg condolence letters. (For all Civil War condolence letters posted on my blog, go here.)

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'CHERISH THE MEMORY OF A VERY DEAR BROTHER'

At Gettysburg, Lieutenant colonel Henry Czar Merwin commanded the 75-man 27th Connecticut,   the smallest Union regiment in the battle. Eight companies in the regiment had been captured at Chancellorsville in early May -- Merwin was among them, but he was paroled later that month. On July 2, 1863, the 24-year-old officer was wounded in the chest in The Wheatfield and died hours later. His body was returned to Connecticut, where his funeral was a major event in in his hometown of New Haven. "The people would cherish his name," the New Haven Daily Palladium noted, "and immortalize it with indelible characters on the tablet of Fame." Merwin was buried in Grove Street Cemetery in New Haven. 

On July 12, 1863, 27th Connecticut Lieutenant David S. Thomas wrote this condolence letter to Merwin's brother, Samuel:

S. E. Merwin, Jr.

Sir:

Henry Merwin "was the man for the boys 
of the regiment," a 27th Connecticut officer wrote.

Enclosed please find $2 -- a small amount advanced me by your brother when we came to this place. Henry also gave me his old blouse and overcoat. The former I wear at present, and both I shall take with me home. The value of these articles is of course little, but should your family wish to retain them for their associations I will leave them with you. In the great loss you have sustained I can but add my sympathy to the general sorrow of the regiment. I am conscious that the deepest condolence fails to rectify events, or that the most sincere sorrow of friends cannot assuage the poignant grief of family affliction, yet a companionship of months forms ties which a soldier serves [indecipherable] in silence, but the memory of which still clings to him through all vestitudes [indecipherable] of life.

A frequent recipient of his kindness myself, I had learned to look upon Col. Merwin as the head of the regiment -- the father to the men and the friend to all. In camp, on the march or on the battle field Col. Merwin was the man for the boys. It was he whose kind words and kinder deeds cheered the sick and encouraged the wayworn -- it was he who inspired us in battle and who looked to our welfare when the battle was over. We had hardly a comfort -- but it was associated with his name, and we never had a sorrow that any exertions on his part could banish. Any proficiency in drill which the regiment may have attained is due in a great measure to his personal attentions, which to him I am directly indebted for what knowledge I have gained of military. Both officers and men will ever cherish the memory of Lieut. Col. H.C. Merwin, as they would cherish the memory of a very dear brother.

Yours, Lieut. D. S. Thomas

SOURCE:

soldierstudies.org, accessed July 1, 2017.

          PANORAMA: Henry Merwin's 75-man regiment was routed in The Wheatfield.
                                       (Click at upper right for full-screen experience.)

'HIS SPIRIT IS NOW ENJOYING PERFECT PEACE'

Confederate General Paul Semmes, a 48-year-old banker and planter from Georgia, was wounded in the thigh during a charge in The Wheatfield on July 2. “Severely wounded. Main danger over," he wrote in a short letter to his wife on July 9, 1863, from Martinsburg, Va. (now West Virginia), where he was treated. "Stay at home. Will write." Semmes died the next day. His remains were returned to his native Georgia, where he was buried in Linwood Cemetery in Columbus. This condolence letter to Semmes' wife, Emily, from a Martinsburg woman named Mary Oden vividly captures the general's last days. 

Martinsburg
Friday July 10th 1863

My Dear Mrs Semmes

I need hardly ask you to pardon me for addressing you in this your season of sore anguish and bereavement, it will be enough to state in apology for so doing, that your sainted husband fell asleep among us; it was a privilege to have his example before us, teaching us that the soldier of Christ has nothing to fear when passing through the dark valley. Dr. [Jacob Milton] Hadley, one of his surgeons, remarked to him that he bore his sufferings with great calmness, his reply was, I am endeavouring to bear them like a Christian philosopher; even when suffering severe pain he seemed to take pleasure in conversing and after he became so ill talked constantly of his family.

Paul Jones Semmes was mortally wounded
in The Wheatfield on July 2, 1863.
The Confederate general was buried
in his native Georgia.

In a conversation with him, he told me that he thought he would write the despatch to be sent to you himself as you would feel less uneasy. I suggested that it might be taxing his strength too far, he wrote but little however; you have I suppose received it, but we thought you would like to have the original, we fortunately obtained it from the operator here, you will find it enclosed with several locks of hair in this letter.

I know by experience how hard it is to resign a friend from whom we have been separated for a long time, whom he had fondly hoped to see again; that they should die far from home and among strangers adds keenly to our grief, but you my dear friend in affliction, will derive infinite comfort from the knowledge that his brother, your nephew and a friend that loved him tenderly, when he breathed his last were with him; he passed away just as Dr. Pryor a Presbyterian minister had opened the Testament to read to him.

To a minister who was with him earlier in the evening he expressed his willingness to die; his only regret was leaving his wife and children. Much very much sympathy is felt for you all; I have thought so much of your daughters, I too am fatherless, yes even worse  han that an orphan indeed, but little more than a year has passed since our dear Mother was numbered with the dead; my dear Father has been dead a number of years and I know what it is to be without that fatherly love and protection which the heart ever yearns for. Excuse me for referring to my own trouble, I only do it in order that you may feel that you have the warmest sympathy of those who know how to sympathize, because they too have trod affliction’s path.

I wish you could see the quantities of beautiful flowers brought here this morning; for fear you may not be able again to look upon the deceased, I will tell you the arrangement, for no particular is trifling concerning those we love; a large bouquet of white flowers and evergreens was placed upon his bosom, white jessamine, clematis, and ivy were placed around the sides of the coffin near his head, on the outside two bouquets similar [inserted: to the first] were placed, one at the foot, the other
below the glass, in the middle his coat and sword have been laid. His remains are laid in the sitting room according to Captain Cody’s request, as it takes some little time to make arrangements, he preferred it to the parlors.

Surgeon Jacob Milton Hadley cared for mortally wounded 
Confederate General Paul Semmes in Martinsburg, Va. 
(now West Virginia). Hadley was captured by the Union army at 
Martinsburg in July 1863, days after the Battle of Gettysburg.

Your husband desired Mr. Cleveland to find out each of our names in order to tell you, our family consists of my Aunt Mrs Pendleton, Mr & Mrs Allen, (my brother in law and sister) my sister Kate, my brother and myself; we have a friend Miss Murphy who was with us during his sickness. His friends now make efficient nurses that we could not do much, Kate prepared herself what little he eat while here; he came on Sunday morning July 7th [5th] about eleven o’clock, he rested better he thought that night than usual; the next morning he seemed better; in the evening my sister took him some raspberries and cream which he seemed to enjoy very much, he talked to her sometime about Virginia and Georgia.

Thursday evening between three and four we thought he was dying, a surgeon and minister were both sent for, once he asked what time it was on being told that it was three, he said “by quarter past three I hope to be with Christ."

We told Mr Hanson, that he was far away from Christ that he had not come up to His standard, but he was willing to die and ascribed his conversion to your example. I have been this minute in relating as far as possible all that relates to the departed, for fear that  you may not hear all, for gentlemen sometimes forget little things that transpire, then perhaps Mr Cleveland may not be able to go to you, every word I know is treasured up as a precious memorial in the heart’s casket and a twice told tale is not unwelcome when it concerns our beloved ones. While I write my heart is saddened by the thought that you are unconscious as yet of your irreparable loss. I wish you could be here, but God has ordered it otherwise, and may He give you grace patiently and resignedly to say, “Thy will be done.”

           PANORAMA: The Wheatfield, where General Semmes was mortally wounded.
                                     (Click at upper right for full-screen experience.)

In conclusion my dear Mrs. Semmes allow me to say, that what little we could do to conduce to your husband’s comfort has been a great pleasure; we saw him first two weeks before his death passing through with his Brigade, his appearance struck us so forcibly that Captain [George] Cheever, his commissary whom we had known before asked us if we would like to make his acquaintance, we then invited him to tea, his duties prevented his acceptance of the invitation, Captain Cody came with Dr Told & Capt Cheever and though we had not known the General he seemed very far from a stranger when brought among us. He has passed away but his spirit is now enjoying perfect peace; we mourn not [inserted: for] the dead but the living: for those who will grieve sadly that the privilege of ministering to the departed was denied them accept the love and deep sympathy of each member of our family, praying again that God may strengthen you even as he did him.

I remain with much love your sympathizing friend.

Mary Oden

One little circumstance I have forgotten; a few moments before the General died, he asked for his sword, laying it across his arm, he asked again for his Testament he took it and with it in his hands expired, they would have left it so, but that he had asked that you should have it. Oh! if all our warriors might die as he did, death would be robbed of half its sting.

PS -- You will also find a few evergreens, taken from the bouquets laid upon the coffin my sister thought you would value them.

-- SOURCE

Oden, Mary (1863, July). [Letter to Emily J. Semmes]. The Gilder Lehrman Collection, The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, New York, N.Y. Transcript retrieved July 1, 2017, from https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/american-civil-war/resources/civil-war-condolence-letter-for-general-paul-semmes-1863

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(National Archives via fold3.com)

 'IT IS MY PAINFUL DUTY ...'

John Rinker, a private in the 108th New York, was mortally wounded on July 3, 1863. Rinker, a German whose first name apparently was anglicized from Johannes, died the next day. He left behind a wife of three years named Johnanette, who was pregnant with the couple's second child. The Rinkers had another son, 2-year-old Lewis. Rinker's final resting place is unknown.

Camp 108th Regt NYV, Aug. 4.

Mrs. Rinker
Dear Madam

Your husband was in the Battle of Gettysburg & it is my painful duty to acquaint you of his wound & consequent death.

He was shot through the bowels & died the next day.

He died in a hospital & was decently buried.

With much respect I am you obt. servant

A. T. Wells
Lt. Company A.

SOURCE: John Rinker's widow's pension file, National Archives & Records Service, Washington, D.C., via fold3.com.

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