Distinguished by His Bravery: William Sanders, Newport Home Guards

During the Civil War, many Home Guard companies quickly came together during the chaos and uncertainty of the initial weeks and months of the war, as men were anxious to join the fight. These smaller groups were often the first military units to form, sometimes centered around prewar militia groups, or geographic circumstances, and were perhaps easier and quicker to join without the usual military paperwork.

In Kentucky during the summer of 1861, weeks after the war started, the state created "county-based companies of Union men" that it called Home Guards.  However, the organization of these units was "never uniform throughout the state" and was frequently rather "informal."[1]

In Campbell County, several such units popped up, usually based around the town or community where the members lived instead of just the county. These included groups in Brooklyn and Jamestown as well as in the Mt. Vernon and Mt. Pleasant areas of what is now Ft. Thomas. Gus Artsman’s (or Artzman’s) company of the Kentucky Police Guard and the 42nd Kentucky Enrolled Militia regiment also organized largely in Campbell County, the latter not until the late summer of 1862.

Around the state, as summer of 1861 transformed into fall, “many Home Guard units saw action in defense of their communities, although the combat value of most Home Guard companies was slight.” These were not well-trained, disciplined troops. These were groups of men, usually without military experience, coming together for a common cause.

When these local groups entered combat, they often experienced a similar fate as similar companies. “Confederate units, especially those led by John Hunt Morgan, who often encountered Home Guardsmen, seldom had much trouble brushing aside even the most persistent of men.”[2]

Some of these units, or at least some of their men, did, however, fight bravely when they had the chance to “see the elephant.” It did not happen in their own community, but the men of one such unit that formed in Newport, Kentucky, soon witnessed the true nature of combat.

——

William Sanders was born on January 16, 1829, in England, three decades and a wide ocean away from the war that would eventually decide his fate. He later made his way across the cold and often dangerous Atlantic Ocean to the United States, settling in Campbell County, Kentucky by the late 1850s, when he married Elizabeth Band, another immigrant from England, on October 3, 1857, in Newport.

In 1860, he lived in Newport with his wife, two children, and 16-year-old Thomas Sanders, who may have been his nephew, as the census reports he was also an English native. William worked as a clerk. 

After the Civil War started, William joined Artsman’s company of the Kentucky Police Guard, a short-term home guard unit based in Newport, enlisting as a sergeant on September 19, 1861, but he mustered out just two weeks later on October 4. This company included 70 men, likely all or mostly from Campbell County, including a Thomas Sanders, quite possibly William’s family and housemate. Thomas would have been 18 by this time. 

 

After leaving that unit, William enlisted as a second lieutenant in another local group of citizen-soldiers, this time John Arthur’s company of Newport Home Guards. In mid-1862, danger approached a region not terribly far from Campbell County, so the men of this unit travelled south to Cynthiana in Harrison County to face an approaching enemy force.

Confederate General Morgan, of course, was soon to become the scourge of many Union supporters in Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio, and a hero to southern sympathizers. He had just recently “launched his first major raid into Kentucky,” hoping to interrupt Union communication lines and to recruit more men for his cause.

On July 17, he had arrived in Cynthiana, “strategically located on the Kentucky Central Railroad and the Licking River.” His troops, about 800 in number, soon met the enemy, some of whom had “positioned themselves across the river in houses and had posted artillery to contest the bridge crossing.     

The Confederates attacked and soon forced their opponents to surrender. They “captured more than 300 horses, destroyed Cynthiana’s railroad depot and nearby railroad track, and wrecked a Union camp.”[3]     

 The beaten Union forces included the Newport Home Guards, which had been “badly cut up” during the battle.[4] This unit had suffered losses reported as two men killed, six wounded, and two missing.[5]

 William was one of those casualties, suffering an undocumented wound which was not immediately fatal. He was able to leave the battlefield having “distinguished himself by his bravery” on that ground.

His wounds were apparently serious, as he eventually was admitted to St. John’s Hospital in Cincinnati, where he died of his battlefield injuries on November 18, four months after the engagement. He was buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Southgate, Kentucky, where his colleagues attended the funeral of this immigrant who had given his all in defending his adopted homeland.[6]

His widowed Elizabeth lived until 1920, but in 1871 remarried, now to John Henry Stegeman, another Civil War veteran, having served as a 1st Lieutenant in the 5th Ohio Light Artillery.

Those few lines in the newspaper and a headstone were the closest to fame or glory William Sanders ever received but his story is another one worthy of recognition and a place in the memory of this bloody war.

[1]Hughes, Nicky. Home Guards. Taken from The Kentucky Encyclopedia. Kleber, John E. (Editor-in-chief); Clark, Thomas D.; Harrison, Lowell M.; Klotter, James C.; (Associate Editors) University Press of Kentucky. 1992. p. 438 

[2]Ibid

[3]https://explorekyhistory.ky.gov/items/show/99

[4]Cincinnati Daily Enquirer, July 19, 1862

[5]Cincinnati Commercial Tribune, July 21, 1862

[6]Cincinnati Daily Enquirer, November 19, 1862

 

The first photo is from https://www.hmdb.org/PhotoFullSize.asp?PhotoID=711423

The next one is courtesy of https://explorekyhistory.ky.gov/files/show/111

The headstone photograph came from findagrave memorial id 88684715

Another Distant Campbell County Connection with Perryville

This should be my final post from the Symposium in the Field at Perryville and the wonderful time I had in those few days. This may be more of a personal interest, relating to my research on Campbell County, Kentucky in the Civil War, but I'll go ahead and post it.

While looking at a battlefield historical marker that I have seen so many times, I realized I could make another tiny connection between the battle and Campbell County. 

As the below advertisement from the September 20, 1861, Cincinnati Daily Commercial shows, an ambitious Campbell County man was recruiting volunteers for a company of Kentucky Cavalry. Despite the newspaper’s spelling, his name was Lewis Wolfley (pictured below in his uniform, the photo from findagrave memorial #9747.)  (Recruits should "loose" not time" - oops. :) )

                                                                                          

He was looking for men to join Colonel James Streshly Jackson’s 1st Kentucky Cavalry regiment, but as happened so often early in the war, plans changed, though only slightly, and Jackson took command of the 3rd Kentucky Cavalry.

Jackson soon left that regiment, for good reason, as he was promoted to Brigadier General of U.S. Volunteers in July of 1862, and commanded the Union’s 10th Division as it met Braxton Bragg’s Confederates at Perryville, while Lewis served as a captain, then major, in the 3rd for the entire war until his discharge in August of 1865. He then lived a long and interesting life. I’m working on a story on him, but an basic internet searches will turn up numerous hits on his name for those interested.

Wolfley had been recruiting for Jackson’s unit in 1861, so it is possible, perhaps likely, that the two had communicated at least by writing, if not in person.

 James S. Jackson, photo from Wikipedia 

Jackson, unfortunately, did not survive the battle in the Chaplin Hills, as a well-aged historical marker on the Open Knob describes.

Author's photo

These two men, one living in Campbell County and the other from Fayette County, Kentucky had originally worked to find men for the same regiment. Both were politicians for brief periods, with Jackson serving in Congress before the war, and Wolfley serving as Arizona’s governor decades after the conflict. Aside from their political experiences and their work for what became the 3rd Kentucky Cavalry, however, the fates of war took their careers and lives in very different directions.

Book review: Kidnapped at Sea

Kidnapped at Sea: The Civil War Voyage of David Henry White

                                   By Andrew Sillen                                    

Copyright 2024

Johns Hopkins University Press

Reading this newly published book reminded me of how much important and interesting Civil War scholarship is taking place. I knew the basics of the story of the CSS Alabama and the name Raphael Semmes was a familiar one, but I knew nothing of the story of David Henry White, a young and free African American man who wound up on the Alabama through no fault of his own.

His tale deserves the attention that Andrew Sillen gives it in this work. 

Despite that introduction, this is not a true biography of White. There simply are not enough existing details of the everyday life of this man, who left no known written correspondence behind and whose presence in government records was minimal.

Nevertheless, Sillen uses the records that do exist, along with his exploration of the time and places in which White lived and worked, and the people and experiences involved in his life to describe the short life and sailing career the subject led. This required significant research, which the author clearly did, through the use of period records as well as other studies of Delaware (including its history, agriculture, relationship with slavery and proximity to Maryland), slavery, nineteenth century society, and the backgrounds and beliefs of the officers of the Alabama. He also studied other modern works on the Alabama’s story for other views on the matter and weaves these sources into a narrative that unwraps the world into which White was born and grew into a teenager, even when he finds misinterpretations in parts of these other accounts. It really is an effective approach to explore such an elusive subject who (may never have learned how to write or to otherwise tell his version of his life). In this work, Sillen finds a way to tell that story.

David Henry White was as far from a famous or influential figure in American history as possible, but his life and story were - and remain - important to study and to remember. His kidnapping (not impressment, as the author shows) was mentioned in the American media when it first happened, but his condition seemed of little concern to American consuls around the world, in countries where the Alabama stopped. When Britain made reparations to the U.S. for damages the British-made ship had cause, White’s family did not receive compensation. His story faded even more in the following years and decades and his name is unfamiliar even to many Civil War enthusiasts today. This book helps address that. 

Sillen’s emphasis on White’s prewar status as a free man, not a slave as other accounts have stated, is especially notable. His description of how a career in sailing provided opportunity for people like White, (though as free blacks became more populous, Delaware changed its laws to refuse such opportunity) stands out in the description if White’s blossoming life in his teenage years. Delaware was not a Derp South cotton state, but nor was it overly friendly to African Americans. 

The author perused the writings of Semmes and his officers to explore their attitudes towards naval service, the war, and slavery. Semmes and some of his officers came from slave-owning families, which naturally influenced their views. The culture of the navy, with its focus on glory since promotion was slow and difficult to achieve, certainly influenced Semmes. Also, the complete separation of the ship's officers and crew while not on daily duty symbolizes the important of class and hierarchy in American society. As a free black young man, David Henry White was another reminder of how customary such segregation was.

Sillen also notes how post-Civil War “Lost Cause” ideology affected Semmes’ thinking and writing, an astute observation. Semmes' training as a lawyer also influenced his written accounts of his service. 

One topic this book frequently discusses is the misbehavior of the Alabama’s crew and scenes that White may have witnessed. I especially noted the description of the ship’s roster as “entitled Confederate officers and undisciplined mercenaries” on page 101. The rest of the work supports that view of most of these men. 

I like how the book is organized. The chapters are short, which make them quick to read, but consist of appropriate topics and are in fine order, adding to the quality of the book. This work is not in pure chronological order. Sometimes that is a bit distracting, as there are a few mentions in parenthesis like “as discussed in chapter 8” or “see chapter 22” that appear in the text, but that’s a minor nit to pick. Adding such notes does give the reader opportunity to re-read a section or to know that more details will follow, a benefit that outweighs the occasional distraction, especially as the reader gets accustomed to it.

The additional details in the notes at the end of the story are another valuable addition that not all books provide, and the illustrations throughout the book also add a layer of understanding, especially the photographs taken on the Alabama.

Captain John Winslow, the leader of the Kearsarge in the final battle the Alabama fought, played a key role in this saga, or at least its end, so the mentions of his background and his Mexican-American War acquaintance with Semmes are helpful.

One noteworthy piece of Sillen’s work is the ending of chapter 22. After the Alabama had lost its final battle and sank to the bottom of the ocean, a list of the ship’s men who had perished in the contest was published in a British newspaper. It neglected to mention David Henry White. Sillen calls White “ever a ghost” and observes that the kidnapping victim “remained at the end, invisible." (p. 225)

Chapter 23, entitled Accounts, includes a discussion of how Semmes turned White into what Silken calls a “caricature.” (p. 232) He shows how the Confederate Captain used period stereotypes of “faithful” or “happy” servants. and uses the phrase “self-serving paternalism” to describe this attitude, while also giving examples of modern Confederate supporters adopting similar romanticized and false views of White.

Maybe the most fascinating chapter of the book is chapter 24, An Ocean of Lies, with its examination of false information Semmes and his comrades had written about White, his status, and his time on their ship. The author points out these lies and provides evidence that prove their inaccuracy. It is a very convincing chapter. 

David Henry White never enlisted in the military or agreed to risk his life for his country, but did end up giving his life in the conflict that kept the nation united and aided in freeing people of his race. Thankfully, Andrew Sillen shares his story, keeping White from becoming permanently invisible and just another anonymous member of the approximate 700,000 deaths of the Civil War. He was a human, and he was a young man. He was real and so is his story.

Overall, this a well-researched and written book. Andrew Sillen has produced an enjoyable and informative study of a lesser known yet important tale of a free black man kidnapped by Confederates during the Civil War. It is definitely a book that I happily recommend that others read. 

(I received a review copy of this book from the publisher, but all comments in this review are my true and honest opinions.)

Thoughts from my Perryville Weekend

 

Well, that was fun.

What perfect weather and atmosphere in the region this weekend. I am not sure if I could design a better set of days in mid or late October. Fortune smiled brightly on those who attended the symposium.

Obviously, I enjoyed it, but it started before the battlefield, when I finally visited Camp Nelson National Monument. One of the buildings there was under repair and off limits, but the main building was available and holds a terrific museum. The introductory movie, like do many sites feature, was very well-done and enjoyable also.

I enjoyed the museum’s displays on the history of the site, including its usage before its contributions to the enlistments of African American soldiers, for which I have known it best. I read quite a bit of information that I did not know beforehand.

The museum has several rooms, with exhibits on individual soldiers as well as more general life of soldiers and refugees. It includes an archaeological section of items uncovered at the camp, and also discusses refuges, usually family members of soldiers who enlisted there. 

This was an important Civil War-era location in Kentucky and anybody reading this has not been there, I encourage you to visit it. It’s definitely worth the trip. I’ll be back there again someday.

One positive about it is its proximity to Perryville, and, actually, the entire region which features history at Perryville, Danville, Harrodsburg, Shaker Village, and more. For those who like history, this area of the state offers quite a few fascinating attractions. Even places like Bardstown, Abraham Lincoln’s Birthplace, and more are reasonably close. 

On to Perryville. I have probably stated many times here how much I enjoy the place. It is beautiful (especially with virtually perfect weather like this weekend featured), peaceful, fascinating, and just terrific. Knowing the violence that took place on those hills yet feeling such calmness and serenity while trodding on the once bloodstained land is such a weird contrast that I experience there. Maybe that’s just me, though. 

I did not take part in the walking tours this weekend. The distance and especially the topography are not so kind to my legs and my lungs and I just felt it best not to challenge myself too much. Shame on me, as I know I missed some great presentations and scenery. Maybe I’ll do more next year.

The Friday night driving tour of some of the lesser-discussed actions of October 6 and 7, sort of a prelude to the madness, was fascinating. Darryl Smith did his usual through job of researching these skirmishes, finding the appropriate sites, such as small country lanes or hilltop cemeteries, to visit to discuss them, and then telling these stories to the folks in attendance. These were not major fights and did not receive major after action reports or coverage, so details on just how many men and/or which exact units were involved are scarce, but Darryl pieced a lot of information together to tell these stories, notably emphasizing how Joseph Wheeler and his Confederates delayed Charles Gilbert’s larger Union force on these hills, valleys, and creeksides around Springfield, Ky., yet also how he failed to forward accurate scouting reports to his superiors. Darryl’s use of first-person accounts and statements from participants is always a welcome part of presentations like this.

Another fun part is the people in attendance. Obviously, everybody going on such a tour shares similar interest, but it was still fun listening to others share their information, opinions, stories, and even questions, not only on the events being covered but also on related topics like how the state historic site could be better. 

It’s always nice to meet such friendly people, and helps me realize how much knowledge and Civil War interest exists. Every time I think I have good knowledge of the war, I see how much more there is to learn and how many people already know so much more than I do, especially on the military aspects of the war such as troop movements, tactics, and the performances of various commanders.

I also appreciated the opportunity to visit the Bottom House and the land immediately surrounding it. The Saturday evening reception was especially pleasant, sort of a relaxed and enjoyable social hour. My Campbell County project has interested me in the 15th Kentucky Infantry regiment, and it was in the hills around and behind this house where the 15th fought and suffered so much. At least 4 men from my home county died here, others were wounded, and even more, who lived elsewhere but who enlisted in Campbell County, also perished on these acres Being there was a special opportunity and memory for me.

Many thanks also to the Friends of Perryville group for co-hosting this weekend along with Derek Lindow and Darryl Smith of The Western Theater in the Civil War website and Facebook page, who did the work of organizing and arranging the symposium. I encourage others to check out and support both of those groups. I did rejoin the friends group and hope others follow suit.

I know I made a previous post with some pictures of scenes from this adventure, but here are just a couple more of the park, Friday evening’s drive, and the Bottom House.

Scenes from my trip to Perryville

 I’ll work on some more in depth thoughts for another post, but I truly enjoyed the past few days, even though I did not go on the walking tours. What I saw was terrific, and the views at the park were as beautiful as ever.

It’s always weird that a place of such carnage can now feel so peaceful .

Here are a few photos in random order. I just posted ones that I liked while going through the ones I took. 

                                                    Looking at the Open Knob in the distance 

                                                                          Museum Display

                                                                     The Valley of Death 

                                                            Display on battle casualties 

                                                    

                                                                Open Knob (Parson’s Ridge)

                                                      Marker “Defense of the Union Center”

Marker “Simonson’s Battery”

                                                       Starkweather’s Hill (cannon in front)

                                                            Marker for the 42nd Indiana

Marker “Artillery Duel at Loomis Heights”

                                                   Fearless guide Darryl Smith on Friday’s tour

                                                             A roadside stop on Friday’s tour 

                                                     “Sermon on the Mount”  Friday night

         

                                                      Getting late at Peter’s Hill, Friday evening 

Carpool lined up in a beautiful sunset 

                                                            Scenic view of fence 

                                                       Looking uphill behind Bottom House

            

Reception at the Bottom House

                                        

Isaac G. Thacker, 40th Ky Infantry: The Life of a Boy Soldier

It has been a while since I last posted, so here finally is another story, this time about a very young man who served his country more than once.

Boys fighting in the Civil War is just one of the thousands of topics covering the Civil War, and it was, of course, also an issue in Campbell County, Kentucky. One instance of this was the story of Isaac George Thacker.

Isaac was born on May 2, 1849, in Olive Hill, Carter County, Kentucky, the son of Daniel and America Thacker. 

On September 17, 1863, as the Civil War was in its third year, Isaac enrolled as a private in company E of the 40^th Kentucky Infantry, though he was soon listed as a musician.

The 40^th Kentucky Infantry had been organized at both Grayson and Falmouth, Kentucky in mid-1863. It then remained in Kentucky, including involvement in operations against the forces of Confederate General John H. Morgan in 1864. These contests included fights at both Mount Sterling and the Second Battle of Cynthiana.

These men then spent the rest of their time in the service in eastern Kentucky and near Saltville, Virginia the regiment mustered out in December of 1864.

Isaac was only 14 years old when he enlisted, well under the military’s minimum age of 18 for soldiers. Many youngsters were able to avoid this standard and join the army anyway, especially as musicians or drummer boys, but some, including Campbell County residents Perry Wright and Adam Freppon, ran into trouble when their families found out what their sons were doing. Both of those boys managed to overcome their parents’ disapproval and joined the military, but Isaac did not have that problem, as his mother (under the name America McClannahan from a new marriage) permitted his enlistment by signing (making her mark) on the “consent in case of minor” section of the Declaration of Recruit document that Isaac had signed in a similar fashion. This consent allowed him to leave home at such a young age, soon to face unknown situations and scenarios that scared or scarred many an older man. He apparently found out that military life suited him, despite some hardships, beginning a long life including years in various military units.

When Isaac joined the Union Army, he appeared as the boy he was, standing 5 feet, 3 inches tall, and featuring dark eyes, dark hair, and a dark complexion. His occupation was farmer, no doubt from his work on the family land.

He enlisted for a one-year term, signing up in Olive Hill.  

In February of 1864, he served on “extra duty” on the provost guard in Paris, Kentucky. The provost guard was a unit similar to modern military police, and Isaac may have helped guard prisoners. Perhaps officials tried to find him tasks less dangerous tasks than active field duty, but, if so, it did not work. Records list him as absent without leave in June of that same year, but other paperwork clarifies that he had been captured by Confederate General John H. Morgan’s men in May or June, at either Mt. Sterling or Cynthiana as Morgan’s latest group of  rebels invaded Kentucky.

After Morgan paroled his captives (instead of trying to guard and feed them during his raid), Isaac spent time in a hospital in Lexington in July and August.

He mustered out of the army on December 30, 1864, in Catlettsburg, Kentucky.

After the war, the 21-year-old Isaac lived in Cold Spring, in 1870, working as a farmer and sharing his home with members of the Gard family, per the census recorded on August 1. A few weeks later, on  September 14, he married one of his housemates,  Alice Gard, in Newport. They later had one son, Albia, born in nearby Dayton (KY) in 1881, the same town where Isaac had been working as a carpenter. 

He moved around often in the post-war years, but in 1890 was still in Dayton.

At some point in the 1880s or 1890s, Isaac and Alice divorced, as that was her marital status in the 1900 census, though specific information on when or why they separated has not revealed itself.

Isaac married again, this time to Millie Sheffield on July 14, 1893, in West Virginia and in 1900, he could read and write and worked as a baker in Franklin County, Ohio. Ten years later he worked as a farmer in Cabel County, West Virginia, where he and Millie remained as the 1920s began.

The Civil War apparently had not quenched his thirst for military experiences, so in the years after that conflict,  enlisted in the army three more times.

On June 12, 1866, he joined company H of the 1^st Infantry in Cincinnati. At this time, he was a farmer with gray eyes, dark hair and a ruddy complexion, and had grown to  be 5 feet 7 inches tall. He was discharged from this service on June 1, 1869, in Michigan as his term of service reached its end. He was a sergeant at that time.

In 1883, he enlisted in company E of the 10^th Infantry.  He joined in Fort Wayne, Michigan, still a farmer with similar physical traits. He was discharged from this service on August 15, 1888, at Fort Lyons, Colorado, again as his term had expired. He was a Protestant, and his character was “excellent.”

Undated photo from a family tree on ancestry.com

His final enlistment in the regular army occurred at Vancouver Barracks, Washington on April 16, 1889. He joined the 14^th Infantry and was discharged on October 21, 1890, by a special order at the same location. Records showed him with a similar physical description and again described him as a Protestant with excellent character.

Soldier Isaac Thacker died on April 27, 1929, at age 79, in Holmes County, Ohio, and was buried there in Killbuck Cemetery.               

  From findagrave memorial id 16147070

Immigrant, Bugler, Prisoner, Deserter: Frank Brinkman, 4th Ky. Cavalry (USA)

        As I have studied Campbell County men who served in the Civil War, I have learned quite a bit, including about battles that I had never seen much about previously. One such contest was the First Battle of Murfreesboro, a July 13, 1862, birthday victory for then-Colonel Nathan Bedford Forrest and his Confederate troops, described in that link as “the first significant operation behind Federal lines in the western theater,” a success that “catapulted Forrest to great renown and a promotion to brigadier general,” while interrupting Union operations against Chattanooga and communication in middle Tennessee.

The Confederate triumph at this lightly guarded city, “a strategic supply depot on the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad,” for the Federals, may have also enabled General Braxton Bragg to take the time to concentrate his band of Rebels for a campaign into Kentucky which ended at the Battle of Perryville three months later.

I found out about this contest while exploring the life of Frank Brinkman, a bugler in the Union army and a postwar resident of Campbell County. 

Frank was born on November 21, 1840, in Bremen, Germany and immigrated to the United States in 1859. He became one of numerous German natives who fought for the Federal government, including several I have uncovered in my own research. 

When the Civil War began two years after his arrival, he enlisted in company A of the 4th Kentucky Cavalry on September 25, 1861, in Louisville, mustering into the regiment as a bugler in December. He stood 5 feet 8 inches tall, and had a fair complexion, light hair, and blue eyes.   

The 4th Kentucky Cavalry included “the second largest contingent of Germans in a Kentucky regiment.  Perhaps this shared heritage was the reason he joined this particular unit.¹

 Frank’s regiment remained in the western theater of the war after its organization. It spent much of its time in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Georgia, seeing action in various battles and campaigns including the Tullahoma Campaign in mid-1863, the Battle of Chickamauga in September of that year, and the Atlanta Campaign throughout the spring and summer of 1864.

During the inglorious action at Murfreesboro, Frank became one of the about 800 to 1,200 Union soldiers captured by Forrest’s men. The victors quickly paroled their captured enemies, obligating them not to fight again until an official exchange between the two armies went into effect. Frank spent time at Camp Chase in Ohio awaiting exchange, but when he was exchanged on January 20, 1863, he chose to desert the army instead of returning to his unit.²

Good fortune was on his side, though, as he was able to remain away from the army for a few months until Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation of amnesty in early 1863, allowing soldiers who were absent without leave to return to their unit with no punishment except the loss of pay for their time away. Frank took advantage of this opportunity and returned to the regiment on April 15.

The rest of his military days were less eventful. In early 1864, he re-enlisted in the unit as a Veteran Volunteer and received promotion to Chief Bugler of the entire regiment around the same time.

He served out his remaining term and mustered out of the army on August 21, 1865, in Macon, Georgia. 

   Kentucky Post June 23, 1916

In his postwar years, he lived in Newport by 1870, working as a steamboat cook. He married Elizabeth Moeller in 1876, and the couple had at least three children before she passed away in 1901. He also worked as a bridge contractor in these decades.

Frank died of diabetes on June 21, 1916, at home on Retreat Street in Southgate. His obituary described him as an “Ohio River sailor and commander, and for many years collector on the Central Bridge” who had “plied the Ohio River for more than a half century,” perhaps including some of the hyperbole that obituaries of the time often employed. It mentioned his service in the war, claiming he had lived through “four years and 31 days of actual war experience,” probably another slight exaggeration, and had been an “active member” of the William Nelson Post of the Grand Army of the Republic ever since that post’s formation. ^3,4

The G.A.R. post conducted his funeral at his home, and the funeral procession carried his body to its final resting place in the Union soldiers’ section at Evergreen Cemetery, just a few hundred yards from his home.

 

From findagrave memorial # 22198050 

¹Reinhart, Joseph R. A History of the 6th Kentucky Volunteer Infantry, U.S. The Boys who Feared no Noise. Beargrass Press 2000. Accessed via https://www.usgenwebsites.org/KYCampbell/germanscivilwar.htm, July 9, 2023.  
²https://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entries/battle-of-murfreesboro/, Accessed August 1, 2024
³Kentucky Post, June 21, 1916
⁴Kentucky Post, June 23, 1916