In Search of Captain Lewis Watkins

 

Captain Lewis Watkins of the 85th Pennsylvania
Property of Ronn Palm Museum of Civil War Images
Gettysburg, PA

        A few years ago, I started a virtual cemetery on findagrave.com for those men who served in the 85th Pennsylvania infantry during the Civil War. Whenever I visit southwestern Pennsylvania, I try to visit a cemetery or two in search of more gravesites for members of the regiment. I want to point out that almost all of this work has already been done by intrepid genealogy lovers who have photographed and cataloged a high percentage of cemeteries around the country and the headstones for the people buried there. My job is to add to their good work, tracking down headstones for those whose cemeteries have been identified.

   Some headstones and burial sites have been difficult if not impossible to find. First of all, some men's final resting places has been lost to history. These are veterans whose bodies were not recovered after a battle, or perhaps were laid to rest by their comrades with just a temporary marker near the place where they fell. Others never married, were orphaned, or died during shortly after the war, their life records sparse or their headstones now impossible to read.

   This was a problem I faced recently in trying to track down the headstone of Private Christopher Anderson of Company B. Records indicate that he was buried in the Lone Pine Cemetery in Washington County, PA. Anderson served for three years in the regiment, but died at a relatively young age in 1877. I walked the entire cemetery and found this Civil War headstone, but the name was almost completely unreadable. I wished that I had brought a large piece of paper and a pencil to do an etching, but I did not. I strongly believe this is Anderson's gravesite. 

        This presumed headstone of Christopher Anderson clearly states "Co. B 85th PA. INF" across the bottom. Anderson was a member of Company B. The beginning of the lengthy name above the "8" seems to be the start of "Christopher." The last three letters of the surname above the "F" in "INF" seems to be "son," the end of Anderson. But not being reasonably sure, the next step is to contact the church across the street to see if they have any records to confirm the site of his burial.

       The next search for a veteran whose death occurred at least one and a half centuries ago was for the gravesite of Captain Lewis Watkins of Company E from Washington County. Watkins was severely wounded at the Battle of Second Deep Bottom near Richmond on August 16, 1864. The 39-year old sustained wounds in the arm and leg. He was taken to a hospital in Fort Monroe, Virginia, where he died about six weeks later on September 28, 1864.

Modern View of Confederate Earthwork 
Stormed by 85th PA in Battle of Second Deep Bottom
Where Captain Lewis Watkins was Mortally Wounded

       Unlike most soldiers who died in the Civil War, Watkins' body was shipped home for burial. He was interred in a family plot in western Pennsylvania in the community called Malden. This neighborhood is part of West Brownsville on the Washington County side of the Monongahela River. 

    Watkins enlisted in 1861 into Company E as a lieutenant. Just six months before his death, he married Mary Eliza Crissinger on March 31, 1864, presumably while home on a furlough. 

    Earlier on this blog, I wrote an article around a letter that Watkins had written in July of 1864 from Virginia. It was penned to U.S. Representative James Kennedy Moorhead and was published on August 17 in a Pittsburgh newspaper, the day after Watkins was severely wounded. 

   Records indicated where the Watkins' gravesite was located, but it was not in a cemetery but at a spot on private property. 

https://beallsvillecemetery.org/Veteran_Burial_List/maps/044_12B_Watkins_Private_Cemetery.html

Location of Watkins' headstone in Washington County, PA

      I had a personal reason for the search of Lewis Watkins' resting place. Watkins' descendant, Dr. John Pierce Watkins, had been my youth baseball coach. [Dr. Watkins great grandfather, John, was the brother of Lewis Watkins]. Furthermore, Dr. Watkins was the president of the college where I graduated in the 1970's. I still have the photo of Dr. Watkins shaking my hand and handing me my diploma on graduation day. Dr. Watkins, who passed away last year, was a fine man and dedicated educator. 

        Luckily, a member of my family came through in the search for Lewis Watkins' headstone. My sister and brother-in-law live in the community where Watkins was buried. My brother-in-law, Mark, said he had knowledge of a prominent gravesite in a neighbor's back yard, a few streets away from his residence. Mark and I drove to the sight and sure enough came upon an impressive ten-feet high obelisk that was clearly a burial site nestled in the backyard of one of the people in the Malden community. 

The writer at Watkins' gravesite

   Upon first glance, I thought I might not be able to confirm this as Watkins' burial place because the much of the markings on the obelisk had become nearly impossible to read over the the last 158 years.

"Watkins" and "Monroe" are visible

Near the top of the statue

   
         But at the bottom of the statue, I could make out Watkins' last name as well as "Monroe." This was clearly a reference to Fort Monroe where he died. Also, the name "Watkins" was legible near the top of the obelisk. There was also a G.A.R. marker and American flag at the site, probably placed their a few days earlier in remembrance of Memorial Day. In addition, there were other veteran markers there, including one for World War II, which indicated that there may be more Watkins' family members buried there.

    I took a few photos and added created an entry to the 85th Pennsylvania Virtual Cemetery for Captain Watkins. I actually had to create the "cemetery," called the Watkins Burial Ground, before I could entire Lewis Watkins photos and captions. Like his comrades, he was a brave soldier who deserves to be remembered.

     Rest in peace, Captain Watkins.

Captain Lewis Watkins

 

Property of Ronn Palm Museum of Civil War Images
Gettysburg, PA

          The transcribed letter at the end of this post was written by Captain Lewis Watkins of Company E of the 85^th Pennsylvania. At the time it was written, in the summer of 1864, his regiment was stationed on the Bermuda Hundred front near Ware Bottom Church, Virginia. Watkins and his fellow western Pennsylvanians were encamped near the southern bank of the James River below Richmond and had recently provided cover during the construction of an important pontoon bridge across the river at Jones Neck. 

James River Pontoon Bridge LOC

        This bridge would enable the Army of the James to threaten Richmond several times in the next few months. [Watkins' regiment later crossed that bridge on their way to Second Deep Bottom]. Their last few days had involved low-level skirmishing along the front against the Confederate “Howlett Line” of defenses.

        Ironically, Watkins' letter appeared in the newspaper on August 17, 1864; this was the day after Watkins was severely wounded at the Battle of Second Deep Bottom near Richmond. His fate is described later in this article.

         Lewis Watkins, age 37, originally joined the regiment as a first lieutenant in Company E, led by Captain Henry A. Purviance (who was later promoted to lieutenant colonel). In a sad irony that mentioned Watkins' speculations about his future while he was laying in a hospital bed fighting for his life. Watkins was sent to Chesapeake Hospital at Fort Monroe. He died there of blood poisoning six weeks later. He was survived by his widow, Mary. They had been married for just six months and had no children.

Congressman James Kennedy Moorhead   LOC

        Watkins wrote the letter to Congressman James Kennedy Moorhead (1806-1884).  Moorhead was a Republican member of House of Representative (1859-1869) from Pittsburgh’s 22^nd Congressional district. He had earlier served as state adjutant general in 1838  After the war, he would later serve as president of the Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce for the last seven years of his life.  Prior to his career in politics, Moorhead had been involved in the Monongahela Navigation Company that built lock and dams for the navigation of the Monongahela River between Pittsburgh and Morgantown, VA (later West Virginia). Watkins mentions in his letter that his late father, Richard, lived near Lock #5 near Brownsville, Fayette County.

          In his letter, Watkins mentions the high number of Confederate deserters making their way to Union lines from nearby Confederate entrenchments. This was due to several causes:  forced marches to defend different points menaced by Union cavalry, diseases, the inability to remove sick men from the front, and lack of food.

              Watkins also spoke of his appreciation in Moorhead voting to eliminate the substitute clause of the conscription laws. This clause allowed a draftee to avoid service by making a $300 payment to the government or to higher another to take his place in the military. By mid-1864, northerners were growing weary of the war, particularly after Grant’s Overland Campaign to capture Richmond had stalled with heavy losses. The antiwar feelings were blunted by union victories at Cedar Creek, Mobile and Atlanta.

       At the time of his letter, Lee’s army was somewhat trapped behind fortifications along the Richmond-Petersburg front. Grant had just moved his command to City Point, VA and Lee now had to protect not only Richmond but also his vital supply line at Petersburg. Watkins was correct that victory would eventually be achieved “If we could get them out of their fortifications.”

           Watkins may also have been writing to Moorhead in the hopes of networking for future employment opportunities. Had he lived, Watkins would have returned home in November of 1864 so he was within a few month of the end of his three-year enlistment. In the last sentence of his letter, however, Watkins hints that he might reenlist and stay in the service until the end of the war, after seeing to the needs of his mother in Pennsylvania.

         Watkins was survived by his wife, Mary Elizabeth Chrissinger Watkins, whom had married earlier in the year at McKeesport, PA. Watkins had gone home on March 3 from Hilton Head, South Carolina to accompany 110 members of the regiment who had reenlisted and had therefore earned a month's furlough to travel back to western Pennsylvania. Accompanying Watkins aboard the steamship Arago (right)  for this duty were Captain Ross Sanner of Company F as well as Lieutenants Jacob Davis of Company E and Levi Rogers of Company F.

         Upon his death, Watkins'  body was sent home and he was buried on his family's property in West Brownsville, Washington County. Mary apparently never remarried and died in Iowa in 1909. 

 

                       The Pittsburgh Daily Commercial             August 17, 1864                  Page 4

                             A Cheering Voice from a Gallant Officer

                                                                                                                     Camp of the 85^th Penn’a Vols.

                                                                                                                      Near Bermuda Hundred, Va.,                                                                                                                       July 5, 1864

Hon. J. K. Moorhead, Pittsburgh, Pa.:

    DEAR SIR: -- I intended to have written to you before the closing of Congress, at which time you were at Washington City zealously engaged in counteracting Copperhead influence so as to repeal the three hundred dollar clause of the Conscription law. However, I was prevented on account of the continuous fighting which was going on in our front. If it had not been that I observed, in the reading of the proceedings of Congress, that you were among the number who voted right, I should have made a great effort to drop you a line. I assure you that the army was considerably interested, and all who favored the repeal have won the admiration of all the soldiers and every patriot.

       No doubt but I had better introduce myself before proceeding, for fear that you have forgotten me, or it may be that you never knew me. Suffice for me to say, I remember you. However, I am satisfied that you will recollect or have some knowledge of me when I refer you to my father, Richard Watkins, who, before his death, lived at Lock No. 5. I have been in the army nearly three years, under the command of Colonel J.B. Howell, with whom no doubt but you are well acquainted, during which time

Confederate Deserters   Harper's Weekly  7-16-1864

I never was more confident of success as now. When the Army of the Potomac was on the Peninsula, two years ago, scarcely a deserter came into our lines. And if any did come they were always foreigners or were Northern men. Since we have been here this time there are many, almost every one of whom are natives of Virginia. I have talked with several within the last few days. They all say that much dissatisfaction prevails in their army, and a lack of confidence of success. A great many complain of the bad faith of their government, in first getting them into the army, and at the expiation of their term of service conscripting them for an indefinite length of time or so long as the war lasts. I am afraid that the people of the North will become impatient and be disposed to have peace on any terms, when the Confederacy is fast falling to pieces, and a short time will consummate the work of destruction. Although the rebels fight well, yet I think that they were not as determined as when we fought them at Fair Oaks [Seven Pines]. If we could only get them out of their fortifications, the fate of the rebellion would soon be decided.

            The last of the Southern men are in the field, and as this war will terminate only then the resources of the South are exhausted. I think that the beginning of the end is at hand.

         The weather is quite hot, yet much healthier than when we were on the Peninsula before. The health of the troops is good considering the season. The attack on Petersburg did not result as favorable as we could have expected, yet we are not discouraged nor was it barren of any advantage. Grant sill sticks close to the enemy, and would succeed if the rebs were kept out of the State. The accounts given by correspondents of the press must be taken with considerable allowance. I believe that our cause has been injured by false statements.

       My term of service will soon be out, having served for nearly three years. I expect to return home and procure a satisfactory home for an aged mother, after which I will return if this war is not terminated.

                   I remain your friend.

                                                                                          LEWIS WATKINS

                                                                                          Captain 65^th [sic] Pa. Vols.

Addendum to Virtual Cemetery

   In an earlier post, I wrote of the creation a virtual cemetery of veterans of the 85th Pennsylvania regiment found on findagrave.com.
   Research has turned up an additional seven online headstone photographs at billiongraves.com.

    The seven veterans found on that site are:

      VETERAN                  COMPANY              CEMETERY                         LOCATION

     Thomas Cline                       C                       Redstone                           Brownsville, PA

     Hagan Z. Ludington              K                      Oak Grove                          Uniontown, PA

     Joseph Pratt                          G                      Oak Grove                          Uniontown, PA

     William Randolph                  B                      Brick Road                          Ellensburg, WA
 
      Minor Reamer                      G                      Monongahela Hill               Greensboro, PA

      William Virgin                       D                     Clarksville Presbyterian       Clarksville, PA


        Below is a list of five 85th PA veterans and their burial sites whose headstone photographs, cemeteries or cemetery registries were not found in an online search.

   VETERAN                             CEMETERY                            LOCATION              YEAR DIED

John Westley Brown (I)            Oak Vale                                  Ohiopyle, PA                   1873

Josephus Jacobs (G)                Lippincott Burial Ground           Greene County               1892

Lewis Watkins (E)                     Watkins Family Farm                 W.Brownsville, PA          1864

Samuel P. Wilson (H)                Jenkins                                        Fayette County?            1929

William J. Wilson (A)                 Washington                                 Washington, PA                 ?

The Last Man Killed

   

Frank Leslie's Illustrated

       In last week's post, I  wrote about James C. Davis, who was the last member of the regiment to be wounded in battle. Davis was hurt on April 2, 1865 at Fort Gregg near Petersburg, VA.
       Davis survived his wound and went on to a prominent career in education. He died in 1914 at the age of 63 and is buried in Kansas.
      The next question to answer is: Who was the last member of the 85th Pennsylvania to die in battle? The answer is not as cut-and-dried as one would imagine. My interpretation of the question is: Who was the last to die AS A RESULT of being wounded in battle. Based on this view, several men who were wounded at Second Deep Bottom could be that last victim. And what about those who WERE members of the 85th Pennsylvania but had transferred to another regiment to meet their permanent fate?
        Following the  2nd Battle of Deep Bottom in August of 1864. the 85th Pennsylvania was involved in the fighting at Darbytown Road, VA (October 13, 1864), Fort Gregg (April 2, 1865) and Appomattox Court House (April 9, 1865) before the war finally ended.

New York Daily Herald
August 17, 1864

    In these final three engagements, several men from the 85th Pennsylvania were wounded but there were no fatalities.
     That means that the last engagement in which men from the regiment were killed was at 2nd Deep

2DP Reenactment  2014

Bottom. In that engagement 21 men were killed and another 73 were wounded.
      In this one-week operation near Richmond, most men died on the day of the most substantial part of the fight on August 18,1864.         

  

      The 85th Pennsylvania, as a member of Francis Pond's Brigade, stormed and captured a Confederate earthwork.
       Captain Lewis Watkins of Company E was severely wounded in the arm and  leg while helping to lead the charge at 2nd Deep Bottom. Watkins died six weeks later at Chesapeake Hospital at Fort Monroe (VA).
        Of the men who suffered fatal wounds, Sergeant Myers P. Titus of Company G lingered until November 2, 1864 before dying in a Hampton (VA) hospital. Corporal James Sturgis, also of Company G, hung on from his wound until he expired on November 6, 1864 in a hospital in Beverly, NJ.
        Next is Corporal James C. Bailey of Company C. Bailey was captured on Whitemarsh Island near Savannah, Georgia on February 22, 1864. The exact cause of his demise is unclear. Bailey was eventually released during a large-scale prisoner exchange but died on the voyage home on December 12, 1864. He may have been wounded on Whitemarsh Island. How much this contributed to his death is unknown. On the other hand, his death may have been due to harsh treatment at Andersonville and other Confederate prison camps. If he were wounded on Whitemarsh Island, was this a a contributory factor to his death?
        Next is Private David Baldwin of Company D. Baldwin  who died in Salisbury (NC) POW camp in North Carolina on December 19, 1864. Baldwin was listed as missing-in-action at 2nd Deep Bottom. Like Bailey, it is unknown if Baldwin were wounded, causing him to be captured. If he were wounded, it is also not known if this contributed to his death. He may have died of starvation or caught a disease in camp and expired.

Captain Richard Dawson
James Hadden, History of the Old Flag

 

      Captain Richard Dawson of Company I was wounded at the second (and successful) Union assault on Fort Fisher near Wilmington, North Carolina in January of 1865. Dawson was wounded in the arm, which was amputated, but he passed away a few weeks later from the wound on February 1, 1865.
    But Dawson was not a member of the 85th Pennsylvania at the time. Two months earlier, he had been promoted and was an aide to General Adelbert Ames when he was wounded during the storming of Fort Fisher.





 

Corporal Joseph W. Burson
Courtesy of Sharon Zbinovec

      Finally there is my choice for the last fatality in the regiment, Corporal Joseph W. Burson of Company D. Burson was wounded and captured at Second Deep Bottom in August. He was released from prison camp near the end of the war, but died on March 17, 1865, three weeks before the war ended. He died at home in Fredericktown, Washington County, just after being accompanied home by his father, Edward, from a hospital in Annapolis, Maryland.
    Therefore, although it is possible Burson's death was caused by his stay in prison camp, his wound does appear to be a contributing factor in his demise.

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/46342950/joseph-w_-burson

Walton Cemetery
Clarksville, GreeneCounty, PA

85th Pennsylvania Original Company Nicknames & Commissioned Officers

         

                                                     

    
                                                     COLOR KEY 

                                                     Killed in Action

                                                           Died from disease

                                                        Captured, later released

                                                      Resigned for health reasons

                                                     Completed 3-year enlistment

                                                  Transferred to a different regiment

[Company A] “Union Guards” (Washington County)

Captain Harvey J. Vankirk (medically discharged, 1862)

1^st Lieutenant William W. Kerr (captured at 2nd Deep Bottom, 1864)

2^nd Lieutenant John Rowley (medically discharged, 1862)

[Company B] “Ellsworth Cadets” (Washington County)

Captain Morgan W. Zollars (medically discharged, 1862)

1^st Lieutenant Robert P. Hughes (promoted to lieutenant colonel, 199th PA, 1864)

2^nd Lieutenant George H. Hooker (wounded twice in shoulder & foot; completed 3 yrs)

[Company C] “Redstone Blues” (Fayette County)

Captain John C. Wilkinson (medically discharged, 1863)

1^st Lieutenant Isaac R. Beazell (transferred to 168th PA)

2^nd Lieutenant Jefferson. G. Vangilder (transferred to 22nd Ringgold Cavalry)

[Company D] “Lafayette Guards” (Greene/Washington Counties)

Captain William H. Horn (medically discharged for shoulder wound, 1862)

1^st Lieutenant Rolla O. Phillips (promoted to captain, 1862: served 3 years)

2^nd Lieutenant John E. Michener (captured Whitemarsh Island, GA, 1864; exchanged)

[Company E] “Washington Guards” (Washington County)

Captain Henry A. Purviance (killed on Morris Island, 1863, from friendly fire)

1^st Lieutenant Lewis Watkins (died from wounds at 2nd Deep Bottom, 1864)

2^nd Lieutenant Richard W. Dawson (died from wounds at Fort Fisher, NC, 1865)

[Company F] “Tenmile Grays” (Greene County)

Captain John Morris (discharged after facial wound, 1862)

1^st Lieutenant Edward Campbell (promoted to colonel, 1864; completed 3 years)

2^nd Lieutenant John Remley (medically discharged, 1863)

[Company G] “Monongahela Guards” (Fayette/Greene Counties)

Captain Isaac M. Abraham (promoted to major, 1863; completed 3 years)

1^st Lieutenant John A. Gordon (transferred to Ambulance Corps, 1862)

2^nd Lieutenant John M. Crawford (medically discharged, 1864)

[Company H] “Independent Blues” (Somerset County)

 Captain James B. Tredwell (medically discharged for chronic diarrhea, 1862)

1^st Lieutenant James Hamilton (killed at Seven Pines, 1862)

2^nd Lieutenant Milton Black (died from typhoid fever, 1862)

[Company I] “Howell Fencibles” (Fayette County)

Captain John R. Weltner (medically discharged for lung disease, 1862)

1^st Lieutenant E. H. Oliphant (died from typhoid fever, 1862)

2^nd Lieutenant Houston Devan (died from typhoid fever, 1862)

[Company K] “Mountain Rifles” (Fayette County)

Captain Hagan Z. Ludington (resigned 1863, died 1865/disease contracted during war)

1^st Lieutenant Reason Smurr (medically discharged, 1862; later joined 77th PA)

2^nd Lieutenant Stephen K. Brown (medically discharged, 1862, due to typhoid fever)