A modern-day Alexander Gardner creates tintypes

I marveled watching wet-plate photographer John Bernaski create tintypes last weekend at a Civil War encampment in Madison, Conn., near Long Island Sound. The old-time craft requires patience and a lot of skill, but the end result is often beautiful ... and better than contemporary photography. Bernaski, who's from northern New Jersey, has perfected his technique since he began shooting tintypes 13 years ago. ...

... a young couple patiently poses as Bernaski works his magic with his bulky camera, similar to the version Alexander Gardner used to shoot images at Antietam and elsewhere in the field during the Civil War. The lens of his camera, Bernaski told me, dates to the 1850s. To produce his images, he uses the same process and same chemicals Civil War-era photographers used. ...

... just like most Civil War-era subjects, this couple must remain still for seconds so the final image does not appear blurred. Civil War photographers could not easily capture motion. ...

... a close-up of Bernaski's camera. ... 

... a Union officer poses for his image while Bernaski prepares his camera. ...

... an image of a Union chaplain rests in a bath of chemicals before the drying process begins. Bernaski charges $35 for a quarter-plate image, more for larger image sizes. ...

a table of the final product ... 

... like Civil War-era photographers, Bernaski has a portable studio. ...

.. for a much more detailed explanation of the wet-plate tintype process, go here and here or watch a pretty cool video here.

A visit to grave of first Union general killed during Civil War

General Nathaniel Lyon was buried in his hometown of Eastford, Conn., on Sept. 5, 1861. 

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No day in rural Eastford, Conn., may ever surpass the late summer day when the body of native son Nathaniel Lyon — the first Union general to die during the Civil War — made the trip home for burial.

"The funeral brought together more people than the town ever saw convened within its limits before or will again for many years to come," the Hartford Daily Courant reported.

Nearly four weeks earlier, on Aug. 10, 1861, the commander of the Army of the West had died from a bullet wound to the chest at the Battle of Wilson's Creek in Missouri. A West Point graduate and Mexican War veteran, Lyon was only 43.

Throughout the North, citizens mourned the general. In St. Louis, where Lyon's remains arrived on Aug. 26, "the whole city seemed buried in the profoundest grief." In Cincinnati, thousands passed by Lyon's body as he lay in state Aug. 29, and in New York, flags hung at half-mast throughout the city after the arrival of his remains.

Lyon suffered three wounds at the
 Battle of Wilson's Creek. 
A bullet to the chest proved fatal. 
(Library of Congress)

When attendants transported Lyon's body from the train station in Hartford to lay in state at the Senate Chamber, the bell of the State House tolled and soldiers fired minute guns. Two days later, on Sept. 4, 1861, Lyon's remains traveled by special train to Willimantic, Conn., where flags hung at half-mast, bells tolled and "every balcony and windows [were] filled with people."

During the four-hour, 12-mile journey from Willimantic to Eastford, mourners lined the roads to view the 300-wagon procession. In a poignant moment, mourners carried a physically challenged girl from her house to the roadside to witness the historic event. At about nightfall, men, women and children, some carrying lamps or candles, followed Lyon's hearse as it arrived in Eastford.

At sunrise the next morning — a "bright and cool" Thursday — "people began to pour into the village in continuous streams," noted an observer. "For miles around, the principal roads were filled with long and nearly unbroken lines of conveyances."

At the 10 a.m. memorial service at the Eastford Congregational Church, thousands gathered while notables gave speeches from a booth set up on a slope. The governors of Connecticut and Rhode Island governors attended the service, as did an ex-governor of Connecticut, a U.S. Senator, the mayor of Hartford, army generals and Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Galusha Grow of Pennsylvania, an Eastford native.

"Windham County opened hospitable doors," the Daily Courant reported, "and the extraordinary tax upon the capacity of the community was duly honored. All the guests were well cared for by willing people, with willing hearts."

Atop Lyon's coffin in front of the pulpit lay the general's hat and sword. A "banner which he had followed so devotedly, and upheld so gloriously," wrote an observer, "threw its graceful fold over the head of the sleeping warrior."

Lyon's casket remained closed, no doubt a wise move given the time elapsed since his death and the treatment of his remains after his death. After the battle, doctors tried to preserve the body with injections of arsenic but apparently had little success. (The U.S. Army twice lost track of Lyon's body, which had first been placed in an outdoor cellar and covered with straw on the farm of a staunch Unionist. Later, the woman had the remains buried on another part of her property. Thankfully, the Union Army eventually took custody of the body.)

For the 2 1/2-mile journey from the Congregational Church to Phoenixville Cemetery, attendants placed Lyon's body in a hearse trimmed with American flags and built by noted Hartford undertaker William Roberts. The cemetery grounds formed a "perfect amphitheater," a witness wrote, for a crowd estimated at up to 15,000 people. Pall bearers that afternoon included Connecticut Gov. William Buckingham, Rhode Island Gov. William Sprague and two generals. While attendants lowered Lyon's coffin into a family plot, the Hartford City Guards fired a three-volley salute.

"When the last echoes of the musketry over Lyon's grave rattled through the ravines of Windham County," the Daily Courant reported, "there was not one of all the throng who did not leave the sacred place with a sadder, even if not a better and more patriotic heart."

(See below for the complete account of Lyon's funeral in the Hartford Daily Courant on Sept. 6, 1861.)

An illustration in Frank Leslie's Illustrated, a popular Civil War newspaper, depicts 
Lyon's wounding at the Battle of Wilson's Creek on Aug. 10, 1861. Lyon is on horseback.

Hartford Courant, Sept. 6, 1861

The escort accompanying the body of Gen. Lyon left Hartford, by special train, at 12 1/2 o'clock Wednesday noon. In addition to the special escort detailed from the Army in Missouri, and the friends of Gen. Lyon, which we mentioned Tuesday, there were present at this time the Hartford City Guard, Capt. Prentice, with 60 men, and Colt's Armory Band; the Hartford Light Guard, Lieut. Kipplin, with 40 men; Col. Burnham, of the First Regiment Connecticut Volunteers; Capts. Gore and Durivage, and Lieut. Merrills, of the Second.

The train arrived in due season at Willimantic, and found the people gathered there by thousands. All the buildings in the vicinity of the depot were covered, and every balcony and windows filled with people. The flags were dressed in mourning and drooped at half-mast, and the bells of the village were tolled. The procession started at 3 1/2 o'clock for Eastford, which was reached in about four hours.

From the time the body left Hartford, to the hour when it was deposited in the Congregational Church in Eastford, all classes and conditions of people paid it, in sundry ways, some token of respect.

A  service for Lyon was held at the
Eastford Congregational Church
on Sept. 5, 1861. Thousands gathered here
to pay  their respects to the general.

It was nearly dark when the procession wound over the hills in the vicinity of Eastford, and found the flags in sable trimming plentifully displayed. The groups which had been a feature of the route, now grew more frequent. At one house, a young woman who has been an invalid for fifteen years, was brought out upon the bank by the roadside, that she might see the train go past. As the village lights were seen in the distance, the military formed in line and preceded the corpse to the centre. Here it was followed by the crowd, men, women and children, some carrying lighted lamps, and some lighted candles, up the hill to the church, where the body was laid for the night.

Windham County opened hospitable doors, and the extraordinary tax upon the capacity of the community was duly honored. All the guests were well cared for by willing people, with willing hearts.

Thursday was bright and cool, a beautiful day being promised -- a promise which was fulfilled subsequently. Soon after sunrise the people of the County came flocking in, and a continual stream of carriages continued for hours. The churches and some of the other buildings of the town were covered with black. A booth for the speakers and invited guests was erected on the slope east of the Congregational Church, and in front of and around this the thousands gathered. Col. Sabin came in with a company of one hundred horsemen from Woodstock. The Tiger Engine Company, of Southbridge, preceded by a band, and the Home Guard, of the same place, were among the organizations present. Among the guests were Gov. Buckingham, Adjt.-Gen. Williams, Senator Foster, Hon. A.A. Burnham, M.C. from the Third District; Major-Gen. Pratt, Mayor Deming and Postmaster Cleveland, of Hartford; Major Warner and Lieut. Holcomb, of the Third Connecticut Regiment, and Lieut.-Col. Young, of the Second, from Connecticut; Gov. Sprague and Staff, Col. Gardiner, Col. Frieze, Col. Harris, Col. Sprague, Col. Knight and Attorney-General Burges, from Rhode Island; Adjt.-Gen. Schouler and Lieut.-Col. Witherell, of Gov. Andrew's Staff, from Massachusetts; Hon. Richard Busteed, of New-York; Hon. Galusa A. Grow, of Pennsylvania; Col. Casey, of the U.S. Army, and Paymaster Adams, of the U.S. Navy; Lieut. J.B. Dunlap, Thirty-eighth New-York Regiment; Hon. J.B. Colt, of Missouri.

On Sept. 5, 1861, a crowd estimated at 15,000 people gathered at old  Phoenixville Cemetery  for Lyon's graveside service.  (Click on image for full-screen interactive panorama.)
At sunrise a gun was fired by a detachment of the Hartford City Guard, and this was followed by a signal gun at 9 o'clock. At the time the multitude, arriving on foot, or by all manner of conveyances, begun to gather on the slope in front of the church. It was nearly 11 o'clock when the City and Light Guards came from the direction of Danielsonville, towards which they had gone to meet Gov. Sprague and suite. The exercises of the day commenced soon afterwards, Ex-Gov. Cleveland presiding.

The choir sang the hymn, "Hark from the tombs a mournful sound."

A West Point graduate and Mexican War veteran, Lyon
was 43 when he died at Wilson's Creek.

Rev. Mr. Willians, of Chaplin, made a prayer; the choir sang "America;" and Judge Carpenter, of Killingly, was called to the stand. He gave a brief review of the life and character of Gen. Lyon.

Hon. Galusha A. Grow followed. He eulogized Gen. Lyon as a true patriot and brave man.

In a similar strain, Gov. Buckingham, Gov. Sprague, and Judge Colt, of St. Louis, spoke. Remarks were also made by Capt. Edgar, Maj. Conant, and others of the Army in Missouri, and by Messrs. Deming, Busteed, Schouler, and Senator Foster. After the speeches, the exercises of the forenoon were finished. The military and guests were marched to a grove and collated.

In the afternoon, the line was formed and marched to the grove. The body was conveyed in the splendid hearse of Roberts, of this city. The vehicle was decorated with silver trappings, trimmed with American flags, surmounted by plumes, and drawn by four black horses. By its side walked the citizens who came with the body from St. Louis, and whose mission was now coming to a close, and the honorary bearers designated by Ex-Gov. Cleveland, consisting of Gov. Buckingham, Gov. Sprague, Gen. Pratt, and Gen. Casey. As the procession neared the grove, the detachment of the City Guard fired a National salute from a high hill near at hand.

After arrival at the grave, the Episcopal burial service was read by Rev. C.C. Adams, the Methodist Clergyman of Eastford. The body was lowered into the earth, the City Guard fired three volleys over the place, and the vast assembly dispersed.

Gen. Lyon was literally buried with his fathers in the family burial-ground, in the town of Eastford, near the Ashford line. The funeral brought together more people than the town ever saw convened within its limits before, or will again for many years to come. The estimation in which Lyon was held by all patriot people, amounting almost to idolization, was shown by the multitude who gathered to pay this last tribute of respect and affection to his remains. It is estimated that 15,000 were present; and when the last echoes of the musketry over Lyon's grave rattled through the ravines of Windham County, there was not one of all the throng who did not leave the sacred place with a sadder, even if not a better and more patriotic heart.

The date the monument was placed in old Phoenixville Cemetery is unknown.

When he was shot at the Battle of Wilson's Creek, Lyon was on horseback, leading Iowa troops.
This is a close-up of the front of the memorial.

Another close-up of the front of Nathaniel Lyon's memorial in Eastford, Conn.

Crossed swords and cannons and a shield on the front of Lyon's monument.

General Lyon Cemetery was formerly known as Phoenixville Cemetery.

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-- Have something to add, correct? E-mail me at jbankstx@comcast.net

Revealing 'secrets' in a South Carolina cemetery photograph

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At first glance, this photo of a small Southern cemetery is unremarkable. A picket fence borders the grounds, which include at least 11 graves. Words appear on the headboard on the left in the back row, but they seem indecipherable. A large tree branch juts out, perhaps obscuring other graves in the background. Judging from the freshly turned dirt in the right background, three of the interments appear to be recent. Weeds choke the cemetery, suggesting upkeep was not a priority.

Timothy O'Sullivan photographed the scene in South Carolina in 1862. The glass-plate image is in the collection of the Library of Congress, which makes high-resolution, digitized versions of Civil War photos available for free on its excellent web site. The caption on the negative sleeve for the original image reads, "Graves of Sailors Killed at bombardment Hilton Head, S.C. Nov. 1861." 

On the LOC web site, the creation date for the photograph is listed as "1861 Nov.," but that's incorrect because one of the sailor graves in the image notes he died in 1862. O'Sullivan shot other images in Hilton Head in April 1862, the probable time frame for this photograph.

Explore the details available in a high-resolution scan to reveal the "secrets"  ...

U.S.S. Wabash

... A close look at the large, wooden headboard in the left background reveals it marks the grave of  Thomas Jackson, a coxswain aboard the flagship U.S.S. Wabash.  Jackson suffered a gruesome death during the Union navy's attack at Port Royal Sound in South Carolina on Nov. 7, 1861, when the Wabash, a large steam frigate, came under fire from batteries at forts Beauregard and Walker. A "huge shot" struck Jackson in the leg, leaving it "dangling by a mere shred of quivering flesh and skin." Probably in shock, Jackson attempted to amputate the leg with his knife  but was unsuccessful, and he was quickly attended to by his comrades.

Lacking cannons of heavy enough caliber or range to withstand the attack, the Confederates were overwhelmed and abandoned the forts, allowing the Union to tighten its blockade on South Carolina. Casualties on both sides were light: the Union navy suffered at least six killed and 20 wounded; 11 Confederates were killed and 47 were wounded in the forts.  

"Rapidly he sunk away," noted an 1865 account of Jackson's death in The Soldier's Casket, "and at last, with a short sigh, died." Jackson was apparently buried by his messmates hours later and may have been re-interred later in the graveyard in Hilton Head, S.C. It's unknown whether his remains were disinterredand re-buried nearby in Beaufort (S.C.) National Cemetery, which was established in 1863. It is the final resting place of more than 7,500 Union servicemen, many unidentified. There is no record there for Thomas Jackson.

Here's the full account of Jackson's death in The Soldier's Casket: 

A 43-year-old seaman from Delaware, George W. Collins joined the Union navy in Philadelphia on Aug. 24, 1861. According to a Union navy enlistment document, he stood 5-foot-6 and had blue eyes, brown hair, a fair complexion and his occupation was listed as carpenter. In the 1860 U.S. census, Collins' occupation was listed as "waterman," and he lived in the Kent County town of Little Duck Hundred with his wife and daughters, Lucy and Mary. At least four other people whose relationship to the Collins family is uncertain lived with them.

Collins had blue eyes, brown hair and a fair complexion, according to this enlistment document.
CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE

In the 1860 census, George Collins' occupation was listed as waterman.
(Enlistment and census documents from fold3.com)

In March 1862, Collins and several other sailors from the U.S.S. Susquehanna were ordered to go on scouting missions on two South Carolina rivers. On March 22, they were fired on by Rebel pickets, who were scattered by a howitzer. But later that night, when they went ashore at the junction of Pull-and-be-Damned Creek and the Cooper River, they were mistakenly fired on by Union pickets. One of the shots hit Collins, killing him. It was an act, a Union officer wrote in a report, of "culpable carelessness."

Later that spring, Collins' body was returned to Hilton Head. On the day his marker appeared in O'Sullivan's photograph, it was partially obscured by weeds. ...

... An enlargement of the tall headboard next to Collins' marker reveals the words "Sacred to the Memory of" and "Killed on Board." But the name of the sailor, vessel he served aboard and date of his death are too difficult to read to make a positive identification of who is buried here. Was he among the sailors killed the night Thomas Jackson died? If so, we may be able to hone in on his name. For now, however, his identity remains unknown. ...

UPDATE: Eagle-eyed friend of the blog Craig Heberton provides a probable ID on this grave marker:

The marker which stumped you appears to read "W.H. FitzHue (FitzHugh)," who died "aged 23 years" onboard the "U.S.S. Pawnee." An account: "There were eight reported Union casualties in the successful naval effort to take Port Royal, South Carolina on November 7, 1861. Eight sailors died from wounds suffered during the four-hour bombardment of Confederate-held Forts Beauregard (on St. Helena) and Walker (on Hilton Head), which guarded the entrance to Port Royal harbor. One of those sailors was William H. Fitzhugh, a 1st-class boy on board the USS Pawnee. An enemy shell struck the ship and exploded at the waterline killing ordinary seaman John Kelly instantly. Splinters from the impact shattered Fitzhugh’s right leg. To save him, the surgeon amputated his leg, but Fitzhugh died later that evening probably never knowing of the Union victory that he participated in that day. He was buried with full military honors at Bay Point the next day with the other seven men killed in battle. William Fitzhugh was a contraband of war, that is, a recently, self-emancipated slave who found his way to the Union line in Virginia and enlisted in the Navy. Fitzhugh may be the first black casualty for the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron but he was in no way unique in his naval service."

... In another enlargement of the original O'Sullivan image, this man, dressed in a suit coat and wearing what appears to be a slouch hat, stands by two grave markers. Perhaps he was the cemetery caretaker or maybe someone who just came to pay his respects to Union sailors buried there.

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SOURCES

• Barratt, Peter, Circle of Fire: The Story of the USS Susquehanna in the War of the Rebellion, Columbiad Press, 2004, Page 97
• Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Series I, vol. 12 (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1902), 264.

Seven Pines hospital: Fabulous details in June 1862 image

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George Barnard, whose Seven Pines images I examined in this post, wasn't the only photographer employed by Mathew Brady to photograph that Virginia battlefield in June 1862. James Gibson, who may have been Barnard's supervisor, also shot images there -- including this one of a two-story, frame house used as a hospital by Union General Joseph Hooker's division.  On May 31-June 1, 1862, the armies fought to a draw at Seven Pines (or Fair Oaks), eight miles from Richmond. Among the more than 11,000 casualties was General Joseph E. Johnston, the commander of Confederate forces in Virginia, who was severely wounded by a shell fragment and replaced by Robert E. Lee. You may have heard of him. Enlargements of the TIFF version of this glass-plate image, available on the Library of Congress web site, include fascinating details, many not obvious in the original. ...

... on the second floor, an officer leans toward an open window, apparently peering at the photographer. ...

... while another man on the second floor, his feet propped against the window sill, relaxes with what appears to be a newspaper. Perhaps he read details of George McClellan's Peninsula Campaign, which eventually led Little Mac to change his base or retreat, depending on your perspective.  After a series of defeats, the Federals earned a victory at Malvern Hill on July 1, 1862. But their campaign to take Richmond was over. By mid-August 1862, the Union army had been transported north from Harrison's Landing on the James River.

... in the far left window on the second floor, two men are partially obscured by tree branches. ...

... behind the house, near a wood line, two soldiers and tents in a Federal camp ...

... with a bayonet attached, this soldier's musket towers above him. Two other muskets, a shovel and a pick ax lean against the house. ...

... perhaps the shovel seen near the doorway was used to dig this grave, probably for a Union soldier. A small fence made of logs surrounds the gravesite, an unusual treatment and an indication this may have been an officer's grave. A pile of freshly turned dirt obscures the headboard, making it impossible to decipher the name, rank or regiment of this person.

(Some Civil War photographs are so sharp that details such as the names of soldiers on grave markers may be easily read. See my posts here, here, here, here and my favorite example here.) After the war, this soldier's remains may have been disinterred and re-buried at Seven Pines National Cemetery. Sadly, the identities of only 141 of the 1,357 soldiers buried there are known.

What else do you see in the image?

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Seven Pines battlefield: Amazing details in June 1862 images

CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE.

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In June 1862, George Bardnard shot images of Federal soldiers near earthworks in Casey's Redoubt on the Seven Pines battlefield in Virginia. Remarkable details appear in Civil War glass-plate images, which may be found in downloadble TIFF format on the excellent Library of Congress web site. 

In the foreground of Barnard's image, a 32-pounder field howitzer points toward Confederate lines about a mile away. On May 31-June 1, 1862, the two armies fought to a draw here at the Battle of Seven Pines (or Fair Oaks), resulting in more than 11,000 casualties. Richmond, the Confederate capital, was only eight miles away . ...

... in this cropped enlargement of the original, at least seven Union soldiers stare intently at Barnard's bulky camera ...

;... and these Yankees doze near them. The soldier at right uses an ammunition crate and what appears to be a rolled-up blanket to catch a few winks while an artilleryman, a sword in a scabbard at his side, rests on the ground near him. ...

... two pick axes, a shovel and a musket lay on the ground in front of these soldiers ...

... and look behind these three men. There's a large group of soldiers, muskets on their shoulders. ...

... in many accounts, soldiers recalled the two battlefield landmarks that appear in the middle distance of the image. Both armies used the "Twin Houses," built along the Williamsburg Road, as a hospital. The Federals also used the structures for a headquarters.

"I had the privilege of being one of the first Union Surgeons to enter the Twin Houses of Fair Oaks used as a hospital by the rebels," a doctor noted months later. "Some sick belonging to our army were there at the time of the commencement of the battle and remained there. From them I learned that the Confederate Surgeons treated them most kindly and gave them the only medicine they had — a little whiskey."

Obliterated by post-war development, the scene in the photograph is unrecognizable today, and the Twin Houses have long since been torn down.

... in the left distance of Barnard's photograph, horses and soldiers gather in the shade of a stand of trees. ...

... Barnard also shot this image at Seven Pines. It shows the other side of the Twin Houses ...

... the redoubt featured prominently in Barnard's first image appears in the background in this enlargement of his second image. ...

... while in another enlargement of the original image, Union soldiers gather at one of the Twin Houses. One of them peers into the window of the house, perhaps still in use as a hospital. ...

... but the most interesting, and sobering, detail of Barnard's image is this cropped enlargement of the foreground, which shows fresh graves of soldiers who died at Seven Pines. According to the image caption, more than 400 fallen rest in this field. Below, an illustration from the 103rd Pennsylvania regimental history shows burial crews interring bodies and dead horses burning near the Twin Houses. The number of Federals disinterred after the war and reburied in Seven Pines National Cemetery is unknown.

Antietam to 'prison pens': William Nott's remarkable journey

A post-war image of 16th Connecticut soldier William Nott. (Connecticut State Library)

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On Nov. 23, 1908, 64-year-old William Nott started writing his remembrances of his remarkable service in the Union Army.  The 16th Connecticut veteran, the son of a shoemaker, had survived the bloodiest day of the war, nearly eight months as a POW, and a little-known accident on the Potomac River in which seven other soldiers in his regiment drowned.

Nott's family had deep roots the United States, so it was no surprise he joined the Union Army. His great-grandfather emigrated from England in 1636, settling in Wethersfield, Conn. His grandfather William captained the sloop Guilford during the Revolutionary War, and his father, John, served as a private in the American army during the War of 1812.

A copy of William Nott's post-war journal. (Blogger's collection)

"I have never regretted the step I then took in defense of my country and the Old Flag," Nott wrote in his 104-page journal regarding his enlistment on July 22, 1862. "... I would have willingly given my life for it."

He nearly did.

In its first battle of the Civil War, at Antietam on Sept. 17, 1862, the 16th Connecticut was routed in a hilly, 40-acre cornfield, suffering 75 killed or mortally wounded.

"We had never aught to have been put in [the battle]," wrote Nott, a private in Company K at Antietam, "but they needed us. Co. B was deployed as skirmishers right in front of us and between the Rebels, which was a great mistake because they knew nothing about a skirmishers duty, never being drilled on it. Consequences was ... when the Rebs came over the stone wall [the skirmishers] fell right back in front of us so that we could not fire on the Rebs without firing into our own men."

On the extreme left of the Union Army, the lines of the 2nd Rhode Island and 16th Connecticut  collapsed. Many soldiers in Nott's regiment scurried for cover. "Some of the boys got frightened and crawled down under the rocks and behind trees to protect themself, [sic]" he wrote. Others simply ran for their lives.

"We could not do our duty as soldiers that day in that cornfield, as we certainly would have done it if we had been properly drilled before putting us into that battle," Nott wrote in his journal.

                   The 16th Connecticut was routed in the 40-Acre Cornfield at Antietam.
                 (CLICK ON IMAGE FOR FULL-SCREEN INTERACTIVE PANORAMA.)

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Eighteen months later, on April 20, 1864, Confederates captured nearly the entire Union garrison at Plymouth, N.C. Most of the 16th Connecticut was sent to Andersonville, a POW camp so terrible that Nott recalled seeing fellow prisoners lying in the open without protection from the elements, covered with maggots. “The food they got,” he recalled of the sickly soldiers, “just past [sic] through them and lay right beside them. Ah, it was horrible.”  

Nott witnessed the worst humanity at Andersonville. The commander of the camp, Henry Wirz, reviled by most prisoners, was a "good representative of his Satanic majesty," Nott wrote. If a soldier crossed the camp boundary line, he risked getting a bullet through his head from one of the guards. "Men that were once strong and healthy," Nott noted about his fellow prisoners, "[were] reduced to walking skeletons and almost naked and smoked and sunburnt."

Nott and three of his 16th Connecticut comrades made a tent out of an army blanket for protection from the sun and frequent downpours. Other POWs weren't as fortunate. Some slept in the mud, "just looking up to the skies and breathing the rains," recalled Nott, who spent nearly five months in Andersonville. After a rainstorm, maggots would crawl over prisoners' feet, nose and ears. "The swamp near where they slept was just one rolling, tumbling mass of maggots and filth," he remembered.

After his parole on Dec. 10, 1864, Nott weighed 85 pounds, 80 pounds less than he did at enlistment. Following his departure from Andersonville, he suffered in prisons in Charleston and Florence, S.C.

Some prisoners at Andersonville, William Nott wrote in his journal, had no protection from
 the elements. (Library of Congress photo)

Even after the war officially ended, Nott couldn't escape tragedy. On April 23, 1865, Nott and 12 16th Connecticut soldiers boarded the USS Massachusetts with more than 300 other Union soldiers at Alexandria, Va. The army had ordered the soldiers to re-join their regiments to complete their terms of service. Nott and his comrades had just returned from 30-day furloughs.

Dozing aboard the Massachusetts with his comrades, Nott recalled being suddenly awakened around midnight by a crash as the steamer sailed down the Potomac.  The Massachusetts was about a mile from Maryland's Blackistone Island, near the mouth of the river. Shockingly, the 1,155-ton  vessel had knifed into the port side of the side-wheel steamer Black Diamond, damaging its boiler, slashing a hole down to the water line near the wheelhouse and stunning the 20 or so men aboard her. Meanwhile, the Black Diamond had carried off a chunk of the bow of the Massachusetts, "making a hole large enough to take in five or six men abreast down to within a foot of the water's edge," Nott remembered. Neither vessel saw the other before the accident.

Days after the Potomac River tragedy, it received little
coverage in the Hartford Daily Courant.

The Black Diamond went under stern first in about three minutes, and the Massachusetts was crippled. “Water struck the fires under the boilers when she sank,” Nott wrote of the Black Diamond, “and filled the smoke stack full. Oh, the great dark hole in the water she made. I said this beats all I have ever seen, but I was saved once more and I thanked God.”

In all, at least 50 men drowned; one report noted that nearly 90 perished. Among the dead were seven soldiers in the 16th Connecticut, each a survivor of Antietam and Andersonville. “After all their suffering in the prisons pens, then to be drowned,” Nott wrote.“It seemed bad.”

After he finally returned home for good, Nott visited his family, including his cousin Charlie, who gave him a job painting his house -- the veteran's first job since his nearly three-year stint in the army. "We were citizens once more," he wrote in his journal, "and all was peace [and] our country was saved, and the Old Flag was again to float all over our beloved country and no traitor dare attempt to haul it down."

In 1869, Nott married a woman named Mary, with whom he fathered two children. A staunch Republican and a member of several veterans' organizations, he was one of  Bristol's more respected citizens. After he died in 1924, Nott was buried in  the town's West Cemetery among many of his former 16th Connecticut comrades.

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