Posted 6 years ago
Gundalow
(24 items)
My Mother's uncle, Samuel Winner, was born 10/17/1842 and raised in Morrisville, PA. (Morrisville is located along the Delaware River, opposite Trenton, NJ.) He is a Civil War veteran, having served almost the entire duration of the war. At age 20 he fought in the Battle of Fredericksburg, (Dec. 1862) one of the bloodiest Civil War battles, and one in which General Robert E Lee and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia was victorious over the Army of the Potomac led by Major Gen. Ambrose Burnside. He was captured and spent 6 weeks at the notorious Libby Prison, (Richmond, VA) which is regarded as second only to Andersonville in its inhumane treatment of prisoners (severe overcrowding, starvation, disease, lack of medical care- meals consisted of a piece of corn bread and a sweet potato). He was liberated by the Northern forces. He moved from Morrisville to Bloomingdale, NJ, and died 12/23/1922. (Note: Wikipedia provides detailed information on Libby Prison.)
I wish I could have met him and talked with him about his experiences.
The photo was taken by a Mr. Blanchard, Bloomingdale, September 29, 1920 at age 79. Note musket in right hand.
How fascinating, thank you for sharing!
Great image of an old veteran!
If you know what state he served in or unit, I would be happy to post his Historical Data Systems entry.
scott
You're welcome Coopergirl and thanks for the offer Scott. Unfortunately I don't know what unit he served in but the state would be Pennsylvania and he may have been linked to Philadelphia units.
I checked and couldn't find him in the database.
Some possibilities-- the name is off. Is it identified on the back? If so, please post it here. Sometimes phonetics are useful (Weiner vs. Winner, etc...). Also it is not unusual for a middle name to be used as a first name, etc...
I did many searches and didn't find anyone that seemed to fit the parameters (POW, Officer).
I did find a couple of short term soldiers out of both PA and NJ-- none were in Fredericksburg units.
The database is not always correct, but with enough details most soldiers can be tracked down.
If you have any more information-- I'd be happy to continue the search as I enjoy research projects.
scott
Fascinating story about your brave & patriotic relative, thank you for posting
Scottvez- Thus far I've only identified 2 possibilities which may be the same that you surfaced: Samuel Winner, Private, 73rd Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteer, Company H. Date of muster into service 11/28/1861; discharged on surgeon's certificate 3/20/1862. However in researching this regiment, I didn't locate information indicating that the Regiment participated in the Battle of Fredericksburg (Dec. 12-15, 1861.) However this Samuel Winner's dates of service would have allowed him to participate in the battle and his release on a surgeon's certificate would have occurred after his rescue from Libby Prison. There is reference to another Samuel Winner (Private) who enlisted in the 3rd Regiment NJ Company E. This Regiment was in Trenton, NJ across the river from Morrisville, PA. Again, could not surface information indicating that this Regiment fought at Fredericksburg.
Some information/ thoughts:
HDS data shows the 73rd PA soldier was discharged on 20 MAR 1862.
NJ soldier was discharged on 20 MAY 1862 . Both were discharged for disability and don't show additional service.
Additionally, both are enlisted. Libby Prison was almost exclusively an Officer's prison. I don't doubt there were a few enlisted folks housed there, but it would be a rare case.
scott
One other thought - The 73rd Regiment PA Volunteers was detailed to the Army of the Potomac during the time frame that included the Battle of Fredericksburg. (The Army of the Potomac was engaged in the Battle of Fredericksburg.)
Forgot to mention that name is correct. I got the information regarding his Civil War service and incarceration at Libby Prison from his obituary.
From Regimental history of the 73rd, the unit missed Fredericksburg; but they probably saw the results in casualties since they arrived very soon after:
"...lost heavily at the battles of Groveton and second Bull Run, 216 being killed and wounded, the killed including Col. Koltes and Capt. Brueckner, and remained thereafter in the fortifications of Washington until the Fredericksburg campaign, arriving at Falmouth just after the battle."
The 73rd soldier doesn't show service after MAR 1862 and wasn't an officer.
Do you have a copy of the obituary to share?
scott
I’ll have to get back to you regarding the obituary. I believe a relative has it and if I track it down, I’ll post a copy of it. Appreciate the results of your research. I’ll keep digging.
I double checked in History of Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1861-65 by Bates (compiled in 1869 through State Legislature funding and the "go to" resource for PA Regimental rosters and histories) to see if the information on the 73rd soldier was annotated correctly in HDS.
The roster has Samuel Winner enlisting for 3 years on 28 NOV 1861 and discharged on Surgeon's Certificate on 20 MAR 1862. No additional service.
Keep me posted as you come across additional info.
scott
Thanks Scott, will do.
Just received the below- source is ancestors.com
Samuel Winner Civil War Pension--Navy (NJ)
Replies: 0
Samuel Winner Civil War Pension--Navy (NJ)
KAWfamily (View posts)
Posted: 10 Jul 2008 10:59PM
Classification: Query
Surnames: Winner, Beck, Struble
Samuel Winner
Civil War Pension-Navy Certificate #22377
Born: October 17, 1842
Died: December 23, 1922
Buried: Mount Rest Cemetery, Butler, Morris County, NJ
Wife: Susannah Hammel Beck
Born: not given
Died: August 19, 1895
Marriage: January 11, 1866 in Philadelphia by Mr. Shoemaker, JP
Children:
Elizabeth Winner Struble B June 29, 1866
Annie R. Winner Margerem (?unclear) B April 1, 1871
George F. Winner B November 29, 1868, D December 9, 1899
Military service: Navy, 2 years, 8 months, 21 days
Dates and locations noted in records:
•Living Broad Street, Trenton, NJ 1907
•Living Delanco, Burlington, March 21, 1913
•Final information submitted by Elizabeth Struble, daughter of Samuel Winner
This is for a US Navy guy-- doesn't fit at all with the history, so probably someone else.
scott
Scott-
Actually the alleged source of this information in ancestors.com is my Grandmother. Thus very confusing. Either the obituary was incorrect or the information in ancestors.com is incorrect. As my Grandmother passed away in the 1940s, I don't know who would have attributed the information in ancestors.com to her but she did not contact ancestors.com Likely a family relative contacted ancestors.com and attributed the information to her. The clothing and musket in the photo may be a clue- although not familiar with Civil War attire, I would guess it appears more likely to be Infantry than Navy, but I could be wrong.
Very cool photo :) I have my great grandads civil war book. It has his portrait on the inside front cover and it’s full of Brady photographs.