U.S. Civil War

[jambassist]

In doing some family research I found out I had two Great Great Grandfathers that fought in it. Henry Good was in the 153rd PA Vols attached to the 1st Brigade, 1st Div XI Corps. Their major battle was at Gettysburg on July 2nd, 1863 at Cemetery Hill. Very nasty battle that he got through without a scratch. I'm heading out there soon. I need to stand where they stood and I know where they were placed. Alfred Meyers was in the 129th PA Vols and fought at Fredricksburg. His was one of many Union Regiments that charged the stone wall that day. He too escaped without a scratch and when his enlistment was up in early 1863, he joined up with the 2nd NJ Vol. Cavalry.

It meant a lot to find out I'm a direct descendant of two Civil War veterans. They weren't famous or anything, just privates that did what they had to do. Are there any of ye that have ancestors that fought in that war? Doesn't matter what side they were on. I'm a big student of history so I'd very much like to here from anyone that shares such a link.

[MakiSupaStar]

Well my family is all English. So no. My grandfather who just died was a truck driver for the Royal Air Force. My other grandfather was in the Royal Navy. My parents have traced our lineage pretty far back, somewhere in the 1300's. My mother actually is a descendent of royalty (an obscure Duke). My father's line basically came from either a swine herder or a common peasant.

[Relic]

I had 3 uncles serve in WW2, one in the Pacific at Iwo Jima, and two in Europe.

[Georynn]

Yeah, My great Grand uncle was General Lloyd C Tilghman, a general for the confederacy. He died at the battle of Champion Hill (or Bakers Creek) in Mississippi. I have been to his grave a few times and done some reading up on him. Every generation in my family have been warriors, but I am the first male in my family not to join the army straight after high school. From Tench Tilghman to my grandfather in Korea (he had only girls).

[kesslari]

There are some great movies (Gettysburg being one of them) about that battle.
You might want to see it before you go - it makes the visit much, much more meaningful.

All my people came to this country after the Civil war, but it was an amazing conflict.
The technological advances in the few decades between the last big wars in Europe (the Napoleanic wars) and the Am Civil War were huge (primarily the widespread use of rifles, which have much longer range accuracy, over muskets). This was one of the reasons the carnage was so huge - the generals were using tactics that were based on outdated weapons. It's also a reason that this war was so closely watched by the European powers, many of which sent observers to embed with the US troops (on both sides) to watch how the new weaponry was changing the way war was fought.

Very interesting time, and Gettysburg is an amazing place.

[Oric]

A lot of my family has been in the military, but not many were involved with wars. My family came over mostly after the Civil War, so if any descendants of mine were in it, they're very distant.

[jambassist]

Originally Posted by Georynn

Yeah, My great Grand uncle was General Lloyd C Tilghman, a general for the confederacy. He died at the battle of Champion Hill (or Bakers Creek) in Mississippi. I have been to his grave a few times and done some reading up on him. Every generation in my family have been warriors, but I am the first male in my family not to join the army straight after high school. From Tench Tilghman to my grandfather in Korea (he had only girls).

My respects sir. To have a relative in the war and a general at that is something to be proud of.

I own both "Gods and Generals" and "Gettysburg", two fantastic movies. I have to rewatch "Gettysburg" as there is some mention of Cemetery Hill there. I'm fortunate as my family on my mother's side has been here since the mid 1700's.

[Philbiker]

Originally Posted by jambassist

Alfred Meyers was in the 129th PA Vols and fought at Fredricksburg. His was one of many Union Regiments that charged the stone wall that day. He too escaped without a scratch and when his enlistment was up in early 1863, he joined up with the 2nd NJ Vol. Cavalry.

Wow he survived the charges in Fredricksburg? Not many did.

My grandfather served in the Air Corps for the USA in WWI. He was a tailor by trade, so naturally he was a very good WWI era airplane repair man. He sewed up the bullet holes in the cloth coverings of the airplanes.

My father served in the Air Force in Roswell in 1948. Coincedence? He claims that it was the nuclear weapons that were the reason they were so secretive back then. I ask him about the aliens all the time.

My wife's grandmother was a Polish citizen seized by Stalin's goons in WWII and spent years in a forced labor camp in Siberia. Following that, her family made their way with other Polish people through Russia to Iran then finally to what is now Israel. She was at a bus stop across the street when the King David Hotel was bombed. The survival rate for the Polish citizens working in Stalins camps was probably on par with that of the Fredricksburg charge.

[Georynn]

Originally Posted by jambassist

My respects sir. To have a relative in the war and a general at that is something to be proud of.

Thanks, My family is very proud of our heritage...

[AxtoOx]

Both sides here. Don't know much about the Yanks from PA, but the majority of my family is southern.
My biggest claim to fame are a Major and a Col. in the Arkansas Cavalry. One survived the war, one didn't. It's a little fuzzy as to which one is my direct relative, the other is a cousin.

I have several relatives who fought, not all officers, mostly for the south.

I go back to the Revolutionary War.

PS, I serverd proudly in the USAF, we are all Americans now.

[lethargytartare]

Originally Posted by jambassist

...I'm heading out there soon. I need to stand where they stood and I know where they were placed....

I stopped off unexpectedly on a trip once, and took the CD-guided tour. I spent a solid 8 hours on it and found myself rushed for time at the tail end. I could have spent another whole day there. I met a gentleman whose great grandfather (confederate) was in Pickett's Charge...Nothing could prepare me for reading the stories and standing on those grounds looking at the land the soldiers were confronted with...there would be a ripple in the ground, and the narration would point out that the soldiers used it as a bulwark, and you're just like "THAT?!?"...it's an amazing place.

[Stigs]

My grandfather was a bomber pilot in WW2, the other was in the marine reserves.

My grandfather on my father's side was tracing our ancestry one day and found out that we're related to Stonewall Jackson, which is awesome.

[lethargytartare]

Odd ancestry note: my wife's best friend's husband has an authenticated family tree/history that traces back to Charlemagne...that made me feel insignificant hahahaha

[RED5]

Gettysburg will get you. It's hallowed ground. All the research you can do on it won't prepare you for the rush of history that occured there. it's at peace now. I think all Americans should visit Gettysburg and drink it in, They'll come away changed.

[Stu L.]

My wife's family is so much cooler than mine. Her family owned a plantation here, which is still in great shape today (although no longer family owned).

Also, her grandfather flew in one of every plane in WWII. He was shot down once, and may have been a second time. He never would talk about it, but after his passing, we've found documents that suggest otherwise. He was a great man, and we were honored to name our son after him last month

My grandfather fought in Korea in the Army and was a POW. After escaping, he was discharged and he enlisted in the Marines to go back to Korea.

My oldest brother was in the Army, and my middle brother in the Navy. Many of my good friends have served, and I support POW's every chance that I get.

[The Golden Boy]

I took a really cool Civil War course in college.

What makes the Civil War really unique is that it's the first literate war. What I mean by that is that it's the first war that a majority of the soldiers were educated enough to be able to read and write. That's huge for getting a wider perception of what actually happened and getting the individual experience recorded.

I work at the Milwaukee VA Hospital. Our hospital complex is one of the first "National Soldiers Home" campuses built following the Civil War. It's a really amazing thing to look at this and imagine who walked these grounds 150 years before...



http://www.soldiershome.org/

[Mark Wilson]

Originally Posted by lethargytartare

Odd ancestry note: my wife's best friend's husband has an authenticated family tree/history that traces back to Charlemagne...that made me feel insignificant hahahaha

Wow...
That's unreal.

[Joe Gress]

Moms family comes from Nashville, but they came from England first. One of the priests that was killed during the religious persecution in England came from that family. Walpole or something like that.

Dads family were German farmers that emigrated to Russia. After living in Russia for 1 or 2 generations, my great-great (+/- great, I don't remember) grandfather witnessed a murder (of a political figure), and he and his family were " voluntarily" deported to North Dakota where they stayed farmers.

[iamlowsound]

Originally Posted by joeinsprings

Moms family comes from Nashville, but they came from England first. One of the priests that was killed during the religious persecution in England came from that family. Walpole or something like that.

Dads family were German farmers that emigrated to Russia. After living in Russia for 1 or 2 generations, my great-great (+/- great, I don't remember) grandfather witnessed a murder (of a political figure), and he and his family were " voluntarily" deported to North Dakota where they stayed farmers.

You are related to Walpole? Look him up, interesting stuff.

lowsound

[Joe Gress]

Originally Posted by iamlowsound

You are related to Walpole? Look him up, interesting stuff.

lowsound

Walpole was my mother side of the family that came from England, but I don't think that it was from the famous Prime Ministers family. I don't know, I'll ask my grandmother next time I see her.