Family Involvement in Civil War

by Donna Swagerty Shreve

After listening to a zoom lecture about the effects on local families from the Civil War in Northwest Arkansas, I became curious about how other branches of my family coped with such a life changing event. I narrowed my family search to eight branches because they were alive in 1860 and had to make some hard choices.

The first Civil War story I heard was about my great- grandfather Abraham Lincoln Aldrich. He was unnamed for several months until the new president was elected. He was born early in 1864 and after the election in November, he was named. The story he told his children was that his father Harris Aldrich went off to the war and made the name request before he left. Once I did research, I discovered that Harris was 46 years old in 1860 and I doubted he was ever accepted to enlist. I also found his residence during the Civil War period and it proved he never left his family. I did find an Aldrich who did enlist. Myron H. Aldrich was 17 in May of 1862 when he enlisted in Michigan. He was the oldest son of Harris and his first wife. The second wife was the mother of Abraham. Myron saw a lot of action with the A-15 Infantry as a sergeant. He mustered out in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1865. 

Abraham’s wife Ida Laura Palmer had a father named George W. Palmer. He was 22 years old in 1862 when he enlisted in Ohio as a private in the 47th infantry. He mustered out August 1865 in Little Rock, Arkansas. These two connections amazed me for two reasons. First was that they travel so far during the war. Second that they both mustered out near relatives that would be a future connection in the family.

Moving on to the rest of the Swagerty side of the family is my grandfather’s mother’s father who was John Underwood. He was born in 1820 in England and did not come to the United States until he was a grown man. In 1860 he was 32 years old and was living in Wayne, Pennsylvania. I can only guess but I do not think he would have felt compelled to join the fight.

Isaac Swagerty was born in 1827 in Bentonville, Arkansas. In 1860 he had 160 acres, a large family and several workers in his employment. In 1862 a Confederate scout came to his property to employ him as a blacksmith for the Confederate army that was due to come through the area in a few days. Isaac was 35 years old and father of four, plus uncle and step father to four more. He had married his older brother’s widow. He did not want to be a part of the Confederate army and hid his family under a hay stack for a few days while a skirmish raged over his property. When the fighting was done, there was little left to salvage. It was quite common in this area of Arkansas for either side to destroy anything thought of value to the enemy. Isaac and his family were escorted by the Union soldiers to Kansas where they started all over.

On my mother’s side of the family, I will start with her grandfather, Milton C. Boone. He was born in 1828 and by 1860 he was living in Missouri and had already married. He enlisted on July 15,1861 in the Missouri Home Guards. The war came right to his door when his brother-in-law Robert Morris Cunningham was killed right on their property during a skirmish where the Ewing’s young son was also killed in a neighbor against neighbor feud that escalated during the Civil War. Milton’s father-in-law witnessed his son’s death in the front yard of the Cunningham property. Milton was discharged October 17, 1861 with no pay due to no service. Meanwhile his wife was having children every other year during the Civil War period.

My mother’s great-grandfather Jesse L. Brown was born in 1822 in Tennessee. By 1860 he was age 38 and living in Carrollton, Arkansas. He joined the Union infantry in Company K. I was unable to find much about his service but I know his widow applied for a pension after he died in 1899. He is buried in the Carrollton Cemetery. 

To finish off my mother’s side I looked up Thomas Jefferson Gilliland, my mother’s great-grandfather on her mother’s side. He was born in 1820 and in 1860 he was 40 years old and lived in Harrison, Arkansas. I found no record of him enlisting and I am guessing age could be a factor. He was also the father of five children and there were three more children that were born after 1860.

I then wanted to complete the family picture by researching my husband’s side of the family. His father, who grew up in New York City, married a woman from Savannah, Georgia. On his father’s side was George Harris Shreve who was born in 1841 in New York City. He enlisted in 1864 for one year, 3 months and 19 days as a bugler in Company L in the 12th Pennsylvania Cavalry. John Shreve, my husband was quite the trumpet player.

Continuing on his father’s side is George Carstensen who was not even in the country at this time. His son, John Carstensen was in the New York City but was only three years old in 1860.

Now on John’s mother’s side we go to the other side of the conflict. His great-great-grandfather Thomas Waters was born in 1818 and was 42 in 1860. I found Confederate soldiers named Thomas Waters from Georgia but could not link with certainty to this Thomas. His age is a factor and the children kept being born during the Civil War years so his residence was most likely at his Georgia home in Bulloch county.

Seaborn E. Jones is another great-great-grandfather to my husband. He was born in 1838 and was 22 in 1860. He enlisted in Bulloch County in Georgia in 1861. By July 1862 he had been promoted to second sergeant and was married and a father. In July of 1864 he was in a hospital with a ball in his hip. He must have been stationed near by because the children kept coming. He survived the war and lived until 1922 and was the father of eleven children.

James Shepard Hagin is another great-great-grandfather. He was born in 1840 in Georgia. By 1860 he was married and 20 years old. He enlisted in G company 5th infantry in the Confederate army. He mustered out in 1862 because he surrendered. That was all the notes said and I am curious about that event.

The next great-great-grandfather David Algerine Bennett, was born in 1836. By 1860 he was married and had already started his family. He added to the family in 1862 and also enlisted in Company K, 47th infantry. The next note is 1865 when he was mustered out because he died of disease in a hospital.

Each of these relatives had to make a major decision that would affect them the rest of their lives. Certain relatives stand out because of the lives they led. It is easy to judge them based on what we think is correct in OUR time but I prefer to look at what decisions they made when they had a big choice in THEIR time. It is so difficult to understand their time as the entire experience is so different from ours.

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6/30/23