I've always been of the belief that I had no direct ancestors who fought in the Civil War, but over the weekend, a cousin pointed out that two of my g-g-g-grandfathers did serve for the Union
Nimrod McIntosh was in Company D of the 7th Kentucky Infantry. It seems he did not join until early 1865, meaning he was not in it long, but that still is service. Hopefully I'll be able to see more of his service records soon and see just how long he was in it. He may have also been in the Invalid Corps too. I did find his name in the soldier's & sailors system the National Park Service has online (a great site, here's the link: http://www.itd.nps.gov/cwss/soldiers.cfm)
Henderson Turner apparently served in the 14th Kentucky Cavalry from late 1862 until early 1864. My records show he was born in 1847, so if that information is accurate, he was only 15 years old when he enlisted. Family lore says he had been stationed at Newport Barracks when he was discharged, and could not find a ride home, so he walked the entire distance to his home in Breathitt County in eastern Kentucky. I don't know how many miles that would be, but even today, with modern cars, large highways & the Mountain Parkway, it's about a 3 hour trip, so it is no short journey at all.
I did not find Mr.Turner on the soldier's and sailors site, but did find his name on the 1890 Veteran's Census for Breathitt County, found here
Hopefully I will learn more about these ancestors and their service in the near future, but I was really happy to get this information. It has always been a disappointment to think I had no relatives in the War, with as much as I like both the Civil War and genealogy, but I now find that I had totally overlooked these men and had not paid as much attention to my family history as I once thought.
No comments:
Post a Comment