Wrath Awaits the Invader
A friend presented me with a copy of the August edition of Civil War Times. I read "Wrath Awaits the Invader" on Confederate Captain John Dickison and enjoyed it very much. I thought the article presented a well written and, more importantly, very honest view of the War of Northern Aggression. I quit reading Civil War Times years ago, nor would I advertise in it because this sort of unbiased article would seldom find its way into the magazine's politically correct pages. I must now give you a second look; perhaps the editor has changed since I quit reading 6-7 years ago.
I especially liked the account of the two women involved. Though I am an avid reader of first person accounts, I have seldom read accounts of Confederate women as participants or casualties and hope this may bring more examples to light.
Please keep up the good work. Every bit of truth you can introduce to the world will help brighten the Confederacy's undeservedly tarnished reputation.
Shannon Pritchard
Mechanicsville, Va.
Connecticut Connection
Given the great vastness and scope of the Civil War, it is remarkable when something can become so personal. Such is the case in your September issue of Civil War Times. In the "Friends to the Death" article by Jerry W. Holsworth, I was amazed to find that one of the lead characters, Union colonel Henry W. Kingsbury, was put in command of the new 11th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry — the same unit that my maternal great-grandfather, George H. Keables, mustered into in December 1861. Kingsbury took command right after the Peninsula campaign and was killed while valiantly leading a skirmishing party at Burnside's Bridge on September 17, 1862. I am fascinated by Kingsbury's stern reforms of the regiment that resulted in its being the "cleanest, most orderly, and best trained outfit in the division." I wonder what my ancestor's opinion of the young colonel was.
I learned from the National Archives that George H. Keables served in Company H of the 11th Connecticut. He was promoted to sergeant when he reenlisted as a veteran volunteer (under General Order 191) on December 13, 1863. He was promoted to second lieutenant at Chapin's Farm, Va., on December 10, 1864, and in June of 1865 was made first lieutenant and transferred to Company E as acting quartermaster. By this time the record shows he was in the 1st Brigade, 3rd Division, of the XXIV Corps under Maj. Gen. Edward Ord. He resigned his commission on May 16, 1865, an order approved and signed by General Ord.
The archival records, to my disappointment, give little information about the war record of my great-grandfather and the 11th. As for the battle at Burnside's Bridge on September 17, 1862, his muster roll records for the months of September and October 1862 have no remarks. I cannot say whether he was engaged in battle there or not. The records show only that the 11th was at Fredericksburg and the siege of Suffolk, Va., but I can assume they were at many other engagements.
The one fact the records do show is that in four years my great-grandfather went from a private to a first lieutenant at the age of 23. Given the casualty rate of soldiers due to disease and combat I find it remarkable that George H. Keables made it through the entire four years unscathed. He died in 1915 at 75 years old.
George R. Ullrich
Suffolk County, N.Y.
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