Part of family history research is putting your ancestors into context, which includes looking at what was going on in the world during the time period in which they lived. Understanding the context of your family members’ lives can give you an idea of what events shaped them and help you to “flesh out” what they may have been like.[i]
As I considered the theme “service,” I thought of how my great, great, great grandfather, Enoch G. Howard, and his oldest son, Lucien, joined the Union Army at the same time in 1861. Bringing to mind the concept of context, I wondered – what compelled them to join at that particular time? And also – what does the fact of them volunteering to serve tell me about them?
I am far from a Civil War historian, so I dove into the Internet to glean the basics about the beginnings of the War in order to provide context for the time just before Enoch and Lucien joined the Union Army. From my brief research I learned that – after escalating tensions – shots were fired in April 1861 at Fort Sumter, South Carolina. After the First Battle of Bull Run/Manassas on July 21, 1961, President Lincoln called for 500,000 more recruits for the Union Army.[ii]
Military records show that in September 1861, Enoch G. Howard mustered into service with Company H of Pennsylvania’s 45th Regiment (Infantry). The men in the company were recruited from Tioga County, Pennsylvania -where Enoch lived – and Enoch entered as a First Lieutenant.[iii] An article in the April 3, 1885 edition of the Detroit News, sketching a brief overview of Enoch’s life, gave this synopsis of his joining the Union Army: “When war broke out, [he] closed shop, raised a company, and went to the front as lieutenant…”[iv] So Enoch didn’t simply enlist in the Union Army; he organized a company of volunteers from Tioga County and led them as their First Lieutenant.
At the same time, Enoch’s oldest son Lucien joined the 45th Regiment as a Musician in the Regimental Band.[v] Records show he mustered in on September 15, 1861.[vi] According to my current research, he would have been either thirteen or fourteen years old.
Enoch resigned from the 45th Regiment on August 17, 1862. His Civil War pension application indicates he contracted “chronic rheumatism caused by exposure in wet” while serving with his Company in James Island, South Carolina in June 1862. The 1885 Detroit News article succinctly sums up the end of this period of Enoch’s service as follows: “home fall ’62 on crutches – all used up with rheumatism – resigned commission in the winter…”
Lucien’s service also came to an end around the same time. Military records state he was discharged by General Order on September 27, 1862. Six months later, however, he enlisted with Company K of Pennsylvania’s 11th Cavalry, mustering in as a private at a reported age of 16.[vii]
Enoch, too, chose to serve again, this time enlisting in Company C of the 11th Cavalry (Pennsylvania) on February 17, 1864. Records indicate he was “promoted to Bugler, September 24, 1864” and mustered out with the Company on August 13, 1865.
As I consider the context of Enoch’s and Lucien’s military service, I can’t help but wonder what in particular motivated them. Were they responding directly to President Lincoln’s call for more volunteers? Was there a strong appeal to men’s patriotism and duty in that era that influenced them?
And also – what do the two men’s actions tell me about them? Each of them signed up not once, but twice, for military service. And Enoch returned after suffering from illness, choosing to go back in at a much lower rank than his initial one.
It is for their individual descendants to form their own opinions on what Enoch’s and Lucien’s military service reveals about their character. Feel free to put in your two cents worth in the Comments section below!
[i] I am learning about the importance of context in Amy Johnson Crow’s class “Building Context for Your Ancestor.”
[ii] https://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/american-civil-war-history accessed July 30, 2020.
[iii] http://www.pa-roots.com/pacw/infantry/45th/45thcoh.html, accessed July 30, 2020.
[iv] The Detroit News (published as The Evening News), April 3, 1885, page 3.
[v] See https://www.loc.gov/collections/civil-war-band-music/articles-and-essays/the-american-brass-band-movement/the-civil-war-bands/ for interesting information on Regimental Bands.
[vi] http://www.pa-roots.com/pacw/infantry/45th/45thband.html, accessed July 30, 2020.
[vii] I obtained this information, as well as that in the next paragraph, from the records in the database of Ancestry.com.
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